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+ | =='''History of Christmas'''== | ||
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+ | Having surveyed the subject of festivals in scripture we will briefly consider the origin and story of Christmas observance, I will not go into great detail on this subject as any encyclopaedia will give most of the required information. | ||
+ | The early church, as we have seen, simply did not observe Christmas. Until the 5th century there was no consensus of opinion as to when it should be observed. Jan 6th and March 25th were rival dates. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica December 25th was originally a Mithraic festival, the natalis invicti solis, or birthday of the unconquered sun. It seems clear that the time of the winter solstice was generally a time of pagan festivity. | ||
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+ | Before proceeding we must ask some controversial and radical questions. After the departure of the original apostles, did the church steadily grow into maturity, or did it steadily decline into darkness? Was the establishment of Christianity under Constantine as Rome's official religion a triumph or a tragedy? Was the "Christianising" of heathen places of worship and customs a wise and generous compromise, or was it departure from the truth? | ||
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+ | I would submit that Scripture and history unite to testify that the organised church went progressively into darkness rather than into light. In general the church steadily lost the spiritual dimension of the New Covenant. Then, instead of simply retreating into the truths of the Old Covenant, its leaders like Jeroboam of old produced idols and festivals out of their own hearts to satisfy the people; or perhaps to be more accurate, they turned to paganism for their inspiration! Consequently the period when the church held undisputed sway over all Europe has become known to historians with unbelievable irony as the dark ages. | ||
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+ | The date of Christmas is clearly heathen, but what about its customs? Where do they come from? In fact they come from many different sources all of which are pagan and were gradually added over the centuries. The decorating of homes and giving of presents comes from the Roman Saturnalia. Mistletoe comes from the druids. The Saxons used holly and ivy. The emphasis on lights and fires probably comes from the original sun worship at the darkest time of the year. The Christmas tree appears to be of German origin. | ||
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+ | More significant perhaps than these customs, whose origin has largely been forgotten, is the central religious theme of Christmas: the worship of the mother and child. The ancient Babylonians worshipped a goddess mother and her son and this worship appears to have spread throughout the ancient cultures. At Christmas this ancient idolatry appears annually disguised as Mary and Jesus. | ||
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+ | In mediaeval times the "merrymaking" aspect became particularly strong. This included eating, drinking, carol singing, dancing and pantomimes. Ceremonies were directed by a man whose official title was the "Lord of Misrule". | ||
+ | Christmas was forbidden in England by act of parliament by the Puritans under Cromwell, but revived with the restoration under King Charles II. In Scotland it has only become a public holiday in the last 30 years. | ||
+ | A minority of Christians, notably among the Brethren, have rejected Christmas in recent times. | ||
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+ | Read more [[Christmas and other Festivals (section)]] | ||
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Revision as of 14:51, 3 December 2013
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