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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
December, 1938
Reverently, but not dogmatically, this writer discusses an old question —
Oiristmas: Should Christians Observe It?
By LOU IS S. B A UM A N * Long Beach, California Illustrations b y Ransom D. Marvin
C HRISTMAS, we are sometimes told, is a holiday that no Christian should commemorate. I have in my posses sion a tract in which some very well-mean ing evangelical Christians declare that the celebration of Christmas is a “work of the devil.” This author of the tract contends that December 25 cannot be the date of our Lord’s birth; and that when we celebrate that date, in reality we signalize an old pa gan festival, the Roman Saturnalia. He further pleads: "In God's name, we implore you to stand for Christ and Him crucified as against these heathenish follies." It is true that the Roman Saturnalia came
"It cam e to pass in th ose d a ys, that th ere w en t ou t a d e cr e e from C aesar Augustus, that all th e w orld shou ld be taxed . . . A nd,all w en t to b e taxed, e v e r y o n e to his o w n c ity ” (Lk. 2: 1, 3) . This was an unusual decree, compelling every man (and woman) to make a journey back to the city where he was bom, there to be registered for taxing purposes. Surely, in that day, with such means of travel as men then possessed, many having to make the journey on foot, as astute a politician as Augustus Caesar never would have chosen the most inhospitable season of the year as the time when the journey must be made. December 25— A Date to be Celebrated It is certain that the early Christians must have been cognizant of these three facts. They lived back so olose to the time of our Lord’s first advent, that they surely must have possessed much information that we do not have. Now, if it is true that Christ was not bom on December 25, then just why did they celebrate December 25? At this point we shall recall that there was another great festival known to have been celebrated as a great day among Christians during the earlier days of our Christian era. That festival was known as "M ichaelmas,” or, from our definition of “mass,” " M ichael-sent ." Just what was the purpose of this great Christian holiday? Smith, in his D ictionary o f Antiquities (1893), Vol. II, p. 1177, (3 )—says: “W e now pass on to consider in the third place, the commemoration of September 29, the festival of Michael mas, par ex cellen ce. It does not ap- [C ontinued on p a g e 418]
cember 25 as the date of our Lord’s nativity. The word "mass," says Webster, comes from the Latin and the verb root literally means “to send." Therefore “Christ-mass," or " Christmas ” 1 literally means “Christ- sen t.” Keep that fact in mind. December 25— Not the Date of Christ's Birth The present writer believes, with many others, that December 25 is not the date on which our Lord was born in Bethlehem. There are three very good reasons for re
jecting that date as the date of His birth. First, the Scrip tures inform us that “there w e r e . . . shepherds abiding in the field” (Lk. 2 : 8) the night our Lord was bom. It so happens that December 25 does not fall within the season when shep herds watch their flocks in the fields by night. It never has been so. The fields in Palestine are without prov
at the same time of the year that we give to the celebra tion of Christmas. However, suppose that Christ’s birth d a y r e a lly had fallen at the time of the S a t u r n a l i a , would that fact be a sufficient reason for us to refuse to celebrate the natal day of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Some may say that Christmas was the creation of pa pal Rome. How
ender at that time of year, and the nights are too cold for human beings so to “abide.” In th e seco n d p la ce, Mary in her very delicate condition, hardly would have been making a trip at that time of the year, over those hills 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, on such roads as then existed. In th e third p la ce, the Word of God tells us.
ever, the writings of the early church fa thers assure us that Christmas (December 25) was a day known and hallowed among Christians before ever a pope was enthron ed in Rome. In the Stromata of Clement of Alexandria, at the beginning of the third century, we find the earliest allusion to De-
*P astor, F irst B rethren Church
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