Christmas is a very special day to about 2 billion people across the world but did you know that the earliest Christians did not think of it as the commemoration of the real day of Jesus' birth? That's right. And the name of Christmas is itself a clue to the original purpose of this special day, the "holiest" day of the year. To understand what Christmas was originally supposed to be we have to take a little trip through history with a side journey into etymology.
The earliest Christians did not celebrate Christmas. They had no special day for commemorating the birth of Jesus. Their most special day was the day we call "Easter" in English, which was two days after the Jewish Passover day. Jesus was crucified on the Passover and according to Christians he rose on the third day, or two days after the Passover. We only call it "Easter" because that was the name of an ancient celebration that pagan Germans (and Anglo-Saxons) once held on the same day.
Christmas means "the Mass of Christ". The Christmas day celebration was originally just a communion observance in memory of Jesus. Other days of communion were held in honor of other people. The first "Mass of Christ" held in recorded history fell in the year 336, or about 300 years after the crucifixion. December 25, 336 was only a few months before the first Christian ruler, Constantine the Great, died. He ruled the Roman Empire from 306 AD to 337 AD.
Although Constantine openly declared his Christianity in 312 AD, some historians suspect that he may have been a secret Christian before then. But it was not until 313 that Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in which he gave Christians freedom to worship. They were no longer to be persecuted under Roman law (although some persecution happened after his time).
So why did early Christians choose the date of December 25 to celebrate the Mass of Christ? One theory holds that Christians recognized March 25 as the day on which God told her that she was pregnant with the Messiah. This date is commemorated as the Annunciation (the "announcement"). Because most people realize it takes about nine months for a baby to form after conception, they just added 9 months to the date.
Scholars debate over when Jesus may really have been born. It could have been around the month of October, based on details provided by the Gospels about the time of his birth. Some Christians teach that October was the month of his birth, but the church fathers did not want to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They wanted to celebrate his life, death, and resurrection all in one day. December 25 conveniently occurs near the Winter solstice, which represents the death of the old year and the birth of the new year. So this date held great symbolic meaning for everyone.
But why would Constantine wait until the year 336 to allow this special Mass? It could be that Christians were already celebrating masses in honor of Jesus throughout the year. In fact, some Christians were celebrating the Mass of Christ on January 6 prior to 336. One theory that some historians propose is that Constantine realized the need to establish formal Christian holidays that would be recognized throughout the empire. Between the years 324 and 300 he had the ancient city of Byzantium rebuilt to be the new capitol of his empire. After Constantine united both the eastern and western halves of the old Roman empire he began ignoring the pagan traditions of Roman emperors.
The new city of Byzantium, now named Istambul in Turkey, was built for Christians and to honor Jesus. Many Christians were appointed to high official posts within the empire and Constantine gave much land and wealth to the church. He wanted to ensure that Christianity would never be persecuted again. He also wanted non-Christians to learn about Christianity, so building churches and a city based on Christian ideas helped do this. But the formal declaration of Christian holy days also taught people about Christianity.
Historians believe that December 25 was chosen not only because it was 9 months after the Annunciation but also because it was near the time of other religious days, including the pagan Roman Saturnalia (December 17-23) and the Jewish Hanukkah (late December). By appointing a special day to celebrate the Mass of Christ near these other important holidays, Constantine ensured that everyone knew that Christianity was important to the empire.
In the centuries after Constantine's rule many other Christian traditions arose, but so have myths about the origin of Christmas. Constantine and his officials did not think to preserve an explanation of how they reached this decision. Or if they did their record was lost to posterity. But we still know enough about history to know that December 25 was not chosen to rebrand some pagan holiday. It was chosen for a reason that made sense to Christians within the context of their own beliefs and teachings.
Why did I choose a picture of a Cross in the sky?
It is said that when Constantine was fighting to unite the two halves of the empire in 312, when he was about to fight the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he looked up into the sky and saw a cross above the sun. He said to his soldiers, "In the name of this sign, (you will) conquer!" He ordered his men to put crosses on their shields. His army was victorious and they took Rome.
Christmas means "the Mass of Christ". The Christmas day celebration was originally just a communion observance in memory of Jesus. Other days of communion were held in honor of other people. The first "Mass of Christ" held in recorded history fell in the year 336, or about 300 years after the crucifixion. December 25, 336 was only a few months before the first Christian ruler, Constantine the Great, died. He ruled the Roman Empire from 306 AD to 337 AD.
Although Constantine openly declared his Christianity in 312 AD, some historians suspect that he may have been a secret Christian before then. But it was not until 313 that Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in which he gave Christians freedom to worship. They were no longer to be persecuted under Roman law (although some persecution happened after his time).
So why did early Christians choose the date of December 25 to celebrate the Mass of Christ? One theory holds that Christians recognized March 25 as the day on which God told her that she was pregnant with the Messiah. This date is commemorated as the Annunciation (the "announcement"). Because most people realize it takes about nine months for a baby to form after conception, they just added 9 months to the date.
Scholars debate over when Jesus may really have been born. It could have been around the month of October, based on details provided by the Gospels about the time of his birth. Some Christians teach that October was the month of his birth, but the church fathers did not want to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They wanted to celebrate his life, death, and resurrection all in one day. December 25 conveniently occurs near the Winter solstice, which represents the death of the old year and the birth of the new year. So this date held great symbolic meaning for everyone.
But why would Constantine wait until the year 336 to allow this special Mass? It could be that Christians were already celebrating masses in honor of Jesus throughout the year. In fact, some Christians were celebrating the Mass of Christ on January 6 prior to 336. One theory that some historians propose is that Constantine realized the need to establish formal Christian holidays that would be recognized throughout the empire. Between the years 324 and 300 he had the ancient city of Byzantium rebuilt to be the new capitol of his empire. After Constantine united both the eastern and western halves of the old Roman empire he began ignoring the pagan traditions of Roman emperors.
The new city of Byzantium, now named Istambul in Turkey, was built for Christians and to honor Jesus. Many Christians were appointed to high official posts within the empire and Constantine gave much land and wealth to the church. He wanted to ensure that Christianity would never be persecuted again. He also wanted non-Christians to learn about Christianity, so building churches and a city based on Christian ideas helped do this. But the formal declaration of Christian holy days also taught people about Christianity.
Historians believe that December 25 was chosen not only because it was 9 months after the Annunciation but also because it was near the time of other religious days, including the pagan Roman Saturnalia (December 17-23) and the Jewish Hanukkah (late December). By appointing a special day to celebrate the Mass of Christ near these other important holidays, Constantine ensured that everyone knew that Christianity was important to the empire.
In the centuries after Constantine's rule many other Christian traditions arose, but so have myths about the origin of Christmas. Constantine and his officials did not think to preserve an explanation of how they reached this decision. Or if they did their record was lost to posterity. But we still know enough about history to know that December 25 was not chosen to rebrand some pagan holiday. It was chosen for a reason that made sense to Christians within the context of their own beliefs and teachings.
Why did I choose a picture of a Cross in the sky?
It is said that when Constantine was fighting to unite the two halves of the empire in 312, when he was about to fight the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, he looked up into the sky and saw a cross above the sun. He said to his soldiers, "In the name of this sign, (you will) conquer!" He ordered his men to put crosses on their shields. His army was victorious and they took Rome.