There are enormous misconceptions regarding Christmas. Many believe Christ was born on Christmas Day - December 25th. Yet there is no proof of this. The exact day of Christ's birth is unknown.
Christ's birth is not one of the seven annual Holy Days mentioned in the Bible. Go to God's Holy Days for the proof. Christ said that His followers should keep the Passover ceremony yearly to remember Him, and His sacrifice for our sins. He did not say we should remember His human birth, but instead to remember His death.
Luke 22:15-20 " And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. "
Pagan celebrations during the winter season were common, way before Christmas was celebrated on December 25th. Actually, Christmas was a movable feast and was celebrated many different times during the year. Not until Pope Julius I in the 4th century AD choose December 25th because it coincided with the pagan rituals of Winter Solstice or "Return of the Sun". The purpose was to replace the pagan celebration with the " Christian " one.
Eleven days were dropped from the year in 1752, when we switched from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar. The date, December 25th was effectively moved backwards by 11 days. Some Christian Church Sects, called the "Calendarists", still celebrate Christmas on January 7th (previously December 25th of the Julian calendar).
Ancient Swedish people celebrated "midvinterblot" at winter solstice. It simply means "mid-winter-blood", and featured both animal and human sacrifice. This tradition took place at certain cult places, and basically most every old Swedish church is built on such a place. The pagan tradition was finally abandoned around 1200 AD, due to the missionaries persistence (there were sacrifices too, by the Vikings, in the beginning.) Midvinterblot paid tribute to the local gods, appealing to them to let go of the winter's grip. The winters in Scandinavia are dark and grim, and these were the days before central heating. Thursday is named after the war god Thor. Friday after Freja (fertility) The Swedish name for Christmas is Jul (Yule), and the Jul gnome has a more important role than Christmas father or the Christ child.
The origins of Christmas are pagan. It has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, since none of us knows the exact day of Christ's birth. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest Christmas is now one of God's annual Holy Days.
Christ was probably born sometime in the fall, although some suggest it was in the spring. Anyways there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest He was born in the middle of winter. When Jesus was born shepherds were camping out at night, since their sheep were still out on the pasture.
Luke 2:7-8 " And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. "
Bethlehem is just a few miles south of Jerusalem. The winters can be cold in Jerusalem, and it sometimes snows. Shepherds would not be out in the fields at night with their sheep during the winter season.
The Christmas myth that the three wise men brought gifts to the Christ child while He was still a new born babe in the manger does not fit in with the account in the Bible. The three wise men did bring the baby Jesus gifts, but this was quite awhile after He had already been born. Joseph and Mary were living in a house in Bethlehem with the baby Jesus when they arrived.
Matthew 2:9-11 " When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. "
They gave gifts to Jesus. They did not exchange gifts among themselves.
King Herod was furious with the three wise men, because he had asked them to report back to him about the location of the child. He said he wanted to also worship Him, but his real intention was to kill the baby Jesus.
Matthew 2:16 " Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. "
Herod had questioned the wise men about when they had first seen the star, and so he had a general idea of the timing of the birth of the Christ child. So Herod had all the baby boys two years and younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area killed. So very obviously Jesus was no longer just a newborn. Jesus may have already been close to two years old, or maybe one year old at the time. Anyways Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt after the visit of the three wise men, so they were safe and secure in Egypt when the little boys in Bethlehem were murdered by Herod.
Also if Christmas was one of God's annual Holy Days then it would not fall on the same day (December 25th) of the Gregorian calendar each year. The timing of God's annual Holy Days are based on God's sacred calendar.
Hebrew months are 29 or 30 days each. Their years consisting of 12 lunar months or 354 ¼ days. So about every 3 years (7 times in 19 years) the 13th month Veador (also called second Adar), is added between Adar and Abib. It is known as an '' intercalary month ".
The correct time for New Year is the 1st of Abib (Exodus 12:1-2 , 13:3-4). Here is the list of months and the months they correspond to in the Gregorian Calendar.
MONTH NUMBER OF DAYS CORRESPONDS WITH
- Abib ......................30 .........................March-April
- Ivar ...................... 29 ........................ April-May
- Sivan ....................30 ........................ May-June
- Tammuz ................29 ........................June-July
- Ab .........................30 ....................... July-August
- Elul ........................ 29 ........................ August-Sept
- Tishri ....................30 ......................... Sept-Oct
- Bul ....................29 or 30 .......................Oct-Nov
- Kislev ...............29 or 30 .......................Nov-Dec
- Tebeth ....................29 ......................... Dec-Jan
- Shebat ....................30 .........................Jan-Feb
- Adar ....................29 or 30 ................. Feb-March
God's official calendar is a lunar one, following a 19 year time cycle. The Passover for example is always on the 14th day of the first month, which is Abib.
The Gregorian calendar, which is the one we here in Canada officially follow, is not the same as the Hebrew calendar. In the Gregorian calendar there are 365 ¼ days in each year with every fourth year a leap year where one day is added to February. Therefore in the Gregorian calendar the Passover always falls in the spring here in Canada, but it isn't on the same day each year. For example Passover was on April 7th in 2001, but was on March 27th in 2002, April 16 in 2003, and April 5th in 2004 and so on.
If Christmas was one of God's annual Holy Days mentioned in the Bible then it would not fall on the same day each year in the present Gregorian calendar, which is officially followed here in Canada.
