Title: Christmas Christian or Christianized?
• The following are just some of the pagan gods that had "birthdays" on December 25th....
• Mithras, Horus, Attis, Dionysus the son of Zeus, Tammuz, Hercules, Perseus, Helios, Bacchus, Apollo, Jupiter, Sol Invictus - (The "Unconquered Sun")
• The Christianization of Christmas - contextualization:
• Pope Julius I, (337 – 352 AD) decided to counter the pagan celebrations by attributing the birth of Christ to the date of December 25th.
• The Bible does not ascribe a date to the birth of Christ, but December 25 is highly unlikely.
• Sheep were grazing on the field, there were no shepherds tending sheep after October and during the winter months.
• People would not have been sent to their hometowns to register for a Census in the winter.
SO...
... yes, Christmas is a Christianized heathen tradition!
...but we do not have to be grumpy about it
• The BIRTH OF CHRIST reminds us of many things:
1. Humility
2. God with us
3. The King has come
4. A witness of the truth. |