TFTD today is compiled from excerpts from Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas (Zondervan).
Up until about 350 years ago, the only real Christian holiday was Easter. As Christ's birth was an important part in the Bible, folks wanted to mark it as they did their own birthdays. At first different churches chose different days, with early January being the most common. Yet the church ultimately moved it to December 25 in an attempt to erase a Roman celebration of the time. This pagan holiday centered on Saturn and involved a lot of drinking, partying and about every sin that could be imagined. Church leaders felt that if Christmas were celebrated on December 25, the depraved behavior would change. In truth, in the old Roman Empire, it did not. Folks forgot the Roman holiday, but exhibited the same behavior on Christmas. In other words, in many places, such as England, the partying at Christmas, the drinking and violence, continued for over a thousand years. In fact, the New York City police department was started to combat the criminal behavior that took place on Christmas Day. In the U.S., Congress met on Christmas Day for almost 70 years.
Believe it or not, for Americans, Christmas, the joyful day of Peace on Earth, is only about 160 years old. A Christian, an educator and a father named W. Clement Moore, first published, "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." Initially this poem established Santa Claus as an important facet of the American Christmas, but that was really just the beginning of Moore's magic. Christmas was a holiday that was all but ignored in the New World until the poem opened the door for real celebrations. When combined with the popularity of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," and the traditions brought to England and America by Prince Albert from Germany, the holiday began to focus on children. Finally, in the United States, churches began to open on Christmas Day for worship. The government got with the program and closed up shop for Christmas. Business shut down as well. By the Civil War, Christmas became a day of staying with family. Also, Moore's poem opened up the door for gifting giving to become an important part of Christmas. For English and American Christians, who for centuries had little positive to embrace at Christmas and the Church who all but ignored it, it was Santa Claus who saved the holiday and brought Jesus back into the spotlight.
Santa Claus?
Two wonderful Christian men really began the Santa Claus legend through their selfless actions and their faith. The first was Nicholas, a priest who gave presents to poor peasant children in the third century, even before the church actually recognized the holiday. The second was a devout duke in Borivoy, who became the leader of Bohemia at a very early age. Each Christmas Eve, this man would go through the snow giving out gifts to his poorest subjects. We now remember him through the song he inspired, "Good King Wenceslas." These two probably shaped the image and personality of Santa more than any others.
Christmas 'colors' - The gold is easy; this is the color of royalty and the most precious metal on earth. It was also one of the gifts to Jesus from the wise men. The red and green can really be traced to several different important traditions, such as holly and ivy, wreaths, Christmas trees, as well as mistletoe, all initially pagan symbols, given new life and depth through Christian faith. In essence, the green represented life that went on through the difficult times of winter, just like faith that could not die in the difficult times of life, and the red reminded Christians that Christ's blood was shed on the cross for sins, the real reason for His coming to earth in the first place.
X in Xmas?
Few know that using X as a sign for Christ predates even our initial celebrations of Christmas. X or Chi is the first letter of Christ's name in Greek. Many early followers of Christ were Greek and would place an X over their doors or wear something on their persons with this letter to reflect their faith as a disciple of Christ. For more than 1,000 years, the church spelled out Christmas with just an X. It was not done to take Christ out of Christmas, but to put Him there where everyone, even those who could not read, could understand that this day of worship was for the Son of God.
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Keep Christ in your celebration!
While the Bible says nothing about December 25, blinking lights, decorated trees, or rotund jolly men dressed in red suits - it does tell us about God's Gift - 'wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger.' Angels announced the birth as reason for great praise and as a sign of peace and the arrival of God's favor for all of humanity. A world without Jesus is beyond imagination. His birth and life changed history, and His death and resurrection changes our destiny, promising us eternal life.
Here's a word from the Word on which to meditate today-- "...Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! . . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-8, 10-11, NIV)
"Come and worship,
Come and worship,
Worship Christ, the Newborn King!"
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