The Incarnation sanctifies time itself — and the smug “Saturnalia/Sol Invictus” meme collapses the moment you check the calendar and read the Church Fathers.
"They don’t attack the Incarnation itself — the audacious, civilization-shaping truth that God took on flesh and entered history."
Some time ago an Actual Thought occurred to me. Jesus (aka GOD) wore diapers that had to be changed All The Time, had to be toilet trained, had to learn to walk, learn to speak & read, hit puberty (did a 5 year old Jesus think girls were icky?) . Just Like Us!
For ME this was one of those the sky opened up and the Choir Eternal started singing moments.
The human Jesus was totally dependent on His human mother Mary for His very survival. The Creator of the Universe humbled Himself to that very low point because of His love for mankind.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
An excellent article by you, Dr. Martin on why Christmas is in fact, NOT a pagan holiday! I remember awhile back you wrote a similar piece on how Halloween is a Christian holiday so it doesn’t surprise me to see you release this piece. Christmas is NOT a carbon copy of Saturnalia or Sol Invictus. Those who say that obvious have never bothered to open an actual history book. Even if Christmas’s roots were pagan and they aren’t, December will forever be known as the month of our dear savior’s birth and God sending us his only son Jesus of Nazareth and in effect physically planting his flag and making it clear that all creation, culture and calendar are His domain and His domain alone. In the end, Christmas is the day that all of us bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord!
Christmas and Saturnalia are NOT related at all! Here’s the evidence for that. First off, Saturnalia was never celebrated on December 25th. It was celebrated on December 17th and was later on expanded to run up through December 23rd. Yes, the Romans had a holiday and feasted in December too. So did and do, many other cultures and college students. That doesn’t prove Christmas was some Christian ripoff of Saturnalia. Nor is Christmas a ripoff of Sol Invictus either. Yes, Christmas is listed in tandem with a celebration of the birth of the unconquered which could be Sol but you’d think if it was it would be a bit more specific and clear about that. Furthermore, this refers not to the Sun God but the Son of God. Just because both happen to appear on the Roman Calendar doesn’t prove paganism came first and Christians copied it.
By the way, the Sol Invictus festival wasn’t instituted until three centuries after Christ. That is assuming Aurelian instituted it at all which it did not. Besides, that’s not a legitimate inference, it’s merely an assumption on their part. There is no evidence Christians simply switched out Sol Invictus for Christmas. In fact, the historical evidence shows that the Romans created the Sol Invictus festival to compete with Christmas. The great Emperor Constantine converted Rome to Christianity in 312. The Emperor Theodosius made Christianity Rome’s official religion in 380. Pagans were not too pleased about this and resisted this fiercely in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to lead a pagan revival led by Julian the Apostate.
Christmas also didn’t need Sol Invictus to land on December 25th. The Christian Church chose December 25th for good reason. It has to do with theology. As Augustine makes note of in On The Trinity, many early Christians believed that Christ was conceived on the same day He died. Christ is believed to have been conceived on March 25th and that was the day he suffered as well. But on December 25th is when he born according to tradition. At no point does Augustine say “we picked December 25th to compete with the pagans.” Also, if you anchor conception to March 25th than nine months later would be December 25th. This was how the Christian Church calculated time.
March 25th was symbolic because Mary is seen as the New Eve, a new beginning of sorts for humanity after its fall from grace. This was caused by Eve after being persuaded by the Devil, eating the forbidden fruit causing God to banish her and Adam from the fabled Garden of Eden. That’s Christian typology NOT borrowing from pagans! This is how the Church read the Gospel, once you become aware of this context, the charge Christmas is just Sol Invictus repackaged is looks even sillier. Also, of course different peoples and cultures celebrated in wintertime. It’s cold, dark and dangerous. So in every culture folks got together, lit fires, hung up greenery, sang songs, told stories, and exchanged gifts while they could.
None of that is exclusive to Pagans and it tells us nothing about where Christmas came from. Most of the customs people point to that were “copied off paganism” cane much later in history. The Christmas tree is European, specifically from Germany and was popularized by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Santa Claus as we know him is mostly American and post-Civil War. The famous cartoonist Thomas Nast who brought down Boss Tweed, is the one who created the popular cultural image of Santa Claus. Santa Claus is of course based off Saint Nicholas of Myra an early Christian bishop from Greece. Even the details of gift-giving vary enormously across Christian cultures and across time.
Let’s also keep in mind that Christianity didn’t conquer the Roman world by flattering Paganism but by contradicting it. The early Church refused to burn incense to Caesar. It refused to treat Jesus as just one more option in a buffet of Gods. No he was the one and only God. It refused the pantheon and paid in blood for it with ferocious persecution by the Roman authorities. Such as when Christians would be thrown into coliseums and trapped in an enclosed space with a hungry lion, tiger or bear for an audiences’ entertainment. The notion that these same folks then turned around and built their calendar around pagan traditions is absolute nonsense.
“Why does the Church celebrate the Nativity?” can be answered very clearly by the book of Luke, by the Creeds, and by two thousand years of Christian worship. Was Jesus of Nazareth for sure born on December 25th? We don’t know and the church never pretended to know with modern precision. What it did know more importantly, is that the Incarnation is the hinge of history. It used the calendar to teach Christians that Christ enters time, rules over time and redeems time. Also, yes, it chose the date to fit with its theology and its reading of scripture. It had nothing to do with whatever traditions pagans happened to be practicing at the time.
To be sure, Christians understood that December 25th was just a guess. But it was an informed guess that was on solid ground being that it was anchored to the Passion, coherent with Luke’s narrative framework, saturated with theological meaning, and set for the very practical purpose of uniting the Church is worship. That NOT crypto-paganism or internet memes, is why we Christians celebrate of their risen Savior and Lord on December 25th.
"They don’t attack the Incarnation itself — the audacious, civilization-shaping truth that God took on flesh and entered history."
Some time ago an Actual Thought occurred to me. Jesus (aka GOD) wore diapers that had to be changed All The Time, had to be toilet trained, had to learn to walk, learn to speak & read, hit puberty (did a 5 year old Jesus think girls were icky?) . Just Like Us!
For ME this was one of those the sky opened up and the Choir Eternal started singing moments.
The human Jesus was totally dependent on His human mother Mary for His very survival. The Creator of the Universe humbled Himself to that very low point because of His love for mankind.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
That's my point. I wonder how many people REALLY understand that.
This is one of the reasons I LOVE The Chosen.
An excellent article by you, Dr. Martin on why Christmas is in fact, NOT a pagan holiday! I remember awhile back you wrote a similar piece on how Halloween is a Christian holiday so it doesn’t surprise me to see you release this piece. Christmas is NOT a carbon copy of Saturnalia or Sol Invictus. Those who say that obvious have never bothered to open an actual history book. Even if Christmas’s roots were pagan and they aren’t, December will forever be known as the month of our dear savior’s birth and God sending us his only son Jesus of Nazareth and in effect physically planting his flag and making it clear that all creation, culture and calendar are His domain and His domain alone. In the end, Christmas is the day that all of us bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord!
Christmas and Saturnalia are NOT related at all! Here’s the evidence for that. First off, Saturnalia was never celebrated on December 25th. It was celebrated on December 17th and was later on expanded to run up through December 23rd. Yes, the Romans had a holiday and feasted in December too. So did and do, many other cultures and college students. That doesn’t prove Christmas was some Christian ripoff of Saturnalia. Nor is Christmas a ripoff of Sol Invictus either. Yes, Christmas is listed in tandem with a celebration of the birth of the unconquered which could be Sol but you’d think if it was it would be a bit more specific and clear about that. Furthermore, this refers not to the Sun God but the Son of God. Just because both happen to appear on the Roman Calendar doesn’t prove paganism came first and Christians copied it.
By the way, the Sol Invictus festival wasn’t instituted until three centuries after Christ. That is assuming Aurelian instituted it at all which it did not. Besides, that’s not a legitimate inference, it’s merely an assumption on their part. There is no evidence Christians simply switched out Sol Invictus for Christmas. In fact, the historical evidence shows that the Romans created the Sol Invictus festival to compete with Christmas. The great Emperor Constantine converted Rome to Christianity in 312. The Emperor Theodosius made Christianity Rome’s official religion in 380. Pagans were not too pleased about this and resisted this fiercely in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to lead a pagan revival led by Julian the Apostate.
Christmas also didn’t need Sol Invictus to land on December 25th. The Christian Church chose December 25th for good reason. It has to do with theology. As Augustine makes note of in On The Trinity, many early Christians believed that Christ was conceived on the same day He died. Christ is believed to have been conceived on March 25th and that was the day he suffered as well. But on December 25th is when he born according to tradition. At no point does Augustine say “we picked December 25th to compete with the pagans.” Also, if you anchor conception to March 25th than nine months later would be December 25th. This was how the Christian Church calculated time.
March 25th was symbolic because Mary is seen as the New Eve, a new beginning of sorts for humanity after its fall from grace. This was caused by Eve after being persuaded by the Devil, eating the forbidden fruit causing God to banish her and Adam from the fabled Garden of Eden. That’s Christian typology NOT borrowing from pagans! This is how the Church read the Gospel, once you become aware of this context, the charge Christmas is just Sol Invictus repackaged is looks even sillier. Also, of course different peoples and cultures celebrated in wintertime. It’s cold, dark and dangerous. So in every culture folks got together, lit fires, hung up greenery, sang songs, told stories, and exchanged gifts while they could.
None of that is exclusive to Pagans and it tells us nothing about where Christmas came from. Most of the customs people point to that were “copied off paganism” cane much later in history. The Christmas tree is European, specifically from Germany and was popularized by Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert. Santa Claus as we know him is mostly American and post-Civil War. The famous cartoonist Thomas Nast who brought down Boss Tweed, is the one who created the popular cultural image of Santa Claus. Santa Claus is of course based off Saint Nicholas of Myra an early Christian bishop from Greece. Even the details of gift-giving vary enormously across Christian cultures and across time.
Let’s also keep in mind that Christianity didn’t conquer the Roman world by flattering Paganism but by contradicting it. The early Church refused to burn incense to Caesar. It refused to treat Jesus as just one more option in a buffet of Gods. No he was the one and only God. It refused the pantheon and paid in blood for it with ferocious persecution by the Roman authorities. Such as when Christians would be thrown into coliseums and trapped in an enclosed space with a hungry lion, tiger or bear for an audiences’ entertainment. The notion that these same folks then turned around and built their calendar around pagan traditions is absolute nonsense.
“Why does the Church celebrate the Nativity?” can be answered very clearly by the book of Luke, by the Creeds, and by two thousand years of Christian worship. Was Jesus of Nazareth for sure born on December 25th? We don’t know and the church never pretended to know with modern precision. What it did know more importantly, is that the Incarnation is the hinge of history. It used the calendar to teach Christians that Christ enters time, rules over time and redeems time. Also, yes, it chose the date to fit with its theology and its reading of scripture. It had nothing to do with whatever traditions pagans happened to be practicing at the time.
To be sure, Christians understood that December 25th was just a guess. But it was an informed guess that was on solid ground being that it was anchored to the Passion, coherent with Luke’s narrative framework, saturated with theological meaning, and set for the very practical purpose of uniting the Church is worship. That NOT crypto-paganism or internet memes, is why we Christians celebrate of their risen Savior and Lord on December 25th.
For those in Dr. Martin’s audience who wish to learn more about the history of Christmas 🎅🎄and related topics here is a list of resources for you:
• The Origins of Christmas by Joseph F. Kelly
• The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys by Linda Raedisch
• Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday’s Traditions by Brian Earl
• The True Saint Nicholas: Why He Matters to Christmas by William J. Bennett
• The History of Santa Claus: The Traditions & Origins of Santa as Practiced Around the World by Tammy Hammond
• The Secrets of Gingerbread: Its History, its Traditions, its Delicious Recipes by Joel Debreck
• A Christmas Carol: Classic 1843 Edition with Original Illustrations by Charles Dickens
• One Perfect Life: The Complete Story of the Lord Jesus by John MacArthur
• The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus by James D. Tabor
• The Carols of Christmas: A Celebration of the Surprising Stories Behind Your Favorite Holiday Songs by Andrew Gant