Day 19 - The 25 Days of Christmas

THE ORIGINS OF CHRISTMAS

It’s hard to imagine a time with Christmas was not observed as a holiday.  Even the oldest among us can recall childhood memories of waking up to stockings filled with toys or presents under the tree, local malls filled with holiday music and city streets decked out in garland and lights.  Although Christ’s life was celebrated even during his life, the holiday as we have come to know it is much more recent.

     Christmas came from two words compounded together from the English “Christ’s Mass.”  But how is it that the abbreviation from Christmas came to be known as Xmas.  In both the Greek and Roman writings, X was known as the first letter of Christ (Greek letter chi) as well as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16^th century (Roman letter).

     Christmas for Christians is a celebration of Jesus’ birth but was Jesus really born on December 25^th in the year 1 CE?  One truth is that the New Testament does not provide us with the exact date or year jesus was born.  There have been fourhighly recognized calculations made regarding the date and year Jesus was born.

     The best calculation Dionysius Exiguus (a Scythian monk of a Roman monastery) came up with was put Jesus’ birth was 754 years after the founding of the city of Rome but as close as he came his calculation would still be off by 4 years.  The others were anonymous document called theDePascha Computus which was believed to have been a calculation made about 243 CE placing the birth of Jesus on March 28, Clement (bishop of Alexandria) placing Jesus’ birth on November 18, and Joseph Fitzmyer placing His birth on September 11, 3 BCE.

     So how is it that Christmas is celebrated by Christians around the world as the birth of Jesus if these other calculations are truer to the case?  One tradition has it that Roman pagans celebrated the holiday of Saturnalia which was a week-long celebration of lawlessness of every kind.  The week this holiday was celebrated was December 17-25.  During the 4^th Century CE, Christians leaders were able to convert many of those who celebrated Saturnalia with one promise – that they could continue to celebrate Saturnalia even though there was nothing Christian regarding this celebration only to mark the last and final day as Jesus’ birthday.  The goal was to take the observance of pagan holidays and through the effort of aligning Christian observances alongside the pagan traditions with the hope of transforming pagan traditions into Christian ones.

     There are other reasons as to why December 25^th may have been chosen by Christians to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.  Isaac Newton stated the date must have been set aside to join the winter solstice celebration.  German paul Jablonski believed it was celebrated at the same time as the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.”

     Despite the reasoning as to why the early Christians chose this day, the main emphasis remains which is to ensure Jesus’ birth does not go unrecognized and is tradition to be celebrated as Christians remembering the birth of their Savior.

                            By John Bates

P.S.  In case you are wondering what CE and BCE represent, these have replaced what we are familiar with BC and AD.  AD represented “After the death of Christ”, but if continued to be used, religious leaders discovered, we would have a 33 year gap between BC and AD, because of the life of Jesus there on this earth.  Therefore, the religious leaders came up with CE and BCE.  “CE” represents the “Christian Era” and “BCE” represents “Before the Christian Era”.  This information was gathered from one of my classes taken from Trinity College and Theological Seminary.

Day 18 - The 25 Days of Christmas

The Last Bus

I remember the Christmas I decided not to go home.  I was twenty-one and living in Wichita, Kansas, far from my parents and the farm where I had grown up.  I had only Christmas Day off from my job.  I had been promised to office manager just a month before.  Determined to make good, I had worked to the point of exhaustion.

I’d welcome a day to myself.  I’d attend a Christmas morning service, relax in the afternoon.  If I went home I’d have to ride a Greyhound bus all night.  I’d arrive in Shamrock, Texas, a small town nearest to the farm, at 6:00 a.m., and then in order to return to work the day after Christmas, I’d have to reverse the ride that night.

Not one to do things on the spur of the moment.  I had sent Mama’s and Dad’s gifts well ahead of time along with a letter saying how much I loved them and how much I missed them.

At the time, I could contact my parents only by mail.  There was not telephone service to the farm, and Western Union didn’t deliver messages to rural areas.

Having made the decision not to go home, I dug into my work and tried to forget that I wouldn’t even be able to call my parents on Christmas Day.

At 5:30 on Christmas Eve, I wished my boss and co-workers a Merry Christmas and left the annual office party early.

On the way home I had to pass the Greyhound bus terminal.  As I neared it, my steps slowed.  When I saw the bus with “Oklahoma City” across the front, homesickness clutched my heart.  I leaned against the building.  That’s the last bus out to get me home by tomorrow morning, I thought.

Woefully, I watched the passengers board the bus.  The driver, taking tickets at the door, was one that I had ridden with several times before.  When the last person got on, he looked my way.

“Hey, Sunshine, are you going or not?”  He teased as he motioned and smiled.

My heart leaped.  “I’m going.”  I said quickly.  “Wait until I get a ticket.”

Breathless and tingling with happiness at the prospect of home, I settled into the only available seat.  A short time later I wondered whatever had possessed me to make that snap decision.  I hadn’t even a change of clothing.  And worse, since Mama and Daddy didn’t know I was coming, how would I get the fifteen miles from Shamrock to the farm?  I ‘d have to hitch-hike, but who would be driving down the country road at six o’clock on Christmas morning?

In the dim, early morning light, the bus pulled in the Shamrock station.  About now, I thought, Mama and Daddy are in the kitchen.  Mama has lit the gas cook stove and left the oven door open to help warm the room.  They having a cup of coffee before Daddy goes to the barn to milk the cows.  While he’s gone, Mama will cook sausage, eggs, and hot biscuits with butter and syrup.  It’s Daddy’s favorite breakfast.

As I stepped off the bus, a woman threw her arms around me, and I was in Mama’s arms.  “How did you know to meet the bus?”  I asked as I wiped the tears from eyes.  “I wrote you I wasn’t coming home.”

“The truth is,” Mama admitted, “we both had strong feelings that you’d be on this bus.  After all, it is the last bus before Christmas.”

Then I told them about my irresistible and last minute urge to hop onto the bus.  Had we unknowingly sent each other mental dispatches?

“No,” Mama said thoughtfully, “I don’t think so; I believe God just put it on our hearts.  It’s one of His Christmas miracles.  Let’s go home.”

Of all my memories of Christmases spent with Mama and Daddy, the year that I was impelled to take the-last-bus-before-Christmas home is my favorite one.

By Doris Crandall

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

     The Child who was born on the first Christmas grew up to be a Man.  Jesus.  He healed many people, taught us many important things.  But the message that has left the most lasting impression and given the most hope and comfort is this: that we do have a home to go to, and there will be an ultimate homecoming.  A place where we will indeed to reunited with those we love.  A place where every day will be Christmas, with everybody there together.  At home.

                                By Marjorie Holmes

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++