CHRISTMAS STAR: THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Santa Claus has come to represent Western based Christmas, along with gift giving, Christmas trees with a star on high, lights, and snow, etc. Christmas as most now know it is a European and Catholic invention of the celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25th. It is not believed that this was the actual day of his birth but of a time decreed to celebrate. This is the secular aspect of Christmas that is linked to winter celebrations and winter wonderland themes. The image of Santa has evolved over the years to be the patron saint of retailers.

Because Christianity was embraced in the Northern climes, all things winter were included in the celebration of Christmas. This was an evolution that became part of Christmas. White winter (snow) is symbolic for light and bells for sleighs and the church. The music reflects the sensations that occur at this time of year along with sights and smells. This is about the human experience of celebrating this time of year in a joyous manner.

The religious aspect of Christmas is to honor the birth of Christ as the Son of God while anticipating all that Christ would do as the savior of all mankind. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea (Palestine) in the eastern part of the world as the King of the Jews. It was not known in the early days of Christianity when he was born and his birth was not celebrated. It is now believed that he was born on September 11, 3 BC (see: Star of Bethlehem: Heavenly Light) in the fall and not winter. His birth fulfilled the prophecies of a coming Messiah (God’s Anointed) by the prophets of the Old Testament.

Had the celebration of the birth of Christ began in the East and not the West, Christmas would probably be very different from what it is today. Christianity began in the East and spread to the West but persecution of Christians dictated how the faith was observed. The original followers of Christ were Jews who continued in their Jewish practices. As non-Jews were converted to the faith the Jewish practices were no longer required and a transitional period began. When Rome adopted Christianity it became a western based religion with elements of its pagan past.

The transition of pagan Rome to Christian Rome brought many choices and challenges for what would become the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Empire had a practice of adopting the religions of conquered peoples and of making them Roman. With Christianity there were different sects and different practices. The Church needed to establish core beliefs and practice of the faith as they were contending with different interpretations of the Gospels. One of the reasons for celebrating the birth of Christ was to establish that he was a real person born on earth and not just a spirit as some sects believed (Gnostics for example).

For the church Christmas is a re-enactment of the birth of Christ by the Virgin Mary as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and of Luke. A Christmas star shines over a Nativity scene with Joseph, Mary and Jesus in a manger surrounded by animals, shepherds, the Wise Men and Angels on high. It is a time for the singing of Carols and sermons on the meaning of Christmas and a call for peace and goodwill. The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church heads up the Christmas celebration and gives his blessing to it.

Santa Claus has come to head up the secular celebration of Christmas in a non-religious observance of the holiday season. Santa is believed to be derived from a merging of Saint Nicholas and pagan origins like Odin. This leads some to believe that Christmas is actually a pagan festival disguised as a Christian holiday. Some Christian sects reject Christmas as being purely pagan, not just in origin but in practice. This raises the question of whether or not paganism is the reason for the season.

Is Santa’s origins religious or pagan? This depends on the individual as a strong argument can be made for both camps. I personally believe that Santa is derived from the tales of Saint Nicholas that were merged over time with other figures like Father Christmas (English), Sinterklass (Dutch), Christkind (German), and as some claim the Germanic god Wodan (Norse god Odin). Those that claim Santa is pagan along with other traditions like the Yule log, mistletoe, the Christmas tree, and gift giving are pagan in practice only. The argument is that these practices preceded the Christian celebration and therefore it is a pagan holiday period.

It is generally accepted that the Roman Catholic Church basically Christianized pagan practices. The reason for this was to allow for a transition from the old religions of the Roman Empire to the legalized Christian religion of Rome. Christian purists denounce this strategy but the reality is that Christianity spread across the land and succeeded whereas Christianity in the holy lands were marginalized. Today, Christianity mostly consists of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. Success doesn’t necessarily equate to correctness, neither does judging make for superiority. The early church in Rome was embattled and made choices to guarantee its survival. I do not believe that Christmas should be negated based on a dislike for the Catholic Church.

I do not believe that Christmas is a pagan festival. The main reason is that this holiday (holy day) celebrates the birth of Christ and does not honor the gods and goddesses of pagan religions. Pagans today have their holy days and they honor their beliefs on those days.

An argument can be made that this is all just a deception and that paganism is being perpetuated unknowingly by celebrating Christmas. If this is true than all pagan references in the world today are also corrupting. Elements of paganism can be found in the world that we live in. The Roman calendar has the names of gods and goddesses as the basis for some of the names of the days and months. However, it is doubtful that the average person is thinking of them when they check the calendar. The planets and constellations are named likewise, yet they are mostly seen as a relic of the past.

Another argument is that Christmas is not biblical. However, it is based on the accounts of his birth in Matthew and Luke. It is true that his birth was not practiced by early Christians as in other cultures but it was celebrated early by the Magi (see Star of Bethlehem: Heavenly Light). Christmas can be seen as celebrating the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah. This was honored by the Shepherds of the fields as well as Angels on high. While this is not a mandate to honor his birthday with Christmas celebrations it does not exclude it either.

The Magi play an important role in the celebration of Christ the King’s birthday when they gave their gifts to the child. The Christmas Star is seen as a supernatural event of God that led the Magi to honor the birth of Jesus. I believe that God wanted the gentile Magi to later come to honor the Jewish Messiah as Gentiles would later come to honor Christ after he was mostly rejected by the Jews. For Gentile Christians it is a time to honor the birth of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Jesus was a Jew who observed Jewish holy days and customs. Had the Jews not rejected Him as their Christ, Christianity would have likely been an extension of Judaism with Jewish days and customs observed. However, Christianity was taken to non-Jews without a mandate to follow Judaism. This left open the possibility that gentile Christians would establish their own traditions of observance.

The beginning of gentile Christian traditions as we know them today have their roots in the Roman Empire.

The Roman Catholic Church emerged as the leader and established its own traditions based on the life of Christ. In many ways Christianity became an extension of Rome and not Judaism. Does this validate or negate the argument of whether Christmas is pagan? Again, I believe that this comes down to personal belief and choice. I believe that Christmas is a celebration of light. It is a time to remember the light of heaven that brought the Magi to Bethlehem to honor the light that is Christ. The Christmas Star is symbolic of the shining light that gave great light to the earth.

There is a history to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and it is not because the church fathers believed this to be the actual day. They did not know the day as there were no records kept or that had survived historically. They had devices that they used to come close to the year he was born as in using the time of the founding of Rome and the reigns of the Caesars with the time of Christ’s death, but this could only approximate. So they determined to use the symbolism of the winter solstice that in their day occurred on Dec. 25. This is the time when the day is the shortest of the year and the light begins again to break the time of darkness and the Sun is seen as being reborn.

Another possible reason was to usurp the pagan practice of celebrating the winter solstice. For Rome this was Sol Invictus, the time of the Roman festival of the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. This date is also linked to the worship of the god Mithras who was believed to have been born on this day. It is not known if the usurping of these days was the motive but it is possible because the Roman Church was in a battle with other religions for dominance.

I do not believe that usurping a pagan festival was the main reason for choosing Dec. 25, it was for symbolic reasons. Not having God-given feast days as the Jews did led the Roman Church to use the already existing festival days of Rome as a basis for Christian feast days. They appropriated these days to be a transition from paganism to Christianity, but also to establish Christianity as the State Religion of the state religions. Had they actually known for certain the important dates of Christ, these would have been likely chosen. Not knowing led to the decision to use established dates on the Roman calendar that afforded the continuation of Rome with the added benefit of conquering all opposition to the choice of Christianity as the state religion.

Recently, it has been proposed that the Magi arrived to worship the Jewish Messiah on December 25, 2 BC. This is based on the planet Jupiter “the Star of Bethlehem” that came to a stopped position in the middle of the constellation of Virgo the Virgin over Judea (ASK, “The Real Star of Bethlehem”). It cannot be known if the church fathers were aware of this but they could have believed that it was close to this time. This is also the time of the Jewish holy day of Hanukkah that includes gift giving to parallel the gifting by the Magi. It is possible that the Church wanted to tie these events together along with the unknown date of Christ’s birth.

Whether or not Christmas is holy to God requires faith. There is a positive spirit to the holidays but whether this comes from God or just the fellowship of believers is also debatable. I personally believe that Christmas is a time of blessing when it is Christ centered.

If this is all just a big deception by the Pagans, then why aren’t they celebrating the holiday and promoting it so as to corrupt unsuspecting Christians? The reality is that Pagans have their own holy days and rituals and Christmas is not one of them. The true Christian spirit of the holidays can come under attack by some cults that see it as Christian in origin or hate it for having some pagan origins. There is also a push to make Christmas seem as only an exercise in commercialism and thus make gifting the reason for the season and not Christ.

In our current cultural climate all things Christ are being purged from our society and relegated to the church only. Santa Claus and all that goes with him allows for a non-religious observance of Christmas. If he is demeaned than so will secular observance of Christmas be demeaned. If this takes place the reason will be the continuation of the purging of all things Christ and not for religious tolerance.

From the beginning of the decision to celebrate Christmas there was the religious and the secular. The Church honored the birth of Christ and sought to keep it holy. There were those that continued in the revelry of festivals like Saturnalia. The transition from the religions of the empire to Christianity was not over night and was met with much resistance. The Church was at war with the old ways and the conversion to Christianity was resisted by many. This led to compromises being made and vestiges of the old are still seen in today’s traditions and customs, but this does not make it pagan.

Would it be preferable to have a pure Christmas without elements of past beliefs? Of course it would, but in practice it would be difficult if not impossible to purge the old from the new. True Christians will celebrate the birth of Christ while tolerating the other practices of the holiday. This is to be expected in a democracy as all religions are to be tolerated and people are allowed to worship in their own way. Religious tolerance is a hallmark of democracy and morality should be expected and not legislated. To force the people to believe as a particular sect believes goes against the principle of the separation of church and state.

It is what one holds in their heart that truly matters and not whether or not they like Santa and his reindeer. People can pretend to go along with something while holding divergent beliefs in their heart. Rejecting Christmas on any grounds does not necessarily make one a better Christian or person. Someone who dresses up as a mall Santa could be a true Christian or not. An outward show of piety can be true or false. Christ condemned the religious leaders of his day for being outwardly pious while being inwardly corrupt of heart. They made a great show of being religiously correct in their practices while plotting the murder of the true Son of God.

I believe that Christmas celebrations reflect the times just as art can imitate life. To better understand the times that we live in we can look at how we celebrate Christmas as a Christian nation. The late English musician of the band ELP, Greg Lake’s song “I Believe in Father Christmas” reflects the times for many at this time of year. It is about being disillusioned with a fairy tale but ultimately believing in the source of the holiday and hope. It ends with an observation: “The Christmas we get, we deserve.” I believe that this means that what we put into Christmas is what we get out of it (you get what you settle for).

On a personal level Christmas for me has a special appeal. There is a spirit to the holiday that I feel is positive. A message of the holiday, “Peace on the earth, good will to men,” is just one of many reminders of what to strive for that could be ignored if not for the holiday. The Christmas Star is often depicted in the shape of a cross as rays of light. The star is a symbol of the birth of Christ and the cross is the symbol of his death and resurrection. The merging of the two symbolizes that it was his destiny from birth to die for the salvation of mankind.

I didn’t grow up in the church and while not raised a non-believer, I didn’t have anything to base a faith on. The only time I came in contact with Christ’s message was at Christmas time. At school we made crafts like ornaments and the Christmas star and we all looked forward to the Christmas break (now called winter break). At home the decorations went up and the shining star was hung upon the highest bough of the tree. I didn’t truly understand what all of this meant. However, I felt its importance along with the spirit of Christmas joy and love.

Many criticize the Christmas season as just being about Santa Claus, gift buying and secular holiday music. Yes, Santa is now a myth that many identify with the holiday. However, the story was based on a real person, St. Nick. Some look forward to a white Christmas without thinking why? Yet there is a reason to enjoy a winter wonderland along with the brutality of the cold. There is a meaning behind gift giving that has nothing to do with malls. It can be a time to celebrate the companionship of family, friends and neighbors. Sometimes songs about Christ are played openly to proclaim the true reason for the season.

Despite all of this, I believe that the true spirit of Christmas can be a stepping stone to Christianity. I remember hearing songs about the Christ child, his star and the manger with the attentive animals. I was told that it was cold that holy night for all in attendance, yet all that mattered was the Noel. This left me with many questions and I later sought out the answers. For me it was the beginning of the journey.

I also enjoyed the spirit of the holidays that translated into shopping for trees, movies of the season like Miracle on 34th Street and that Toyland existed. We could say Merry Christmas without thinking that it was politically not correct to do so. We were encouraged to be with those that were dear to us and to be of good cheer. I saw songs of finding love at this time of year or of sharing loving feelings with others as indicative of the Christmas celebration.

It seemed to me to be a time set aside to take a break from the hate and violence of this world, no matter how naïve that sounds. There seems to be no end to the horrors of life that are in the news daily and life can be hard for many a soul. Christ’s birth was the beginning of hope that should be celebrated. True his time on earth and his ministry was ended by hate and violence but his triumph is what matters. What he gave to mankind is remembered at the time of his birth.

Hate and violence is still in the world today. It is on display in many ways but the greatest threat to “on earth peace to men of good will” is that of terrorism. It has been a year since the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California that took place on December 2, 2015. The married couple of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and injured 22 others at the Christmas party where Farook worked. The motive for the attack is not known but clues were left. They had been preparing for an attack for a long time.

It was reported (LA Times) that Malik stated on an online account that she felt Muslims should not have to attend work related Christian events. She said this after husband had attended a 2014 work event in the very room decorated for Christmas that the shooting took place. At the 2015 party Farook attended the work related part of the meeting, left and returned with Malik to shoot those attending the Christmas party. It is reasonable to assume that the celebration of Christmas was the impetus for the attack. A warning to all.

However, hate and violence will not prevail as love will triumph. The Star of Bethlehem (Christmas Star) could be a miracle event where God shone a heavenly light on the manger for all to see. But it could also be an astrological event that only learned men could understand. If it was just a star (or a planet, comet, supernova, etc.) in the night sky that glowed to announce the birth of the Son of God then this too is a miracle event. It is the miracle of God’s creation through his son Jesus Christ. The heavenly bodies that were created by the Word came into being with perfect alignment for his creation to witness and to be guided by. It is believed that Enoch was given knowledge of the heavens which means the heavenly bodies. This holy knowledge of the stars, Sun, Moon and planets was later corrupted by Babylon. The bible speaks against this corrupted form of reading the signs in the sky but not against seeking to understand His signs.

One of those signs is in Numbers 24:17, “I see him, but not now; I behold him but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a (kings) scepter will rise out of Israel. This prophecy is first about King David but also about the one who will sit on David’s throne: the King of the Jews, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the spirit of the Christmas season I wrote the following:

This Holy Star of Bethlehem Shining forth in the night Guiding those from afar For worship is this glorious light

A reign that descends from above The king to come and to be The wise to worship unseen His kingdom the angels do see

The star that shines everlasting From heaven’s threshold was he born His royal splendor lies within Humbleness no regal clothes adorn

The Anointed One is Christ To sit on David’s throne Being the Lion of Judah The world is His to own

A King crowned in heaven The stars proclaim across the land Born is the Son of Righteousness The rod of justice in his hand

The Shepherds were in awe As night the light did break Israel’s staff born unto them To shepherd the souls that ache

In darkness was the world Dying with lack of sight Crying out in pain and sickness Bring love’s healing light

His royal star to be seen To remind us of his birth He came to Bethlehem The king of heaven and earth

The song, O Holy Night inspired me to write this. I believe the words in this song say its worth. It is more than just a song of the birth of Christ. It speaks of the condition of mankind at the time of Christ’s birth: that man did not know his worth until Christ revealed it. The darkness wasn’t just the night, the darkness was in the soul of man and Christ brought the light into the world like the glorious morning. Fall on your knees before the Christ child, fall on your knees for redemption from sin. Open your spiritual ears and open your spiritual eyes to the angels giving glory. In loving one another we understand His gospel. His words will break the bondage of sin and we are to free the slave in his holy name. The night is holy because Christ is the Lord in word and deed.

Merry Christmas.