Calculating Christmas

Touchstone ^ | December 21, 2003 | William J. Tighe

[siunevada]

Calculating Christmas William J. Tighe on the Story Behind December 25

Many Christians think that Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25th because the church fathers appropriated the date of a pagan festival. Almost no one minds, except for a few groups on the fringes of American Evangelicalism, who seem to think that this makes Christmas itself a pagan festival. But it is perhaps interesting to know that the choice of December 25th is the result of attempts among the earliest Christians to figure out the date of Jesus’ birth based on calendrical calculations that had nothing to do with pagan festivals.

Rather, the pagan festival of the “Birth of the Unconquered Son” instituted by the Roman Emperor Aurelian on 25 December 274, was almost certainly an attempt to create a pagan alternative to a date that was already of some significance to Roman Christians. Thus the “pagan origins of Christmas” is a myth without historical substance.

A Mistake

The idea that the date was taken from the pagans goes back to two scholars from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Paul Ernst Jablonski, a German Protestant, wished to show that the celebration of Christ’s birth on December 25th was one of the many “pagan-izations” of Christianity that the Church of the fourth century embraced, as one of many “degenerations” that transformed pure apostolic Christianity into Catholicism. Dom Jean Hardouin, a Benedictine monk, tried to show that the Catholic Church adopted pagan festivals for Christian purposes without paganizing the gospel.

William J. Tighe, a Touchstone correspondent, is Associate Professor of History at Muhlenberg College. He refers interested readers to Thomas J. Talley’s The Origins of the Liturgical Year (The Liturgical Press). A draft of this article appeared on the listserve Virtuosity.

[jrny]

OK, I’ve had a “weird” fascination with the concept of Solar Time recently. Solar Time is basically the true, natural time that a sundial would measure. Solar Time does vary from the standard time...as much as 16 minutes fast or slow (plus latitudinal corrections besides) because the earth’s orbit is elliptical.

What does this have to do with Christmas?
Coincidental or not, December 25th. is one of the 4 days of the year when Solar Time and Standard Time (i.e. Greenwich Mean Time) match exactly.

[jrny]

“Latitudinal”- that should be longitudinal. How far East or West of the center of a time zone is a factor in the calculating the difference of solar vs. standard time.

[Pyro7480]

I wonder if that’s because it’s close to the Solstice.

[joebuck]

"Of course, even if Christmas were chosen to coincide with a pagan celebration, that argument would be nonsense. For centuries, the major holiday of the West has been Christmas, and the words of the carols that have been sung by centuries (and often developed from folk music) show that people were celebrating the Birth of Christ."

Roger that. Some get so caught up with the trival. If the Gospels tell me anything it's what's in my heart is all that's important and it should be right with God. If I approach Dec. 25th in a Spirit of complete submission and gratitude for the birth of my Savior and celebrate this event in joy, witnessing and song, always realizing that my actions are the only Bible many will read.....well....I think Jesus will be alright with this. His only comment might be to ask if I can't, maybe, try to do a better job of this all the other days too. And, as always, he'll be right.

[Uri’el-2012]

The question is whether you believe and trust the Holy Word of Elohim
or you trust the traditions of man

Yah'shua's birth on Sukkot is supported by Elizabeth's pregnancy of John the Immerser.
The time sequence is outlined by the Holy Word of Elohim in Luke 1 with Zacharias.

Zacharias served as a high priest and based on his tribe, we know when he served
and when he was struck dumb and when John was conceived.

John would have been born on Pesach. Most Jews believed that Elijah would come at
Pesach to announce the coming of the Messiah

Factor in when Miriam visited her cousin
Elizabeth, timing of Yah'shua's birth can be ascertained.

Nine months back from Sukkot is Chanukah where the light entered the temple.

shalom b'shem Yah'shua

[Thorin]

Good post.

[Salvation]

BTTT!

[jrny]

It has more to do with the earth being at perihelion on January 2nd. than the winter solstice. As the earth is closest to the sun in January, its speed increases. Hence, in early November, Solar Time was 16 minutes ahead of standard time, and by mid February, it will be 16 minutes behind. Christmas Day falls right in the middle of the progression. Check out this link. http://www.sundials.org/faq/

Sorry, if I’ve taken this post off topic,but I honestly believe the Church knew something about this astronomic fact when determining the date of Christmas.