Christ in Christmas

(Christ)mas

by Julie Carter

Christmas- it’s the most wonderful time of the year. As Christians, we believe that this time of year is extremely special because Christmas is the time when we celebrate Jesus’ birth! However, in our secular society, many people no longer celebrate Christmas for that reason. People have made Christmas all about many different traditions such as Christmas trees, Santa Clause, and gift giving. However, many people do not realize that many of these traditions have connections to the true meaning of Christmas. For a long time, people thought that Jesus was born in the year 1 A.D., but it was more likely that he was born around 4 B.C., because Harod, who was alive when Jesus was born, died in what is about 5 B.C. This may seem strange because B.C. stands for “Before Christ.” However it was done this way so the person who developed the B.C. and A.D. calendar system, Dionysius Exiguus, an ancient Christian, probably didn’t know exactly when Harod died and therefore ended up doing the math wrong.

Next, Christmas is obviously on December 25, but why? Well, in the Roman calendar, December 25 was the winter solstice when the Romans celebrated the sun. Early Christians probably celebrated Jesus’ birth then because of the similarities of the sun, and the son of God who is referred to sometimes as the “Sun of Righteousness,” so it was easy to assimilate the two holidays together. Before Christmas trees became a Christan tradition, there were many pagan versions of a Christmas tree spanning from ancient Rome to European pagans in about 4 A.D. It switched to a Christian connection when, in theory, a monk named Boniface who was doing missionary work in Germany in 8 A.D. saw a pagan ritual around a giant oak tree dedicated to Thor. Boniface chopped down the tree, and when no godly punishment came, he began to evangelize to the pagans. He used an evergreen tree as a metaphor for Christ. He said the tree had vitality in the dark and bitter winter and has a conical shape pointing up to heaven. Germans later began to use what we know as traditional Christmas decorations in the 17th century. Many things that are associated with Christmas also connect to Christianity. For example, everyone knows Santa Claus, the jolly old man who checks his list twice and “who’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.” Santa Claus actually came from the story of Saint Nicholas, but some individuals might not know that his name has a connection to Christianity as well! Santa Claus came from two languages’ names for Saint Nicholas--the Dutch name “Sinter Claase” and the German “Sant Niklaas” were blended together over the years to get the name Santa Claus.

Additionally, Cristes Maesse, or Christ’s Mass was a Catholic mass, or communion service, held once a year to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Over time, the word was adapted into the word “Christmas” that we have today. Wrapping up the Christmas facts present-ed in this article, hopefully something can be taken away from it, whether it’s the origin of Christmas trees or that the author of this article just made a terrible pun. Either way, Merry Christmas!

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