Part 1: The Controversy over Celebrating

1Oliver Cromwell enforced a ban on Christmas in England in 1644. Christmas was outlawed in Boston from 1659-1681. Opposition to Christmas was especially found among Scottish Presbyterians, though the Puritans of England either opposed Romanist corruptions in the day or opposed the day altogether. Many cite the Westminster Directory of Worship as giving an absolute ban on the celebration of Christmas – “There is no day commanded in Scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days vulgarly called ‘Holy-days,’ having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.” However, many subscribers to the Directory of Worship celebrated Christmas, not as a holy day, but as a thanksgiving day. They cited chapter 21:5 of the Confession which permits “solemn fastings and thanksgivings upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.” (emphasis mine) Interestingly, the proof text for this statement was the Jewish festival of Purim in Esther 9:22, which is analogous to Hanukkah. Nevertheless, the bulk of the Puritan and Scottish Reformed tradition did not allow for Christmas celebration.

However, these were a definite minority in Reformed circles. The German Reformed, French Reformed, Dutch Reformed, Swiss Reformed, and some English Reformed churches were much more open to the celebration of Christmas. For example, the Second Helvetic Confession of 1566 said, “Moreover, if in Christian Liberty the churches religiously celebrate the memory of the Lord’s nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of his ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, we approve of it highly.” Interestingly, the Scots were the only ones who took exception to that phrase, giving the impression that most Reformed churches highly approved of the celebration of Christmas. The ecumenical Synod of Dordt advocated the celebration of Christmas, as have many continental and American Reformed churches. The dialogues between Henrich Bullinger and John Calvin showed that the latter was not intent on getting rid of Christmas, but only of purifying it of Romanist idolatry.↩

2A common misunderstanding of the etymology of the word “Christmas” is to import later heretical ideas of the Romanist “Mass.” This is the view of Michael Schneider, who says, “Perhaps it would impress on our minds the real meaning of Christmas if we would refer to it as Christmass. What is the significance of the mass? At the heart of the Roman Catholic mass is a denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement. It professes to be a reenactment of the sacrifice of Christ for sin. It is a denial of the gospel. The Roman Catholic Church has many other masses, such as Michaelmass, but it is their Christmass that Protestants have singled out for observance.”(http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/Xmas_ch1.htm.) Though Ralph Woodrow originally held the same view, he changed his mind and wrote a book called Christmas Reconsidered. The term Christmas actually comes from the Middle English, Christemasse, which in turn came from the Old English phrase Cristes mæsse, or Christ’s festival. This phrase was already in use in 1038 AD, before the doctrine of transubstantiation corrupted the church. Though the doctrine of transubstantiation was first proposed in the ninth century by a Benedictine monk, Radbertus, it did not become official Romanist doctrine until 1215 AD at the Lateran Council. Thus, though the term “mass” later came to be associated with Roman Catholic transubstantiation, the origin of the term had nothing to do with what is now known as the “Mass.” It was a reference to any church festival. Webster’s dictionary says of “Mass,” that “the word came from ite, missa est ecclesia…, ‘go, the congregation is dismissed,’ the proclamation at the end of the service.” Thus Christmas simply means, “Festival of Christ.”↩

3Rev. Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Neptune, NJ: Loiseaux Brothers, 1916) represents the arguments of many on this subject when he claims that December 25 was a pagan festival day appropriated by the church. This book will argue that this is a misinformed judgment.↩

4This appears to have been a pagan rite found in Scandinavia and connected with the gods Frigga, Baldur, and Loki. Mistletoe was associated with erotica (it was seen as an aphrodisiac) and free love (it was thought to have abortifacient qualities enabling uninhibited sexuality). There does seem to be good evidence that kissing under a mistletoe has thoroughly pagan roots.↩

5Though transformed into Christmas caroling today, many trace the origin to pagans singing to their fruit trees in order to scare away evil spirits and produce a good harvest. The word wassail comes from the Anglo Saxon toast, wæs þu hæl, “be thou hale” — i.e., “be in good health.” An old song carries over some of the older meanings of this custom: “Wassaile the trees, that they may beare / You many a Plum and many a Peare: / For more or lesse fruits they will bring, / As you do give them Wassailing.”↩

6While many say that Santa Claus was inspired by the generous historical figure, Saint Nicholas of Myra, others trace him to the Germanic god, Odin. Children would place their boots with carrots, straw or sugar near the chimney for Odin’s flying horse to eat, and Odin would reward the children with gifts and candy. Others think it is a merging of such traditions.↩

7Some appeal to a Christian tradition of Saint Boniface destroying an oak tree during a pagan child sacrifice. Tradition says that a small fir tree grew up in its place that represented Jesus. However, others trace its roots to pre-Christian paganism (see Jer. 10:2-4) or to later pagan practices of the Saxons or Druids.↩

8Many suggest that the common practice in Anglo-Saxon England and Scandinavia ties this practice to ancient worship of Thor, though Carl Willhelm von Sydow contests this claim.↩

9Some have suggested that the boar’s head with an apple in its mouth harks back to the Germanic people’s tribute to their god Freyr.↩

10Such as drunkenness, idolatry, gambling, and rowdy behavior.↩

11Paul said, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem” (Acts 18:21). He was not just attending the feast; he was keeping it. Some people read Colossians 2:16-17 only as an abolition of Jewish day-keeping and fail to see that Paul’s words “let no one judge you… regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths” also prohibit “Scottish Reformation” brothers from judging those of us who delight in celebrating such days, not as holy days, but as what the Westminster Confession of Faith calls days and seasons of thanksgiving. It is clear that Paul delighted in the refreshing celebration of those same Jewish festivals (see for example Acts 18:21; 20:16; 1 Cor. 16:8). The church was at liberty to celebrate such days, but was not at liberty to make them mandated holy days. Thus, while Paul fought vigorously against a legalizing tendency of Jews to impose their customs on Gentiles in Acts 15, Paul properly defended the right of Christians to continue to celebrate the Jewish customs in Acts 21. As we will see, the majority of Reformers correctly refused to call Christmas a “holy day,” but also refused to stop celebrating the day as a thanksgiving day. The Old Testament actually anticipated that at least some would celebrate these festivals until the end of history: “And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the LORD.” (Is. 66:23) “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations …shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD or hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” (Zech. 14:16). While these latter two texts could be interpreted as using Old Covenant language to get across New Covenant realities that are not a literal keeping of the day, Paul’s own liberty at keeping the days cannot be explained away.↩

12For example, Ignatius of Antioch (35-98AD) said, “Do not lightly esteem the festivals. Despise not the period of forty days, for it comprises an imitation of the conduct of the Lord. After the week of the passion, do not neglect to fast on the fourth and sixth days, distributing at the same time of thine abundance to the poor. If any one fasts on the Lord’s Day or on the Sabbath, except on the paschal Sabbath only, he is a murderer of Christ.” (chapter XIII-emphasis mine). This reference to the “paschal Sabbath” was a reference to the church celebration of Passover/Resurrection. Scholars agree that the early church clearly celebrated at least Passover/Resurrection and Pentecost. Though there was heated debate in 154 about whether Passover should be celebrated on Sunday or on any day of the week on which Nisan 14 might land, all the church fathers of that period agreed that Passover was celebrated continuously by the church since the time of the apostles. It will be argued in this paper that the same was true of Hanukkah/Christmas.↩

13Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Neptune, NJ: Loiseaux Brothers, 1916), p. 93.↩

14Tertullian, The Apology, chapter XXXV.↩

15Tertullian, The Apology, chapter XXXV.↩

16Tertullian, On Baptism, chapter XIX; On Prayer, chapter XXIII; Idolatry, chapter XIV.↩

17Heated debates took place in 154 AD. Many wanted to celebrate Passover purely in Jewish style. Others wanted to add uniquely Christian practices. But the major controversy arose over the day Passover should be celebrated. In Asia Minor, Christians celebrated Passover on Nisan 14 whereas others wanted to celebrate it only on a Sunday. There is no evidence that celebrating Passover was a new innovation.↩

18

The early church appears to have celebrated the birth of Jesus as long as we have record, though there may have been different dates on which it was celebrated. Though the sources for the following quotes have been questioned by some scholars, there is evidence of a December 25 celebration as early as the time of Telesphorus, who was bishop from 129-138 AD. George K. Evans, says,

Telesphorus, the second bishop of Rome (129-138), ordained that ‘in the holy night of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior, they do celebrate public church services, and in them solemnly sing the Angels’ Hymn, because also the same night he was declared unto the shepherds by an angel, as the truth itself doth witness.’ Theophilus, who was Bishop of Caesarea during this same period, urged that ‘the observance or celebration of the birthday of our Lord [be held] on what day soever the 25 of December shall happen.’”

Quoted from The International Book of Christmas Carols, musical arrangements by Walter Ehret, trans. George K. Evans (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963; New York: Walton Music Corp., 1963), p. 3. For original source, see Liber Pontificalis, translated with an introduction by Louise Ropes Loomis (Arx Publishing, LLC, 2006).

While the accuracy of certain portions of Liber Pontificalis, and the Magdeburg Centriators (I,3.118) have been questioned on their historicity, there is reasonable evidence that these particular quotes were not fabrications (lies) of the church, but were quotes from actual documents that they had in hand. It is the belief of the current author that the early Jewish Church never stopped celebrating their Jewish Festivals with a joyous sense of their fulfillment in Christ, and that as Gentiles were grafted into the Church, they continued to celebrate at least the festivals of Dedication (Christmas), Pascha, and Pentecost. There never has been a time when the latter two feast days were not celebrated, and there is strong evidence of the same for the first one.↩

19In the Chalki manuscript of Hippolytus (about 205 AD), he says,

“For the first coming of Our Lord in the flesh [in which He has been begotten], in Bethlehem, took place [eight days before Kalends of January] in the reign of Augustus….”

Eight days before Kalends of January is December 25. Some scholars claim that the words I have placed in brackets must have been added, and could not be the words of Hippolytus. Their arguments are:

Argument 1 - It is too early for any Christian to affirm a December 25 date since even the pagans didn’t celebrate December 25 yet. Answer: This is circular reasoning. It is assuming without proof that the Christians got December 25 from the pagans. This could be used to discredit any early references to Christ being born on December 25 (and I suspect has been used to discredit the two references in the second century – see footnote 18).

Argument 2 - Two names in the context were spelled wrong [Rufus versus Rufius; Rubellio versus Rubellius]. This argues that the author did not know his facts. Answer: These same scholars inconsistently accept a great deal of latitude in spelling in other church fathers! Why not in Hippolytus? There is nothing unusual about these alternate spellings.

Argument 3 - He gets the age at which Jesus died correctly (age 33) and could not have known that. Answer: This assertion is historical arrogance. Why could he not have known this? He was much closer to the sources than we are.

Argument 4 - There are too many historical details that this author knows that Tertullian and Clement were either ignorant of or silent about. Answer: With the scant materials we have of all these fathers, this is asking a lot! Interest levels, access to historical documents, purpose in writing, lost writings by early fathers, and other factors can easily account for details that Hippolytus might mention that are left out by Tertullian and Clement.

As far as I can see, there simply are no credible arguments to discount Hippolytus being the author of this statement. Therefore, we believe this is a clear reference a belief already current in 205 AD that Jesus was born on December 25.↩

20In Stromata I.21 Clement says, “From the birth of Christ, therefore, to the death of Commodus are, in all, a hundred and ninety-four years, one month, thirteen days. And there are those who have determined not only the year of our Lord’s birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus, and in the twenty-fifth day of Pachon.” (emphasis mine) These two sentences might actually give two conflicting dates. The first date (if Eusebius is correct about the date of the death of Commodus) would place the birth of Jesus on November 18, 3 BC. (From December 31, 192 AD to January 1, 2 BC is 194 years. Add one month and thirteen days and you arrive at November 18, 3 BC.) The date of the second sentence is May 20, 2 BC. However, if you read the full paragraph, he also gives two other possibilities, one being Pharmuthi 25 (April 19 or 20 on our calendar). The only consistency is the 25^th day of some month.↩

21For example, December 25, 2008 on the Julian calendar is January 7, 2009 on the Gregorian calendar. Likewise, December 25, 1800 would be January 6, 1801.↩

22The Westminster Directory of Worship banned the celebration of Christmas as a holy day – “There is no day commanded in Scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days vulgarly called ‘Holy-days,’ having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued.”↩

23

Contrary to the opinion of some, Calvin was not opposed to family celebration of Christmas. In letter 1, 1551, Calvin answered the objection of the Swiss who thought that he had abolished Christmas, by saying that Christmas celebration was abolished by the city council “without my desire,” and insisting, “I have pursued the moderate course of keeping Christ’s birth-day as you are wont to do.” The full context of this quote is even stronger:

Besides the abolition of the feast-days here has given grievous offense to some of your people, and it is likely enough that much unpleasant talk has been circulating among you. I am pretty certain, also, that I get the credit of being the author of the whole matter, both among the malevolent and the ignorant. But as I can solemnly testify that it was accomplished without my knowledge, and *without my desire,* so I resolved from the first; rather to weaken malice by silence, than be over-solicitous about my defense. Before I ever entered the city, there were no festivals but the Lord’s day. Those celebrated by you were approved of by the same public decree by which Farel and I were expelled; and it was rather extorted by the tumultuous violence of the ungodly, than decreed according to the order of law. Since my recall, I have pursued the moderate course of keeping Christ’s birth-day as you are wont to do. (emphasis mine)

In letter CCCLXXIX (written in 1555), Calvin said,

“Respecting ceremonies, because they are things indifferent, the churches have a certain latitude of diversity. And when one has well weighed the matter, it may be sometimes considered useful not to have too rigid a uniformity respecting them, in order to show that faith and Christianity do not consist in that. . .

“As to festival days, they were abolished at Geneva before I left France …though for the innovation I am personally irresponsible. For the rest, my writings bear witness to my sentiments on these points, for in them I declare that a church is not to be despised or condemned, because it observes more festival days than the others. From this recent abolition of feast days, here is what has resulted. Not a year has passed without some quarrel and bickering, because the people were divided, and to such a degree as to draw their swords. . .

“Meanwhile we have done what we ought, to appease these troubles. The most feasible means that could be devised for that purpose, seemed to be to keep the holy day in the morning, and open the shops in the afternoon, though this plan did not much remedy the evil. For several thoughtless persons failed not to fall foul of one another. So that for the last time entreating and exhorting the Council of the two hundred to redress this abuse, I begged them, among other things, to be pleased to conform as much as possible to the order established among you for the purpose of keeping up a good understanding. Judge then of my astonishment when I learned what had been decided in the general Council, without my knowing that such a question had been entertained by it. Of that I can produce a goodly number of competent witnesses.”

Nothing could be clearer from these quotes. Calvin had no problem with giving liberty on the subject of celebrating festival days such as Christmas.↩

24As was pointed out in the previous footnote, Calvin told Zwingli’s successor, Bullinger that he was totally opposed to Geneva’s ban of Christmas. He went on to say, “I am anxious, indeed, in such matters, to see that liberty preserved, which I perceive to have flourished in the churches from the very days of the apostles.” (emphasis mine) Calvin considered Christmas celebration a liberty, even though it was not a holy day. He speaks of such celebration as a thing “indifferent,” and insisted that “the churches have a certain latitude of diversity” and that no one impose “too rigid a uniformity” on this issue.↩

25Turretin refers to the Scottish prohibition as “rigid judgment” that denies the “liberty” of the church. “Hence we cannot approve of the rigid judgment of those who charge such churches with idolatry (in which those days are still kept, the names of the saints being retained), since they agree with us in doctrine concerning the worship of God alone and detest the idolatry of the papists.” (Institutes of Elenctic Theology, vol. 2, p. 104)↩

26While absolutely rejecting any “holy days,” Henirich Bullinger said that the celebration of “the memory of the Lord’s nativity, circumcision, passion, resurrection, and of his ascension into heaven, and the sending of the Holy Spirit upon his disciples” was a “Christian liberty” and “we approve of it highly.” See Second Helvetic Confession (which was crafted by Bullinger), chapter XXIV.↩

27Beza also adopted the Second Helvetic Confession, which highly approved of Christmas celebration.↩

28Most of the leaders in the German Reformed, French Reformed, Dutch Reformed, and Swiss Reformed Churches rejected “holy days” but embraced the “liberty” of celebrating Christmas, Resurrection Day, and Pentecost, just as the church universal had done as far back as we have records.↩

29Sola Scriptura was a Latin slogan at the Reformation that meant that “Scripture alone” is our regulative authority, that “Scripture alone” was inspired, and that “Scripture alone” should govern all that is done in the church. It also summarized the Reformation belief that Scripture is sufficient for faith and practice (2 Tim. 3:16-17).↩

30Soli Deo Gloria was another Latin slogan at the time of the Reformation that captured the Protestant desire to do everything in life to God’s glory.↩

31It is quite clear that God did not want anything to be added to what His Word allowed for worship. He said, “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way… Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.” (Deut. 12:31-32, emphasis mine). Anything in worship that cannot be explicitly justified from the Scripture is like the “unlawful fire” that brought God’s judgment on the worship of Nadab and Abihu (Numb. 26:61; 3:4; Lev. 10:1), or the “commandments of men” that made Jesus displeased with the worship of the Pharisees (Matt 15:7-9), or the “self-imposed religion” condemned by Paul (Col. 2:23). The Regulative Principle of Worship means that everything in worship must be authorized from the Bible.

Perhaps the best definition of the Regulative Principle of Worship is that “Christian worship is to be offered in accordance with Scriptural norms and ordinances to the exclusion of all forms of worship not warranted by the teaching of Scripture.” (Cf. WCF xx-xxi & LC 108-109). God condemns certain forms of worship simply on the ground that they were not commanded (Lev. 10:1ff; Jer. 7:31) or that they sprang merely from the human will (Col. 2:22). The Confession makes a distinction between the regulative principle of worship and the regulative principle of the rest of life:

“God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word; or beside it, in matters of faith or worship.” (WCF xx,ii)

Thus, in our day by day life we are free from any doctrines or commandments of men that are contrary to the Word, but in worship the restrictions are greater for we are also to be free from any doctrines and commandments of men that are beside the Word (i.e., not warranted directly from the Word) even if they do not thereby contradict the Word.↩

32Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1994), volume 2, p. 101.↩

33For some helpful articles on this, see “Calculating Christmas” (William J. Tighe, Touchstone, December, 2003), “Under the Influence” (Alvin J. Schmidt, Harper Collins, 2001, pp. 377-379), “New Evidence for the Dating of the Calendar at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome” (M. R. Salzman, Transactions of the American Philological Association 111 (1981, pp. 215-227).↩

34This is listed on The Chronograph of 354 AD. M. R. Salzman, “New Evidence for the Dating of the Calendar at Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome” Transactions of the American Philological Association 111 (1981, pp. 215-227).↩

35“An inscription of unique interest from the reign of Licinius embodies the official prescription for the annual celebration by his army of a festival of Sol Invictus on December 19” (Allan S. Hoey, “Official Policy towards Oriental Cults in the Roman Army” Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, 70, (1939), p. 480 and note 128).↩

36William J. Tighe, “Calculating Christmas,” Touchstone, December, 2003.↩

37Ibid.↩

38“For we are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.” (2 Macc. 7:2) 2 Maccabees 7 gives a gruesome story of an entire family that was tortured to death one by one, constantly with the offer of riches and life if they would eat pork. Each one died faithful to the covenant. 1-4 Maccabees has testimony after testimony of an utterly uncompromising approach to borrowing anything from the pagans. Any Jews who did borrow pagan practices came under discipline or even death. To think that they borrowed a celebration of December 25 from the pagans is ludicrous in the extreme.↩

39And as we will see, many Jewish scholars argue for this date being of Mosaic institution since the first “feast of dedication” occurred on Chislev 25.↩

40Of course, we will later argue that the first celebration of a December 25 festival was under Moses, at the festival of the dedication of the tabernacle. It was clearly Satan who copied from God.↩

41Victor Buksbazen, The Gospel in the Feast of Israel, (Philadelphia: Friends of Israel, 1954), p. 51.↩

42Emily-Solis Cohen, Jr., Hanukkah (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1947), p. 109.↩

43These twelve days may form the background for the “twelve days of Christmas.” See more below.↩

44Though Goldstein has argued that the two dates were the same. James VanderKim says, “Goldstein thinks that the association between Hanukkah and Tabernacles was further suggested by the unintercalated calendar of Judea in this time… Two intercalary months had been omitted so that Chislev (i.e. the ninth month) 164 B.C.E. on the unintercalated calendar would have corresponded with the seventh month (Tishri) on the intercalated one.” As quoted by James C. VanderKam in From Revelation to Canon (BRILL, 2000), p. 142.↩

45James C. VanderKam, Ibid, argues that “the celebration of Hanukkah was fashioned after the example of the description in 2 Chronicles 7 of Solomon’s dedication which coincided with the festival of Tabernacles” (p. 141). Thus, the two letters prefixed to 2 Maccabees speak of celebrating Hanukkah after the manner of Tabernacles. Edersheim states, “Thus the two festivals (Dedication and Tabernacles), which indeed are put in juxtaposition in 2 Macc. X. 6, seem to have been both externally and internally connected” (Life and Times, ii, p. 227). Zecharaiah 14:16-21 teaches that the feast of Tabernacles pointed to the latter day glory of Christ’s reign where the nations would be converted to Him. The feast of Hanukkah dealt with the beginning of that reign.↩

46As Keil and Delitzsch said, “From this day, i.e., from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, Jehovah will bless again, i.e., grant a blessing, namely, so that fruitful seasons will come again, and fields and fruit-trees bear once more.”↩

47Emily-Solis Cohen, Jr., Hanukkah (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1947), p. 110. Whether this tradition is true or not, it illustrates the tight connection that these various “dedications” had in the minds of the Jews.↩

48I have counted 115 references to “the law” in Maccabees. They did not see themselves as adding anything to the law of God. Instead, they were constantly insisting that the people go back to the Scriptures.↩

49Aileen Guilding, The Fourth Gospel and Jewish Worship (Oxford: Clarendon, 1960), has an extensive (though liberal) defense of this position. She says on p. 3.

“It is suggested, then, that the Fourth Gospel appears to be a Christian commentary on the Old Testament lectionary readings as they were arranged for the synagogue in a three-year cycle. The order of the Gospel follows the cycle of the Jewish lectionary year, which was so arranged that a suitable portion of scripture was read at each of the feasts, and the evangelist’s many allusions to the Jewish festivals are not merely casual references but are fundamental to the structure of the Gospel.”↩

50For example, Leon Morris, The New Testament and the Jewish Lectionaries, (London: Tyndale Press, 1964) is skeptical that the case has been proved. However, a lot more research has taken place since then, and the contours of this structure are taking shape.↩

51F.F. Bruce, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981), p. 47.↩

52See chart under Festival of Dedication.↩

53Guilding, The Fourth Gospel, p. 129.↩

54For example, see “Simon the Zealot” (Acts 1:13; Luke 6:15). The Geneva Study Bible says, “”Possibly referring to Simon’s former membership in the Zealot revolutionary group.” For historical background on this revolutionary party, see Josephus, Jewish War 2.8.1, para 117-118; Antiquities 18.1.1 para 1-10; 18.1.6 para 23-25; Stumphff, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 2:882-887; Schürer, A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, vol. 2, pp 598-606.↩

55N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (Fortress Press, 1996), p. 539. Though there is much on which I disagree with Wright, he has had some very insightful critiques of first century Judaism.↩

56While other dates were suggested, they are marred by a superstition that a hero always dies on the date of his birth. For example, Clement of Alexandria came up with May 10. Other spring suggestions included April 2 or 19, and May 20. The anonymous treatise De Pascha Computus (AD 243, once falsely credited to Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage) argued for March 28. To have Jesus born in the Spring clearly violates the three and a half year cycle of festivals recorded in the Gospel of John.↩

57Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 7, 14:7↩

58However, there is contradictory evidence to this assumption: Rabbinical tradition says that the when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the priestly division of Jehoirarib was serving. If the order of priestly cycles was unbroken during those 70 years, then the course of Abijah that Zacharias belonged to would have served during the first week of October. Though slightly later than the previous calculation, it would make the birth in late December. See discussion under theory 2, which gives charts of all possible outcomes from the course of Abijah. A second fact that contradicts this thesis is that Zechariah was obviously serving during one of the major festivals when “the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense” (Luke 1:10). See discussion under theory 2 for more implications of this fact.↩

59Note that Luke 2:1-5 says that this was a “census” (v. 2) in which they were “registered” (vv. 3,5), not a taxation.↩

60However, note that the text of Luke 2 says nothing about going to Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. The only reason being given is that they needed to be registered in a census.↩

61But if there was a census, the same congestion would be noticed.↩

62However, it should be noted that the “tabernacles” that are being referred to have nothing to do with the tabernacle of Moses which prefigured Jesus. Instead, it refers to the “booths” that each family erected out of branches to remind them of their sojourn out of Egypt and in the wilderness. Thus the parallel between the name “festival of tabernacles/booths” and Jesus tabernacling among us is misplaced. Christ tabernacling refers to the tabernacle that Moses set up in which the fullness of God’s glory dwelt. It did not refer to small human habitations (booths).↩

63This reference by Josephus is contradicted by the Magillath Ta’anith, an ancient Jewish scroll that was contemporary with Jesus. This scroll indicates that Herod died on January 14, 1 BC. If this is the case, then it gives plenty of breathing room for this point.↩

64This automatically rules out several theories that posit a birth in 4 BC, 2 BC or 1 BC.↩

65see the Talmud, Sukkah 55b.↩

66“Those who are fresh to the incense come and draw lots.” (Tamid 32b) ↩

67Kenneth F. Doig, New Testament Chronology, (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990), chapter 6.↩

68Doig, Ibid., chapter 7.↩

69D. H. Clark and Richard F. Stephenson, The Historical Supernovae (London: Pergamon, 1977), 46. See also Kenneth F. Doig, New Testament Chronology, (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990), chapter 8.↩

70J. A. Goldstein, 1 Maccabees (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976). The Anchor Bible, Vol. 41, 281.) It should be noted that any calculators that fail to account for 1) the rule-based calendar change instituted by the Pharisees after 70 AD and formalized by Maimonides in 1178, and 2) the precession of equinoxes, will arrive at too early a date. The more elaborate calculators like those of Faulstich correctly date this event to December 25 (even though Faulstich does not believe a December 25 date for Christ’s birth). Failure to make adjustments can be tested by calculators by entering the date Nisan 1, 3756 BC. If the calculator uses the present fixed calendar rather than making the needed adjustments, it will yield the obviously bogus date of March 9, 5 BC, when in reality it is April 6, 5 BC. A whole month is lost. In contrast, on today’s 19-year metonic cycle Jewish calendar, Nisan 1 never appears before March 12. If the new moon appeared on March 9, it would have been Adar II, not Nisan 1.↩

71Kenneth F. Doig, New Testament Chronology, (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 1990), chapter 7.↩

72“It is said, The day on which the first Temple was destroyed was the ninth of Ab, and it was at the going out of the Sabbath, and the end of the seventh [Sabbatical] year. The [priestly] guard was that of Jehoiarib, the priests and Levites were standing on their platform singing the song. What song was it? `And He hath brought upon them their iniquity, and will cut them off in their evil.’ They had no time to complete `The Lord our God will cut them off,’ before the enemies came and overwhelmed them. The same happened the second time.” (Arakin 11b)↩

73“Patrologia Latina,” VIII, 964, as cited by Cyril Martindale, “Christmas,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III, 1908 Robert Appleton Co., Online Edition Copyright, 2003 K. Knight.↩

74Apology, I, 34.↩

75Against Marcion, Book 4, 7↩

76For skeptics who wonder how any Christians could have had access to these records before Constantine, it should be kept in mind that Paul said, “All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household” (Phil. 4:22), and that the Gospel reached the “whole palace guard” (Phil. 1:13; Acts 28:16,30). There is no reason why Christians in the palace could not have later provided information from the archives to those who were interested – men like Justyn and Tertullian.↩

77The Encyclopedia Britannica, New York: The Encyclopedia Britannica Company, 1910), “Epiphany.”↩

78Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, book II (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p. 187, footnote 3.↩

79For example, most scholars agree that Theophilus was part of the historically verifiable (and heated) debate on whether Passover should be celebrated on Sunday or on Nisan 14, irrespective of which day of the week Nisan 14 fell on. This heated debate in 154 AD was not over whether the festival should be celebrated, but on which day was appropriate. All agreed that celebrating Passover had been practiced continuously since the time of the apostles. Why do they accept the Pascha fragment and not the December 25 fragment? Both relate to the same controversial period and both were used to buttress Theophilus’ argument about which day Passover should be celebrated.↩

80In his notes on The International Book of Christmas Carols, musical arrangements by Walter Ehret, trans. George K. Evans (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1963; New York: Walton Music Corp., 1963), p. 3. Though these quotes come from later centuries, and are therefore questioned by some, there is no reason to doubt their veracity unless we are willing to attribute deliberate lying to the church fathers who give the quotes.↩

81Strom., I, xxi, 45, in P.G., VIII, 888↩

82Just as a side note, the practice of the “twelve days of Christmas” may have come from the twelve days of gift giving by the twelve princes on the twelve days following Chislev 25 at the dedication of the first tabernacle (see Numbers 7).↩

83Thomas J. Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year, (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1986), p. 91.↩

84H. Engberding, “Der 25. Dezember als Tag der Feier der Geburt des Herm,” ALW 11 (1952) 2543, esp. p. 36. As cited by Talley, Ibid. Cf. the review of this essay by Botte, Bulletin de Theologie ancienne et médiévale VII (1954-1957), no. 918, P. 198.↩

85Herman Wegman, Christian Worship in East and West, New York: Pueblo Publishing, 1985, 103↩

86He states, “In Nisan the Lord of Thunder weakened his heart through sympathy, and entered into the womb of Mary that he might dwell there; in Nisan again he has shown himself strong, and after loosing the womb of hell is risen.” Ephrem Syrri Hymnus 21, “De resurrectione Christi,” verse 10, as translated by Bainton, “Origins of Epiphany,” 27.↩

87As quoted in the Patrologia Latina Database, VIII, 964. Now available online at http://pld.chadwyck.co.uk/↩

88Epiphanius, Panarion, Section IV, Chapter 31 (51), 24,1.↩

89Epiphanius, Panarion, Section IV, Chapter 31 (51), 22, 18.↩

90Orosius, History Against the Pagans, PL xxxi, book 7, col. 1059.↩

91Augustine, De Trinitate Libri, IV, 5 (9).↩

92David L. Mosher, (trans.), Saint Augustine. Eighty-Three Different Questions, The Fathers of the Church 70 (Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1982), p. 98.↩

93Thomas J. Talley, The Origins of the Liturgical Year, (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1986), p. 91.↩

94See Susan K. Roll, Toward the Origins of Christmas (GA Kampen, the Netherlands: Kok Pharos Publishing House, 1995), p. 104.↩

95Susan K. Roll, Toward the Origins of Christmas, p. 104.↩

96Ioannis Malalae, Chonographia. An electronic version of this book is available at archive.org. A more recent critical edition can be purchased online.↩

97Alfred Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book 2, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), pp. 186-188.↩

98William Hendriksen writes,

In a letter dated January 16, 1967 the New Testament scholar Dr. Harry Mulder of The Netherlands writes (my translation from the Dutch):

“During the brief Christmas vacation my wife and I traveled from Beirut [where he was teaching at the time] to Jerusalem. In this connection I can also answer your question regarding the presence of sheep around Bethlehem in the month of December. On Christmas eve in Shepherd Field a crowd had gathered to sing Christmas carols. We joined this crowd and took part in the singing. Right near us a few flocks of sheep were nestled. Even the lambs were not lacking. It was a moving sight. It is therefore definitely not impossible that the Lord Jesus was born in December. But it is perhaps interesting to mention in this connection that the swarthy Coptic monks whose humble dwellings are located in the heart of the older city celebrate Christmas every month on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, because we do not know in which month the Lord was born. The weather in Jerusalem was beautiful, thus also in Bethlehem. We spent a few hours in the fields of Ephrata and were not bothered by the cold or by anything of that kind.”

William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew, pp. 181-182.↩

99Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Book 2, p. 186. Sydney Cleveland comments, “During many live television broadcasts from Bethlehem on Christmas Eve in 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, etc., I observed great numbers of pilgrims standing in the square and in the streets dressed in shirtsleeves — indicating that the weather was approximately 65 degrees F. Snow at Christmas or at any other time is a very rare event indeed in Bethlehem. I have heard that there is a light snow in Bethlehem approximately 4 times each century.”↩

100Edersheim points to a reference in the Mishna to sheep being in the fields during February, the time of the hardest rains of all. (Ibid., p. 187).↩

101Edersheim, ibid., p. 186.↩

102But see Rev. Ben Lacy Rose, Th.D., D.D., Baptism by Sprinkling (Omaha: Biblical Blueprints, 2006) for a clear explanation of why Jesus was not immersed.↩

103See Phillip G. Kayser, Sunday As A First Day Sabbath (Omaha: Biblical Blueprints, 2007) for a detailed exposition of the fourth commandment and its transfer to a New Covenant Sabbath day that is in keeping with redemption accomplished.↩

104See The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978), vol. 1, pp. 541-542.↩

105Francis Turretin, Institutes of Elenctic Theology, (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 1994), volume 2, p. 101.↩

Part 2: Suggestions for Celebrating

1https://kaysercommentary.com/Blogs/Feasts%20of%20Israel.md↩

2Chislev 25 is the Jewish equivalent to December 25. Though the Jewish lunar calendar lands in different places on our solar calendar, in the year that Jesus was born (5 BC), it landed on December 25.↩

3See chapter 1 for a discussion of these five Hanukkahs as well as the Hanukkah celebrated by Christ in John 10.↩

41 Maccabees 1:11-15↩

51 Maccabees 1:62-64↩

6Psalm 119:105,130; Isaiah 8:20; 2 Peter 1:19↩

7

Watch a performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaPny5dOMyQ↩

8Matthew 1:18-25↩

9Luke 2:1-20↩

10See footnote 4.↩

111 Maccabees 2:15-28↩

122 Maccabees 8:1-11↩

13Ps. 27:1; Is. 9:2; 42:6; 49:6; John 8:12; 9:5; Rev. 21:23↩

14Matthew 2:1-23↩

152 Maccabees 7:1-42↩

16Is. 42:5-7,16; Matt. 5:14↩

17Matthew 3:1-12↩

181 Maccabees 3:10-24↩

19Rev. 4:5; Zech. 4:1-6↩

201 Maccabees 3:55 – 4:18↩

21Is. 60:1-3; Ps. 72:17-19↩

22Luke 1:67-80↩

231 Maccabees 4:16-35↩

24Psalm 36:9; Luke 1:79; Is. 58:10-12↩

25Luke 1:5-25↩

261 Maccabees 4:36-61↩

27Psalm 67:1; Daniel 9:17↩

28Luke 2:21-24↩

29Luke 2:25-33↩

30Luke 2:34-40↩

31Isaiah 9:6-7↩

322 Maccabees 1:1-18↩

33Matt. 13:43; Daniel 12:3; Rev. 22:1-5↩

34John 1:1-18↩