We all have that friend. The friend who hates Christmas. They’re usually pretty passionate about what they believe, and that’s a good thing! Really. What’s the point of believing something if you’re not serious about it? But this particular argument is tired. We hear it every year (usually from the same people) and it’s always juuust the right shade of degrading: “Don’t you know Christmas is a pagan holiday?!”
Here’s the thing though, it’s not. They’re gonna come at you with all sorts of “historical facts” about Saturnalia or the winter solstice or Sol Invictus (the holiday, not the band). They’ll attack Christmas trees and wreaths and songs and presents. They’ll insist Jesus couldn’t have been born in the winter because “that’s not when the census was taken” or “how could shepherds be shepherding in winter” or “wise men” or ” the calendar changes and that’s why we’re all messed up with the timing” or literally any argument ever.
An actual picture of that person from elementary school, probably.
I know I’m a little late, but here are some tips for defending the celebration of the coolest doctrine, like, ever: the Incarnation.
- Ditch the Christmas tree argument
You’re not going to win this one. You just aren’t. We set up trees in our living room and decorate them with lights and gold and silver (tinsel) and put presents under them and sing songs to them and no one really knows why. It’s a weird tradition that started with Solstice celebration and it’s probably the weakest point of the Christian Christmas tradition to try to defend.
Aretha Franklin tho
- Brush up on your Judaic history
Here’s where the meat of the argument takes place. A lot of people get hung up on the date of Christmas. December 25th seems like an odd choice, because a fair amount of evidence seems to suggest a spring birth for Jesus. So why December 25th? Your friend will probably tell you the Catholic church picked that date to try to replace either the pagan solstice celebration, Saturnalia, or Sol Invictus (again the holiday, not the band), and thus, you’re celebrating the exact same thing the pagans were celebrating with a Christian twist (like that evil rock band SKILLET).
Here’s why that’s false. The real reason the church went with 12/25 surfaced in about 200 C.E. In John 19:14, we see Jesus’ “trial” and subsequent crucifixion and death taking place on the Day of Preparation. In the Jewish calendar, this is the 14th of Nisan (the month, not the car). Tertullian, in Adversus Iudaeos, translates that date to March 25th on the Roman calendar. Hippolytus, around the same time, does the same thing. One of them probably stole it from the other. Regardless, those two agreed on that and it was assumed from then on that Jesus died on 3/25/33.
“We’re not talking about when He died, idiot, we’re talking about when He was born.”
Good point. I can see how that’s confusing. In the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi Eliezer quotes: “In Nisan the world was created; in Nisan the Patriarchs were born; on Passover Isaac was born…and in Nisan they [our ancestors] will be redeemed in time to come.”
Master Bertram’s 14th-century Annunciation scene. The baby Jesus flies down from heaven on the back of a cross, carrying with him the promise of salvation through his death.
Still not seeing the point? Talmudic tradition is that creation and redemption occur alongside each other. Christ’s death brings redemption, so it follows that his death shares the date with his conception. It’s what any good Jewish Christian in that time would have believed.
All of that to say: Jewish Talmudic tradition led church fathers to believe Christ’s conception was March 25, thus making his birth December 25. So that’s why we celebrate then, not because we were ripping off pagan holidays. Besides, Saturnalia is December 17-23 and Sol Invictus began in like 275 C.E., almost a full century after this whole Jesus’ December 25 birth thing was decided (the band started in 1987).
So yeah, he probably wasn’t born in December. But we celebrate his birth then. And that’s ok! And it’s not pagan! Some of our traditions kind of are, but the date itself isn’t. Isn’t that dope?
Seriously though whose idea was it to tell kids this dude is watching them sleep?
- Remember your goal What’s the point of arguing with people? Is there a point? I hope so, cuz we seem to do it a lot. We’re trying to learn and grow and understand each other. At least, that’s the way conflict and arguments should be: we should be seeking to understand other people and what they’re thinking and feeling. If you’re not doing that, you should probably shut up and listen for a couple minutes every time other people talk (I mean that in the nicest way possible). We celebrate Christmas because we celebrate Christ. Glorify God and love people. Listen well and be respectful. It’s not super hard. Let’s have a super dope 2015.
