'Christmas for Dummies'

By Mike Green

Ashland Daily Tidings

Libraries and bookstores across the country carry the series of educational books entitled, " €¦ for Dummies." This series deals with a wide spectrum of complicated issues and items ranging from learning to work with computers to understanding physics, Shakespeare and even religion.

In this "season" of Christmas, it seems apparent that most everyone who participates in the ever-evolving traditions of the season do so merely because they have been taught to do so as children and have subsequently entertained their children with the myths and frivolities that are prevalent this time of the year. Yet, asked to give an account of why they do what they do (e.g. place decorated trees in their homes, purchase presents and gift cards, sing "Christmas" songs, etc), the answer most often given is "well, because it's Christmas!"

It is easy to see that tradition has grouped Christian and non-Christian alike into blindly going through the annual motions of various popular activities for reasons few can articulate. The notion that these activities have no true meaning or purpose is evident in the fact that so many folks seek the "true meaning of Christmas" every year. But even those Christians claiming the true meaning is biblically-based are misinformed. Likewise, non-Christians similarly have no basis for engaging in mindless "Christmas" activities other than blind tradition.

Today, there is a serious need for the book, "Christmas for Dummies."

Most seasonal revelers celebrating Christmas have no idea that the word itself comes from the two words "Christ Mass," nor do many realize that the Mass of Christ is a purely Catholic (a denomination of Christianity) brand of worship that was set on the date December 25 — long after all the writers of the New Testament were gone — to coincide with the Roman pagan ritual Natalis Invicti, in which non-Christians worshipped the birth of the sun (not Son). This date was not arbitrarily chosen, since the Church considered many dates throughout the year when it decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But, since there was no concrete evidence of the date of Christ's birth (although church leaders were quite aware it was not in December at all), the decision was made to adopt the ongoing popular pagan festival that worshipped the birth of the sun (not Son).

Over the centuries, some of the pagan rituals were given Christian mythologies. While there is no such thing as a "Christmas" tree anywhere in the bible, nor even the word "Christmas" at all, Christians across the country continue to maintain that there is a biblical foundation to numerous "Christmas" traditions. In fact, the global community of Christians continue to remain divided to this day over the celebrations of both Christmas and Easter (named after a pagan goddess). In this country, however, the debate over the celebrations of the birth of Christ is simply dismissed and avoided entirely by church leaders.

Most Christians in America, who readily claim that "Christmas" is all about Jesus, fail to note that the Mass of Christ was abandoned long ago by Christians who compromised with adapting the Mass into a compilation of Christian and pagan rituals combined. Eventually, the more popular pagan rituals won out, and the battle between the church and secular society over the ownership of the celebrations surrounding December 25 evolved into a compromise by Christians. Today, churches incorporate decorated trees into the worship service and sanction the exchanging of gifts placed under the tree, despite the fact that neither of these traditions are rooted in biblical teachings.

It is interesting to note that there is no recorded history of either Jesus or His disciples and Apostles celebrating His birth in any form or fashion. According to the bible, the only celebrators of the birth of Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew, Jesus in Greek) were the visiting Magi (astrologers) traveling from afar to bring gifts to the newborn King (not exchanging them with one another). This story is told by Matthew, a tax collector-turned-disciple. Additionally, the story regarding the visitation of nearby shepherds that were tending to their flock at night, is told by Luke, a doctor and historian — who many theologians believe derived his information from Mary, the mother of Jesus, who lived in Ephesus at the time Luke did his research and writing in Ephesus.

The various stories of Santa (Saint Nick), the "spirit of giving," the color schemes, lights and decorations, trees and wreaths and a host of other myths associated with this year-end celebration, are all derived from combinations of both religious and pagan mythology that have no biblical foundation.

The book "Christianity for Dummies," touches on this fanciful faire created under Christian and non-Christian folklore:

"Although the Church doesn't consider it the most important Christian holiday, Christmas is certainly the most popular, at least in terms of cultural and social significance. But the early Church, believing that events later in Jesus' life should be the focus, didn't even consider it all that significant. What's more, when Church leaders first discussed observing the birthday of Jesus, some argued against celebrating it like you would another great person in history. Nonetheless, the Church had enough pro-observance support to mark the calendar.

"Neither the New Testament nor any historical record marks the exact date of Jesus' birth. As a result, the Church initially considered many different dates, including January 2, March 21, March 25, April 18, April 19, May 20, May 28, November 17, and November 20. The Western Church first observed December 25 in the fourth century, and eventually Eastern Churches followed suit.

"Most of the traditional customs of Christmas, such as gift giving, tree decorating, light hanging, and feasting, come from sources other than the Church."

Although the Dummies.com Web site isn't the pre-eminent authority on all things Christian, its general analysis of Christmas is in complete agreement with the in-depth historical research provided by the Catholic Church itself (http:///cathen/03724b.htm).

So, why do Christians engage in the traditional celebrations of Christmas that have no basis in the belief and faith in Christ Jesus? The honest answer was given to me by a good friend.

"Because it's fun!" he said.

And there it is. The true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with faith in Jesus, the birth of the Messiah or the gifts given to the child by three Magi, according to Matthew (not three shepherds as some confuse the story told by Luke).

The revelry surrounding this special day-turned-season of Christmas is simply done because it is fun. Thus, this celebration, like some others that have lost their meanings through blind tradition, maintains a popularity throughout our society because the frenzy, angst and determination to make it what it isn't and never was, is driven by the desire to have fun.

And what could possibly be wrong with teaching generations of children ever-evolving lies in order to bring them a little holiday cheer and imagination? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that most of those children grow into adults who haven't a clue why they do what they do, even as they teach their children to do likewise.

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Mike Green is the author of, "The WHOLE Truth about the U.S. War on Terror: answers to every question you never knew to ask."