The Story Of Christmas

Christmas is one day throughout the year that people all over the world look forward to. It’s is a time for sharing, family, love, gifts, eating, and general merry making. Christmas, unknown to most people, didn’t start out being celebrated on December 25th until the late 16th century. Here is a little story about Christmas that you should probably read.

From Mithras To Christmas

December 25th is known worldwide as the day people celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Many Christians know, however, that Jesus wasn’t actually born on Christmas. Historically, Jesus would have been born in either April or May, so why do Christians celebrate Christ’s birth on this date? Simple, the Roman Catholic Church, in order to incorporate more people into their masses, decided to blend together a pagan holiday with a holy one. December 25th, originally, was the day pagans (non-Christians) celebrated the birth of the deity Mithras. Mithras was a demi-god who was worshipped primarily by males. The Church, in an effort to get those same pagans to church, thought that placing the birth of Christ on the same day as the birth of Mithras, would get more worshippers. Since then, the holiday meant to celebrate the birth of Mithras has completely been absorbed by the church, and any mention of Mithras has been placed in obscurity.

From Celebrating Christ To Celebrating Presents

Today, Christmas has become more about receiving gifts, giving gifts, and eating large quantities of food, than about celebrating the birth of the Savior. Sure, there are many who still understand the true meaning of Christmas, but they too seem to easily get caught up in the hustle and bustle of gift shopping, food shopping, and decorating.

It is important for people to stop, take a breath, and open their eyes to the wonder of the season. People need to understand that Christmas didn’t start out as a reason to get gifts. It started out as a way to get more people to worship Christ. Sure, the Church was a little misguided and deceptive in its attempts, but what has passed is past and no one can change what has happened. It is up to people, today, to rethink their motivations around this sacred holiday. Are they buying gifts so that they don’t feel guilty or because they truly want to be gracious? Are they visiting the poor and needy because they want to feel better about their own circumstances or because they are humble enough to realize that it could be them that are poor and needy? Are they inviting family over for turkey and mashed potatoes because it’s their turn and they didn’t want to let the family down or because they truly and honestly want to be surrounded by people who love them?

As you can see, there are many different reasons that people celebrate Christmas, but celebrating Christmas out of selfish and greedy means is only tainting the true meaning - sacrifice of the purest kind.

Many happy wishes as you celebrate Christmas this year.