A previous column explored the origins of Santa Claus and various traditions around the Jolly Old Elf. This week we’re going to explore some of the other customs of the Christmas season.
Norse people began the tradition of bringing Christmas indoors. Of course they weren’t celebrating the birth of Christ since their practice predated his birth. Early Vikings brought in pine boughs as a symbol that life continued even through long and harsh winters. They also believed that these pine boughs repelled evil spirits and provided protection against illness. It was the Germans who began to cut down evergreens and bring them inside. Legend has it that Martin Luther was out for a walk and saw stars twinkling through the evergreen boughs and that inspired the concept of decorations on the tree. The Germans first hung apples and candles on their trees. Those apples eventually became the inspiration for the Christmas bulbs and ornaments that we now hang on our trees.
It was in the 1830’s that Christmas trees began to appear in homes throughout the United States. German settlers first brought them to this country when they settled in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until 1889 that a Christmas tree graced the White House, during the administration of President Benjamin Harrison. A little more than a decade later another president would ban Christmas trees from the White House. President Theodore Roosevelt was an ardent conservationist and felt that denuding forests for a temporary celebration that permanently killed trees was wasteful and unnecessary. Of course today’s Christmas trees are grown expressly for harvesting for the Christmas season in a sustainable fashion.
Jesus of Nazareth is a real person, whether or not he is the Son of God is up to your personal religious conviction but both Jewish and Roman historical records corroborate his physical existence on this earth. Using clues from the Nativity stories in the Bible we can determine his actual birthday. On thing is clear, Christ’s birthday is definitely not December 25th.
Shepherds only watch their flocks by night when the sheep are lambing and that takes place in the spring. King Herod, when told about the “birth of the King”, ordered the Slaughter of the Innocents in an effort to kill the infant Jesus (Joseph, Mary and Jesus had fled to Egypt and so missed the slaughter). Herod died in 4 B.C.E. so Christ must have been born prior to that date.
Modern day astronomers believe that there was a “Star of Bethlehem” in the form of a celestial event. Michael Molnar of the Physics and Astronomy Department of Rutgers University identified just such an event. There is an ancient coin that commemorates this manifestation. It has Zeus on the front and Aries looking at a star on the back. Zeus is a god but also represents the planet Jupiter. Zodiac signs also corresponded to ancient kingdoms and Aries is associated with Judea. Using those facts and associations, combined with Jupiter rising in the East in conjunction with other planets and the moon creating the effect of the Star of Bethlehem would make Jesus’ birthday April 17 of 6 B.C.E.
So, if Christ was born in the spring why say his birthday is December 25th? There were pagan celebrations on that date, Saturnalia a celebration of the Sun in ancient Rome for one. The early Church found it was difficult to convert people cold turkey from their pagan beliefs to Christianity. It was better to ease them from paganism to Christianity and part of that transition involved coopting pagan dates and festivals then turning them into Christian holidays. Thus the celebration of Mithra, the god of the Sun, on December 25th was turned into a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Son of God instead.
The magi brought gifts fit for the baby Christ Child; gold for a king, frankincense signifying a priest and myrrh representative of a prophet – reflecting the multiple roles that Jesus would play for Christendom. Christmas has meaning beyond presents and symbols. We all should strive to remember that and to embody the spirit of the season all year long.