25/12/2020
Christmas - was derived from the combination of two words - “Christ” and “Mass”. it was also called the Mass for Christ. In Greek “Mass” means a big gathering of people. Thus CHRISTMAS means a big gathering of Christians which was introduced by early Church fathers. It is the annual festival held by the Christian Church to commemorate the birth of Christ. It begins with the evening of December 24 called Christmas eve and continues to January 6, the whole period being called Christmas tide. It is more particularly observed on December 25 which is called Christmas day or simply Christmas. However, it is a pity to observe that. Jesus Christ, who is the object of the celebration has often been neglected during the season. Instead, it has become a holiday for gluttonous eating, drinking of alcohol, riotous merry-making and other unholy practices.
In today’s message, I’m going take us through the historical background of Christmas for us to appreciate why and how the world today has neglected the person of the Saviour for whose sake the celebration was established, and instead rhas commercialized the event and turned the festivities into a season of lawlessness, immorality, extortion, and unrest- rained carnal lusts. Long before Jesus Christ was born and before the clebration of Christmas, some religious ceremonies were held in December in ancient Rome, Greece and Babylon. Examples are the :
Saturnalia
Bacchanalia
Mithraism etc
SATURNALIA
I will start with addressing the festival called Saturnalia. Mythology has it that Saturn is an ancient Roman god who taught the people agriculture and other arts of civilization. He helped to usher in a period of prosperity and peace in the Roman Empire known as the Golden Age. The feast of Saturnalia in early Rome, was celebrated for seven days in honour of Saturn from 17th- 24th of December and was marked by the spirit of merriment, gift-giving to children, and other forms of entertainment. There was lawlessness and high level of immorality. During the Saturnalia festival, held in his memory of Saturn every December, masters and slaves shared the same table as a sign that no social divisions existed during the Golden Age. A week day is named after Saturn called Saturday which is means the day of Saturn.
The next festival I will talk about is BACCHANALIA -
Bacchus was the god of wine and drunken or**es and revelry. Bacchanalia was a Roman festival celebrated for three days each year in December in honour of Bacchus. The drunken or**es and other excesses which characterised the festival eventually caused its prohibition in 186 BC
MITHRAISM - Mithras was an ancient Persian god of light and the sun. The worship of the sun occurred among many ancient people especially in agrarian societies in which survival depended on the light and heat of the sun to bring crops to fruition. The daily journey of the sun across the sky and its nightly appearance and morning resurrection as well as the occurrence of sola eclipses, formed a mystery that inspired religious feeling among ancient people who developed various rituals and sacrifices to honour and placate the sun which was regarded as a life-force. The sun appears as an element of religion and mythology in cultures as divergent as those in Africa, Mesopotamia, Greece, England, Aztec, Mexico, etc
Mithraism was the worship of the ancient Persian god by the cult of Mithra. From 68 BC, the mystery cult rapidly spread from Persia through the Roman Empire and on to the western Mediterranean and got into Gaul and Britain. It was embraced especially by soldiers, merchants and citizens in the upper class of society. It was a personal faith emphasizing the conflict of good and evil, and reward of virtue and punishment of wickedness in the after life.
There were seven stages of initiation into the cult, completion of which conferred immortality to the initiate. The most important ritual was the slaying of a bull, which symbolized the conquest of evil and death. Mithraism later became one of the most powerful religious movements in the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. Mithranism, along with other non-christian religious sects suffered after the conversion of Constan- tine and gradually died out. Significantly, Mithras’ birth was commemorated on Dece- mber 25.
Mithraism, among others, like Saturnalia and Bacchanalia became Christianity’s most serious rival. Early Christians made great efforts to replace the pagan feasts with the celebration of Christmas in order to preserve the Christian faith . Later on, in the year 533 AD, Constantine the head of the then Roman Church, which is today known as the Roman Catholic Church changed the day of pagan festival to the day to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. However, a number of practices associated with the worship of the sun god were assimilated and combined with religious ceremonies surrounding Christmas and remain to this date as a part of the observance of Christmas. For example, the use of lighted tapers reminds us of Jewish feast of purification. The giving of presents was a Roman custom; while the yule tree and the yule log are remnants of old Teutonic nature worship. Gradually Christmas festival was reduced to mere riotous merry-making as we can observe today.
As a result of the adulteration of Christmas, the puritans in England and New England tried to abolish Christmas, but that move was not received, and Christmas survived and has been developed commercially since the Industrial Revolution. This has been the reason for fixing Christmas festivities in December in the traditional Church calendar.
Christianity regards the birth of Christ as significant and important for the understanding of his person and mission on earth. The birth stories contained in the Gospels were Old Testament prophesies concerning his birth that were fulfilled. As earlier said, the date was chosen to counter the December pagan festivities connected with the winter solstice, since 247 AD, under the Emperor Aurelian,
You will notice that some Christian groups refrain from celebrating Christmas on the grounds that the introduction of pagan practices have destroyed the original significance of the occasion. They cite the use of Christmas trees and the yule log, among other things as examples of the paganization of Christmas celebrations.
Christmas holiday and the celebration of Christmas have been generally accepted by the circular world and majority of Christians. As a child of God, having historically known how Christmas came into existence and corrupted with pagan practices, any time Christmas holiday is declared, it should be for appreciating the reason for the birth of Christ and also be seen as providing the opportunity for earnest worship and witness bearing for Christ and not conforming to the world in glutinous feasting and riotous marry-making. May the Lord grant you wisdom and understanding through this message to conduct yourself in the proper way and to the glory of God in Jesus name. Let us pray.
He has suddenly become the personality more prominently featured during Christmas season?
History identifies FATHER CHRISTMAS as Saint Nicholas of Myra.and one of the most popular saints in Christiandom. He was the bishop of a Christian Church in Myra, in Lycia, Anatolia.
He is sometimes referred to as Saint Nicholas of Bari, because his remains were he has suddenly become the personality more prominently featured during Christmas season?
History identifies FATHER CHRISTMAS as Saint Nicholas of Myra.and one of the most popular saints in Christiandom. He was the bishop of a Christian Church in Myra, in Lycia, Anatolia. He is sometimes referred to as Saint Nicholas of Bari, because his remains were upposedly transferred there in 1087. He was known to have suffered imprisonment under the Roman Emperor, Diocletian. His reputation for generosity and compassion is best exemplified in the legend that relates how Nicholas saved the three daughter of a poor man from a life of prostitution. On three separate occasions the bishop is said to have tossed a bag of gold through the family’s window, thus providing a dowry to procure for each daughter an honourable marriage. The story provides the foundation for the custom, which is still being followed in many countries of giving gifts on Saint Nocholas day and boxing day during Christmas season. Its instructive to note that “Christmas Box” was the money (tips) given at Christmas to garbage collectors, public servants and others who provide a service throughout the year. Boxing Day is the week day after Christmas, a legal holiday in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa which has been adopted by Nigeria due to British influence.
Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of Russia and Greece, children, merchants and also sailors. Variations of his name goes from Saint Nikolaas to Sante Klaas, SANTA CLAUS; he is known as father Christmas in England, Grand father frost in Russia, Pere Noel in France and Saint Nick in the the United States.
Saint Nicholas is celebrated December 6 of every year. Many European countries celebrate his day with a lot of fanfare, pomp and pageantry. The December 6 date for honouring and celebrating Saint Nicholas seems to have overlapped and overshadowed Christmas Day and the person of Jesus Christ whose birth we are commemorating. But God says in scriptures : “I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8). Scripture does not encourage or command the veneration of any departed saint. The only one whose death and resurrection should be remembered often is that of Jesus Christ. This is done through the observance of the Holy Communion, or the Lord’s feast. This is to continue until the return of the Lord (I Corinthians 11:23-28; Matthew 26:26-30).
Anything done otherwise contradicts the scripture and could amount to idolatry. This is instructive for us as children of God,that Jesus only is the reason for the season and He should be the one to be exalted at Christmas. Jesus only and Jesus forever.
