Preparations for Christmas has started, and at this time of year, I am often asked, or I explain to our Muslim Youth about Christmas and whilst we should respect the beliefs and customs of other faiths, but they should not be actively participating in it as it is not one of our celebrations. In this newsletter, I thought I would give the history and customs that have developed about Christmas, but I do not want to be the Grinch and spoil Christmas for anyone, so if you do not want to know, please stop reading now.
When was Jesus born?
Christmas Day is celebrated around the world on 25th December, but was this really when Jesus, may peace be upon him, was born? The Holy Qur’an relates:
So she (Mary) conceived him, and withdrew with him to a remote place. And the pains of child-birth drove her unto the trunk of a palm-tree. Chapter 19, verse 24
The Holy Qur’an relates:
“And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree; it will drop upon thee fresh ripe dates” Chapter 19, verse 26
According to these verses, the birth of Jesus took place when fresh dates are found on palm-trees in Palestine. That season is in the months of August-September!
The Holy Bible relates:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” Luke, Chapter 2, verses 7-8
According to these verses, the birth of Jesus took place when shepherds were watching their flocks at night, which is the lambing season, not in the winter, but around the months of August-September!
So how then did we get the date of 25th December?
It is generally felt that in the fourth century, (340AD) the fathers of the Church chose this date to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
Why chose the date of 25th December?
The pagans worshipped the winter solstice on this date. A major festival was held to celebrate the birth of the sun! To appease the pagans who have converted to Christianity, they changed it from the Worship of the Sun to the Worship of the…Son of God!
This fact is an accepted view of many commentators of the Bible, but it is rarely mentioned:
“There is, moreover, no authority for the belief that December 25 was the actual birthday of Jesus”
Rise of Christianity by Bishop Barns
‘The exact day and year of Christ’s birth have never been satisfactory settled; but then the fathers of the Church in A.D. 340 decided upon a date to celebrate the event, they wisely chose the day of the winter solstice which was firmly fixed in the minds of the people and which was their most important festival.’
Encyclopedia Britannica
‘In the second place the winter solstice was regarded as the birthday of the sun, and at Rome 25th December was observed as a pagan festival of the nativity of Sol-Invictus. The Church, unable to stamp out this popular festival, spiritualized it as the feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness.’
Chambers Encyclopedia
Why should we be concerned which was the correct date for the birth of Jesus?
Jesus prophesied the coming of the ‘Comforter’, which we believe was fulfilled by the coming of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and one of the roles of this comforter was:
‘He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine and shall shew it unto you.’
John 16:14
The Holy Qur’an, the Word of God, has removed many false allegations against Jesus, like his birth, mission and death, and thereby has ‘glorified’ Jesus by stating the truth.
Not only has it cleared the allegation on his mother of whether it was a ‘virgin birth’ but stated that she was indeed pure, and a virgin and it was Allah who brought about this birth as a sign and a warning for the Jews, a last chance for them to change and reform. But it also clears the allegation of when he was born – that it shouldn’t have been taken to appease man and allow them to worship the sun or worship the son of god.
In Islam, we do not celebrate the birthday of the Holy Prophet, may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, or any prophet, but instead recognize their life and example and remind ourselves of what they said and achieved, to help us purify ourselves. This is the best way to celebrate the life of a prophet.
Church cancelled Christmas!
By the Middle Ages, Christians celebrated Christmas, by attending the church and then celebrating, partying and drinking.
In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas.
By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday. The pilgrims, English separatists that went to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America.
From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston.
It wasn’t until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas.
In 1891, Washington Irving wrote a series of stories about the celebration of Christmas and wanted to promote Christmas as a peaceful, warm-hearted holiday to bring together people.
He implied that his ‘invented tradition’ was actually the true customs of the season.
Also, around this time, Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story’s message – the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind – struck a powerful chord in the Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday. Christmas provided families with a day when they could lavish attention and gifts on their children without appearing to “spoil” them.
Traditions of Christmas!
Father Christmas
The legend of Father Christmas aka Santa Claus can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas who was born in Turkey around 280 AD. St. Nicholas gave away all of his inherited wealth and travelled the countryside helping the poor and sick.
Dutch for Saint Nicholas is ‘Sint Nikolaas’ or ‘Sinter Klaas’ for short – Santa Claus
In 1822, minister Clement Clarke Moore wrote a Christmas poem called ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas.” The poem depicted Santa Claus as a jolly man who flies from home to home on a sled driven by reindeer to deliver toys. The iconic version of Santa Claus as a jolly man in red with a white beard and a sack of toys was drawn in 1881 by Thomas Nast.
It took many years for authors and illustrators to agree that Father Christmas’s costume should be portrayed as red. Mass media approval of the red costume came following a Coca-Cola advertising campaign that was launched in 1931.
Christmas Tree
Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well.
Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return. Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes.
Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, first added lighted candles to a tree.
In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree.
Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and it immediately became fashionable— The Christmas tree had arrived.
Rudolph the red nose reindeer
Rudolph, “the most famous reindeer of all,” was the product of Robert L. May’s imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to help lure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.
Names of the nine reindeer (were eight) are :-
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph
Giving gifts
Gift giving was a pagan practice of ancient Rome at the time of the winter solstice, when they celebrated the Saturnlia holiday.
With Christmas been given the date of 25th Dec., they linked the gift giving with the story of the 3 wise men and Saint Nicholas, who was known for gift giving. It was also linked to ‘Good King Wenceslas’
Story of the 3 Wise Men.
According to Matthew…Not mentioned in other gospels!
- Jesus was born in Bethlehem
- Herod, the King heard prophecy in Jerusalem
- Sent wise men from the east to Bethlehem
- Saw a star in the east – stood over child
- came to worship him! Warned not to return
- Brought gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh
Was star Halley’s comet?
- Appeared in 12BC, some feel it could have been the star of Bethlehem
- Not sure when Jesus was actually born.
- Comets, known as a sign for prophets, Promised Messiah, peace be upon him, also mentioned it.
- But for it to appear and then stand over child, very unlikely!
- Contrary to popular Christmas tradition, the Bible does not say how many. It is a guess due to the three gifts.
- Nor were they kings, given later on.
- They were ma’goi or Magi – Zoroastrianism
- The word likely refers to experts in astrology and other occult practices – magic.
Why then the interest in Jewish prophecy?
- Matthew seems to be trying to attach Jesus’s birth to Jewish prophesy – about the coming of the Messiah
- Psalm 72:10-15 ‘Kings shall bring presents and fall down before him’ – mentions gold
- Matthew also tries to link Jesus, peace be upon him, to David, peace be upon him,
- Matthew 1:1 ‘Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham’
- Matthew 1:20 ‘Joseph, thou son of David’
- But Joseph was not the father of Jesus!
- Holy Qur’an 19:29 – Jesus son of Maryam, sister of Aaron – related it to the Priestly class
Story of the King Herod
When Herod realized the Magi was not returning, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, to kill the prophesied King of the Jews! They fled to Egypt. Herod died in 4BC when they supposedly returned.
Most modern biographers of Herod dismiss Matthew’s story as an invention. Michael Grant states ‘The tale is not history but myth and folk-lore’.
Not found in any other Gospel. Josephus, Jewish historian does not mention it, despite recording many other misdeeds.
Giving gifts
Initially, it was gifts given to your superiors, but later on that became less common and the idea of giving gifts to children developed around the time of the Protestant Reformation. Christmas was still very rowdy and heavy drinking. It was used as a bid to reduce this rowdiness and keep children away from the streets. Gift giving used to take place on December 6th around Saint Nicholas Day or around New Year’s Eve.
But by the end of the 19th century, it was replaced to Christmas Eve. With the Christmas season lasting twelve days, a gift is given for each of the twelve days or on Christmas Day or Twelfth Night, the first and last days of the Christmas season, respectively.