In recent years I have been becoming alarmed at the increasing commercialization of Christmas and the exploitation of the event. I have known for years that 25th December is not the day on which Jesus was born. So why are we celebrating it?
For me as a child and somewhat through my adult life, Christmas was a day of expectation, presents, feasting on special food and family. I accepted presents as part of the feast, and the decorated tree, and Christmas carols, and festive decorations in the house.
But the Jews do not have a feast for birthdays, neither the Romans of the time. However, around December 17-25 (Julian calendar) there was a feast of Saturnalia in honor of the deity Saturn. The feast included the leveling of social custom and hierarchy, feasting, gift giving and sacrifice.
Around the 4th century CE the Christians of the time incorporated the feast and especially 25th December into the calendar hoping to attract 'pagans' to Christianity if they were allowed to keep the feast and custom of Saturnalia. They were somewhat successful and a lot of people converted to Christianity, but the customs of Saturnalia lived on, even to today in the feasts, gift giving, decorations and so forth.
We also had a Christmas tree in the house, decorated with all kinds of decorations and with a shining star on top, symbolizing the start that went ahead and showed the way to the 3 Wise Men and come to a stop above the place where Jesus was borne. It did not say anything about a tree in the Bible however Jeremiah 10: 2-5 spoke about something that looks like a Christmas tree, and it was used for pagan worship.
Personally, I do not feel comfortable with Christmas celebrations as it is being done today, and reading some of the background is making me more uncomfortable. Christmas, the high point of the Christian calendar, have its roots and customs in pagan worship.
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