{"id":2539,"date":"2024-12-22T11:53:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/summacatholic\/?p=2539"},"modified":"2024-12-22T11:53:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-22T16:53:52","slug":"tracing-the-history-and-symbolism-of-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/summacatholic\/2024\/12\/tracing-the-history-and-symbolism-of-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracing the History and Symbolism of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Christmas<\/p>\n

In a secular world, it can be easy to forget the religious and historical significance of Christmas. To some extent, this is due to Christmas having become a kind of secular holiday, despite its immense religious importance.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Christmas remains a time rife with religious, historical, and symbolic meanings for Christians. It is the historical and symbolic aspects of Christmas that I will explore in this essay.<\/span><\/p>\n

The History Of Christmas<\/h2>\n

The word <\/span>Christmas <\/span><\/i>appears to be derived from an Old English term: <\/span>Cristes Maesse <\/span><\/i>or<\/span> the Mass of Christ. Interestingly, the feast of Christmas was unknown in the early Church. For some, like Origen of Alexandria, the idea of celebrating the birth of (an eternal) God was too similar to the various pagan festivals that celebrated the pantheon of gods. Nor were the early Church fathers interested in establishing a calendar date. Origen admonished his listeners in Alexandria that \u201cNot one from all the saints is found to have celebrated a festive day or a great feast on the day of his birth.\u201d (See Origen. <\/span>Homilies on Leviticus, 1-16<\/span><\/i>. CUA Press, 2010).<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to this is that the Gospels provide very little help in determining when Christ was born. Neither Mark nor Paul comments on when Jesus was born. Matthew and Luke both make references to Jesus\u2019 birth, though no time of year is indicated in the Gospels.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, sometime around 200 A.D., Clement of Alexandria notes that some Egyptian theologians began to assign the day of Christ\u2019s birth to the 25th.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the third century, the Roman civil calendar began to mark the twenty-fifth day of December as <\/span>Natalis Invicti <\/span><\/i>(Birthday of the invincible). Initially, this likely referred to the pagan deity Sol. As the Roman Empire became Christianized, December 25 began to be celebrated as the birth of Christ.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas during the Middle Ages was widely celebrated, often with much exuberance. This would change with the rise of the Puritans in the seventeenth century. The Puritans succeeded in canceling Christmas in England before Charles II was restored as King and Christmas was returned.<\/span><\/p>\n

Puritanism influenced the pilgrims who came to America to the extent that Christmas was not celebrated in most American colonies. Only after the American Revolution did that change. Nevertheless, Christmas would not become a federal holiday until 1870.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas As Symbol<\/h2>\n

When we speak of the symbolism of Christmas, we can speak of the various symbols associated with it. We can also speak of symbols in a metaphorical sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of sympathy for the reader and bowing down to space restraints, I will briefly touch upon three symbols most associated with Christmas: the Christmas tree, gifts, and Santa Claus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas Tree<\/h2>\n

In the early eighth century, Saint Boniface destroyed the \u201cDonar\u2019s Oak,\u201d a tree worshipped by Saxon pagans. In the place of the oak, a fir tree began to grow. Boniface believed that this was a sign that Christianity was to take root in Germany.<\/span><\/p>\n

The evergreen nature of the fir tree soon came to symbolize eternal life. By the sixteenth century, Christians were bringing small trees indoors and decorating them with candles to honor Christ\u2019s birth and symbolize Christ as the light of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gifts<\/h2>\n

The inspiration behind giving Christmas gifts is likely the story of the three wise men who brought the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to honor the infant Jesus. (See<\/span> Matthew 2:1-12<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The gifts are themselves symbolic. Gold represented Jesus\u2019 status as king, frankincense represented his divinity, and myrrh was a sign of his mortality.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, Christmas can also be seen as God giving the world the gift of salvation in and through the Son of God. \u201cFor God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.\u201d (<\/span>John 3:17<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Nor should we overlook the gifts that the Holy Spirit brings: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Piety, Fortitude, and Fear of the Lord (Awe of God\u2019s Greatness and Power). (See<\/span> 1 Corinthians 12:7-11<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

Santa Claus<\/h2>\n

Is there anything more quintessential to Christmas in the modern time than Santa Claus?<\/span><\/p>\n

Santa Claus is an alteration of Saint Nicholas, the fourth Bishop of Myra (located in modern Turkey). Saint Nicholas was known for being very generous to the poor, but most often anonymously.<\/span><\/p>\n

The most famous story concerns three young women whose destitute father was going to force them into prostitution in order to survive. To prevent this, Nicholas is said to have anonymously thrown bags of gold through an open window into the father\u2019s house.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the passage of time, Saint Nicholas\u2019s bishop\u2019s miter and fur-trimmed red winter garments were corrupted into Santa\u2019s outfit. At the same time, Saint Nicholas\u2019s generosity was transferred to the \u201cjolly old man\u201d who delivers gifts anonymously on Christmas Eve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

All of this history and symbolism is intended to point us to the one thing that frequently gets lost: the baby Jesus.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a sense, the Incarnation and nativity stories remind us that God rejoices in small things. Think of how God reveals Himself to Moses in a burning bush or speaks to Elijah in a still, small voice. (<\/span>1 Kings 19:11-13<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n

These small beginnings stand in contrast to a world enamored with big, bright, and shiny things. Yet the Creator of the universe saw fit to enter into His creation not with great noise and fanfare but as a vulnerable baby born in poverty. Just some things to ponder this Christmas.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a secular world, it can be easy to forget the religious and historical significance of Christmas. To some extent, this is due to Christmas having become a kind of secular holiday, despite its immense religious importance. However, Christmas remains a time rife with religious, historical, and symbolic meanings for Christians. It is the historical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4619,"featured_media":2542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,763,81],"tags":[531,118,440],"class_list":["post-2539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catholicism","category-christmas","category-god","tag-christmas","tag-jesus-christ","tag-symbolism"],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas. Jesus Christ. Symbolism.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christmas retains significant religious symbolism despite becoming a secular holiday. 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