The Doctor Is In

the christmas story part 4

Now at this point, it might be good to stop and consider a question that people often ask at this time of year. That question is this: Is Christmas as we know it today, the actual date of Jesus' birth? Well, it may come as a surprise to many people to find out that December 25th was originally chosen as the date of Jesus' birth to in order to set up a "Christian holiday" as an alternative to an ancient Roman festival known as the festival of Saturnalia which was also held at that time of year.

The Saturnalia festival or "festival of the sun" was held each year around the time of the winter solstice. For those of you who may not be into the study of this kind of stuff, the "winter solstice" is a term that identifies the shortest day of the year (there is also a "summer solstice" that occurs in the month of June that marks the longest day of the year).

One feast that was held during this time was the Sol Invictus or the feast of the "invincible sun" and it celebrated the fact that shortest day of the year had passed and the days were about to grow longer once again. The whole Saturnalia festival was also said to be a non-stop blowout of drunkenness and feasting that often featured practical jokes, drinking, gambling and lots of immorality. Of course, many people celebrate Christmas in much the same way today so perhaps things haven't changed as much as we might like to think.

Anyway, the celebration of Jesus' birth on December 25th first started to became popular in the fourth century and while this date seems somewhat unlikely as a candidate for the exact date of Jesus' birth, it's still not totally impossible. You see, it's difficult to work out the exact time of year that Jesus was born from the information that's given to us in the Bible. In fact, even the year of Jesus' birth is uncertain, although scholar-types generally believe that it occurred around 4 B.C. or four years "Before Christ." This, of course, puts us in the somewhat awkward position of saying that Christ was born "Before Christ" but that's the way it is.

So with these things in mind, let's ask this question: is it wrong to celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th? Well, the New Testament book of Romans tells us this: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). We could apply this verse to our question by saying that if someone wants to celebrate Jesus' birth on December 25th, then they should go ahead and do so because people are free to dedicate certain days to God as long as they remain convinced that they are doing the right thing.

Of course, someone who wants to celebrate Jesus' birth on some other day of the year is also free to do so as well. Remember, "...some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable" (NLT).

Since we're on the subject of holiday traditions, let's take a moment to look at another well-known holiday tradition: Christmas trees. Have you ever wondered how a decorated tree inside a house got started as a Christmas tradition? Well believe it or not, the Christmas tree traces it's origins to the ancient non-Christian peoples of Europe.

You see, the winter seasons were often very severe in northern Europe. Because of this, the ancient people of that area often blamed evil spirits for the arrival of winter when most of the existing plant life appeared to die. However, there were a few trees and other plants that seemed to be unaffected by the brutal winter weather and somehow stayed "alive" while everything else "died" during that time of year. Those trees were the evergreen trees, along with other evergreens such as holly and mistletoe.

These trees and plants were thought to offer protection for people against the life-threatening evil of the cold winter darkness and over time, people eventually came to believe that wherever these evergreens were, evil spirits could not go. So people began to bring these trees and plants into their homes and decorate them as a sign of worship.

For example, garlands made of evergreens were hung around people's homes and this is where the tradition to "Deck the halls with boughs of holly" got started. In Scandinavian countries, evergreens were "sacrificed" to encourage the return of the sun. This is where the modern-day tradition of burning the "Yule Log" comes from. The ancient people of what is now known as Germany were probably the first people to place lights on their trees in the form of candles.

So it seems that there is no real historical evidence to connect things like Christmas trees with Jesus' birth. But does that mean that it's wrong for Christians to put up a Christmas tree or hang evergreen wreathes and garland during the holidays?

Well, you might think of it like this: when an artist like a musician or painter becomes a Christian, that person will often take those same creative talents, skills, and abilities that they once used for ungodly purposes and rededicate them for use in a way that honors God.

In a sense, we can also look at many of the symbolic elements of Christmas (like a Christmas tree, for example) in much the same way. In other words, Christians can take these symbols that were once used for ungodly purposes and now use them in a way that shows respect for God and honors Him.

For example, here are a few traditional Christmas symbols along with the new symbolic meanings of those elements for Christians throughout the world...

Evergreen tree: symbolizes everlasting life through Jesus (John 10:27-28)
Lights: Jesus is the light of the world (John 18:12)
Gifts: "…the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
Star at the top of a Christmas tree: represents the star of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:2)
Angels: represents the angel who announced Jesus' birth (Luke 2:10-11)
Ornaments/Decorations: symbolizes the joyous celebration of the Savior's birth

The Doctor is not a real doctor but he plays one on the Internet. E-Mail prescriptions are also available on an individual basis.

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