Christmas - a pagan festival!

This document contains some reflections by Prof Klaus Nürnberger on the celebration of Advent and Christmas

We do not know on which day Jesus was born. We are not even certain of the year. The date was not deemed to be important by the early church. Mark, John, Paul and Hebrews do not mention it at all. Matthew and Luke have dates which contradict each other: King Herod died in 4 BC, but the first census, ordered by Augustus, took place after the year 6 AD, when Quirinius became governor of Syria. That gives us a time span of 10 years to play with.

It was only in the 4th century AD that church leaders fixed a date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. And that for a definite reason. On the 6th January there was a pagan festival celebrating the birth of the god Aion from the virgin goddess Kore. The church leaders probably wanted to replace that festival with a Christian alternative. That is how Epiphany came into being. It was meant to celebrate the appearance of the glory of God in Christ. For the Armenian Orthodox church Epiphany is still the date for Christmas.

The choice of the 25th December for the celebration of the birth of Christ (Christmas) had a similar motive. Remember that the 25th December is, in the Northern hemisphere, the time when the days become longer again after the darkest days of winter. In many ancient cultures, the sun was considered to be a god, often the most important god, because all life depended on the sun. The Roman Emperor Aurelian (270-275 AD) had chosen this date for the festival of the "invincible sun". The Roman bishop declared this day to be the birth day of Christ. This step was meant to mark the victory of Christianity over paganism. The true sun was Christ! Eventually, Emperor Justin (565-578 AD) formalised this festival for the Roman Empire as a whole.

The sun, the moon, the stars - these heavenly bodies were taken very seriously in ancient times, especially in the East. Astrologers tried to figure out what impact they had on the destiny of people and the course of history. Some Jews in the East believed at the time that all nations had been subjected to the stars, only Israel was exempt because it was the chosen people of Israel. Matthew tells us that pagan astrologers from the East had followed a star to the birth place of the new king. In the Ancient Near East, the king was considered to be the representative of God on earth. Through the king, God showered his blessings and maintained the order of the universe. So the birth of a king was of cosmic significance. What Matthew wanted to say here is that Christ was born to be king of the universe as a whole.

So Christmas came into being through the Christianisation of a pagan festival. In the mean time the Christian festival has been repaganised. Today it is celebrated all over the world, regardless of religious convictions. Significantly, we now speak of the "festive season", a time when people indulge in spending sprees, go to the sea, get drunk and get killed on the roads. And the reason for its popularity? It has become the festival of global capitalism. Sales peak at Christmas. Commerce and industry gear up to the event months before the event. Without it, annual business results would take a nose dive.

Can we re-Christianise Christmas - at least among ourselves? Can we regain its powerful, world-embracing message? Originally it was meant to declare that Christ, rather than the Sun god, was the Lord of the universe and the Giver of life. Now it has become trivialised as the feast of little kids, of nostalgia, sentimental songs and decorative kitsch. Profit has become the new sun god. Surely there is nothing wrong in placing children in the centre of attention at least once a year, in remembering each other, in exchanging gifts and spreading an atmosphere of good will. All this is beautiful and a sign of love.

But what about celebrating the birth of a new Ruler of the universe as a whole? Astrology was (and is) nothing but superstitution. Today the exact science of Astronomy has given us a glimpse of the unfathomable dimensions of outer space and its origins. Ecology has warned us that our little planet is in grave danger. The social sciences have demonstrated the link between collective greed and destructive conflict. Can we reformulate the significance of Christmas in these modern terms? I have composed a little Christmas song along these lines. See whether you like it.

 

 

Christmas song

 

When creation began

with a mighty big bang

all the energy particles sang.

Then the atoms evolved

and the planets revolved

Thank you God for the mighty big bang!

 

When the sun shone so bright

and the rains fell all night,

tiny creatures began the great crawl.

Then the forests grew lush

Over stones lizards rushed

and the dinosaurs grew very tall.

 

When we first walked erect,

clever hands to detect,

all the animals looked up in awe.

Look these siblings of ours

have acquired great powers!

God protect us from violence and war!

 

When God entered the fray

his great love to display,

outer space greeted with a bright star.

Christ, the Saviour, is there

our burdens to bear -

let us spread the good news wide and far.

 

 

Klaus Nurnberger / 23.10.2004