It’s Christmas Eve; this day has long been a favourite of mine. I remember as a child waking up on December 24, nearly vibrating with excitement for what was to come! Yes, the presents were terribly exciting, and the arrival of a jolly old elf with special things just for me certainly was alluring. My favourite part though, even from a young age, was seeing people I didn’t get to see often. My father was one of four children, and my mother one of nine. Most of the relatives lived near by, so distance wasn’t an issue. Life was just so busy though, and often months would go by without seeing my favourite cousins, aunt and uncles.
At Christmastime, we all came together for delicious food (chips and dip at nana’s house and aunt Maribeth’s peanut brittle among my highlights) and revelry with each other.
And then, in my teen years, a friend of mine who was Christian at the time and is moreso now (having been a missionary around the world and now teaches at a Christian college in the United States) told me that it was commonly known that in fact Jesus was not born in December at all.
Did you know that? Because let me tell you: I did not, and I was shocked!
I think it was this tidbit of information that started me on my Spiritual journey.
Anyway – it turns out she was right. Just as all those pictures depicting Jesus as a white man are inaccurate, so is the world’s biggest birthday party. So why did the Church choose December 25 to mark the birth of Jesus?
Well, there are a lot of reasons as it turns out. You can click here for a fairly detailed explanation. It is commonly held that it was a reclaimed Pagan festival day. You see, as Christianity worked to achieve dominance, it aligned it’s holidays and feast days with the other faith systems they were trying to absorb. It was easier to accept the Christian doctrine if they didn’t have to change their long-held traditions, and so, the Church was flexible.
The Winter Solstice – also knows as Yule – was an important holiday, as it celebrates the lengthening of the days. This page has a great explanation of the holiday and it’s traditions. I love it because it informed me about where modern-day traditions came from. For example, the Christmas tree. It’s always an evergreen tree; why is that? Well, it turns out that it was an important symbol in pagan Yule because it did not die. That handily transitioned to the Christian faith, since they preach that through Jesus humanity are given everlasting life.
Whatever your faith, your beliefs, your traditions, I hope that you have a blessed few days filled with all the things that make your heart sing. As for me, I will wish you a Merry Christmas.
Love & Light,
m