Traditions of Christmas - Pt 2

After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:9-12 ESV). We now turn our attention to the origin of Christmas. According to a Roman almanac, the birth of Christ was celebrated in the 300’s around January 6th, the date then believed to be Christ’s birthday. Additionally, a Roman pagan holiday occurred around December 25th, celebrating the sun and the midwinter when the days grew longer. This celebration incorporated festive drinking and dancing. Somehow the date of Christmas merged with this holiday, which later became known as the Feast of Fools during the reign of Henry VIII. However, in 1642 after the Puritans beheaded Charles 1, Christmas was banned for eight years both in England and in the American colonies. In the 19th century, the Christmas traditions began to reappear on the scene when the American Sunday School Society began conducting Bible programs for children. They actually promoted Sunday School attendance with a tree and candy, and they used a manger scene as a visual aid to teach the children. The tradition of the Christmas tree comes to us from Germany. Performers who strolled the streets in the 1300’s used the tree as an advertisement to promote the play Adam and Eve. They performed this play on Christmas Eve. They hung an apple to the tree to signify the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. Later people began to put trees in their homes at Christmas time. During the Victorian era, people used bigger trees with lower branches that reached to the floor. The story is told that one Christmas Eve while he was walking through the forest, Martin Luther spotted a fir tree, took it home and put candles on it to represent the stars. Later the Victorians carried on this tradition, placing candles on their trees and setting a bucket of water and a long stick with a rag attached, nearby. St. Frances of Assisi was reportedly the first to use the manger scene at Christmas time. He is said to have built the first life-size scene in 1223 AD to celebrate Mass, and all the peasants in the surrounding villages came to worship it. Lights (the Yule logs) and greenery were used to ward off the evil spirits during the pre-Christian times (the Viking era.) Even in the Dark Ages, when only the rich had candles, the poor would put out oil-lit wick lamps to help guide wayfarers to food and warmth. Like the wise men, these traditions all centered on worship. How will you worship Him this Christmas?