Part 2 – What are the Traditions? This is a five part series looking at the Celebrations of the Birth of a God in December.
Part 1 – Who is Celebrating? Who is being Celebrated?
Part 2 – What are the Traditions?
NEXT UP: Part 3 – When Did Things Change?
COMING SOON: Part 4 – Where is The Good News in the Old Testament?
COMING SOON: Part 5 – Why Celebrate the Birth of Jesus Differently?
What are the Traditions?
While many simply decorate because its the thing to do for the season. Others are decorating as a celebration of their god and many of the traditions originated as rituals used in worship gatherings. Regardless of their origin, the meanings attached to them have become the same, irrelevant of the god being celebrated. It is interesting to look at the various sites explaining why they believe their symbol means what it means – not even realizing, all the other god worshipers are saying pretty much the same thing, here are just a few:
- Trees decorated with lights and trinkets representing everlasting life and eternal light in darkness. Initially, these trees were decorated outside, it wasn’t until later they were brought inside the home.
- Decorating with greenery representing abundant life.
- Holly and Mistletoe the colors of the season. Green representing life everlasting. Red the color of sacrifice.
- Wassailing and Caroling spreading cheer and joy from house to house.
- Small figurines depicting their god. The most popular places of display are under the tree, on a mantle, or table top.
- Candle light gatherings singing songs of worship, praise, and prayers to the god.
- Gift giving representing either something the god has given or something given to the god.
If someone took a snapshot of all the homes on a city block, it would be difficult to tell the pagans, witches, wiccans, Christians, and non believers from one another. Even the fruit cakes could get involved. *read with slight sarcasm…Raisin/Grape cakes were used in Ashtoreth worship (Hosea 3:1)*
One of the main reasons everyone is celebrating in the same way – if you read the last blog you already know what is going to be said – has to do with the Roman Emperor Constantine. He and the bishops of the Roman Catholic church “Christianized” all the celebrations. Basically, they didn’t change anything. They mashed all the gods, believers, and traditions together. So even though they remained separate in what god they worshipped, the details of when and how merged together.
All Worshipped the Same Way?
All the gods, except Jesus, have been honored for 2,500-3,000+ years with at least one day in December to remember their birth and their miraculous feats.
It is highly unlikely Jesus’s birth was celebrated by any of the disciples, nor the early church fathers, as it was not their custom at that time. There is no contention the early church observed YHWH/God’s Sabbaths well into the fourth century. In observing the Sabbaths they would have indirectly celebrated Jesus, as his birth was foretold thousands of years ahead of time through the Sabbaths.
The tradition of observing God’s Sabbaths eventually changed after Constantine began persecuting anyone observing anything which had to do with the Jews. As the Christians distance themselves from the Jews they began assimilating the Sabbat traditions of the pagans, witches, and wiccans into their celebration of YHWH and his son, Jesus. Eventually it became more and more difficult to tell the celebration of a god born in December apart. As time went on, the Christians began believing they did not have to nor should they keep the Sabbaths of the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (YHWH), seeing them as strictly for the Jews. The fact YHWH built the message of Jesus into his Sabbaths, spanning thousands of years before his birth, is now completely lost to the Christians.
Constantine was successful in merging all the traditions. Celebration of Jesus became the same day as all the other gods, as well as the same traditions in honoring him.
At some point after Constantine, certain denominations of Christians and Messianic Jews began to recognize the pagan ways of the celebrations and refused to continue their observance well into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. They found observing Christmas as dishonoring to the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – YHWH and Jesus. They may have measured these traditions against what YHWH/God said in Deuteronomy.
Some modern day Christians are again, foregoing traditions they believe are rooted in pagan ways and turning back to the Sabbaths of YHWH/God. Many site Jeremiah 10, as a reason to not have a Christmas tree, however, as much as this text sounds exactly like our modern Christmas tree, it was talking about the figurines they would whittle out of the wood (or stone), paint them, and put them together with nails and set them under a tree. The tree was called an Asherah pole, a tree or pole in the shape of a tree, used in worship to the goddess Asherah. These trees/poles are spoken of 32 times in the Hebrew Bible (OT), each time the followers are being told to cut them down and burn them and the figurines under them. Asherah (also known as Ishtar/Easter) is a sun goddess referred to several times, along with Baal, two gods YHWH/God had the most contention with. She was the lover of Nimrod/Tammuz also being celebrated on December 25th.
However, today, main stream Christianity continue with their celebration of God and Jesus with the date and traditions developed during the era of Emperor Constantine. They are no longer concerned with the pagan origins as they focus on what is in their hearts: celebrating the birth of Jesus as the reason for the season and the traditions which bring families together.
The Nativity
One thing that is very different is Christians are the only ones with a tradition, at this time of the year, including a Nativity Scene. Nativity literally means occasion of a birth. The Nativity Scene of Jesus is publicly displayed all around towns and the country side. Entire plays and dramatizations are centered around this scene. Although there are figurines, shapes, and art depicting other gods, none are typically used as a nativity/birth scene, nor are they publicly displayed during their celebrations in December.
The Smithsonian says the first Nativity Scene was set up in 1223 by a Franciscan monk (Roman Catholic) – St. Francis of Assisi. There is a story out there going something like this, he set up a scene, and invited everyone to come and see. While they were looking, he preached about Jesus – no wait – “the babe of Bethlehem,” because he was so overcome with emotion, he just couldn’t say Jesus.
Side track note: What is up with that? Not saying this is pertaining to this instance, but there is a verse about someone who does not say Jesus came in flesh.
The scene we typically see today, at least in America, includes:
- Luke 2:4 = Joseph
- The non-biological father of Jesus
- Luke 2:5 = Mary
- The virgin who gave birth to Jesus
- Luke 2:6 = Jesus as a baby
- Luke 2:12 = Jesus wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger
- Luke 2:7 = A Manger
- Usually the manger is a wooden one but that is not a true representation.
- Managers at that time were typically made of a hewn out boulder or a cement type mixture of straw and clay.
- Luke 2:6 = Shepherds
- Once they heard about the birth, they went and found Mary and Joseph.
- The number is unknown.
- Matthew 2:1 =Tree Wise Men or Kings
- It is recorded in Scripture “Magi” visited.
- They were not what we would call “wise men” nor were they kings. They were astrologers or government representatives. This word appears 6 times in scripture. Four in Matthew 2, and the same word is translated as sorcerer twice in Acts 13:6-8.
- No biblical scholars believe they were at the birth, they believe they came closer to when Jesus was two because of Matthew 2:16. But when they visited is not recorded in scripture.
- Scripture = A Star
- No scripture specifically places the star at the Nativity.
- Matthew 2:2 The star is mentioned in the story of the Magi, but when they visited is not recorded in scripture.
- Matthew 2:9 The star “stopped over the place where the child was” when the Magi were looking for him. But when they visited is not recorded in scripture.
- Matthew 2:16 Herod killed all the boys two years old and under – in accordance with the time he learned from the Magi.
- Some connect the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24:17 to this star.
- No Scripture = Barn animals
- Typically includes any number of donkeys, cattle, sheep and maybe a camel or two.
- There is no way of knowing if animals were there. Some surmise they would have been kept out because of all the people who were most likely occupying the same place because of the town being crowded. In addition to the fact a baby had just been born there.
- No Scripture = An Angel
- No specific scripture places any angels at the Nativity.
- Messengers announced the birth to the Shepherds.
- The Messenger of the Lord appeared to Joseph after the Magi left.
- No Scripture = A Stable
- The Stable was inserted into the scene because of the mention of a manger.
- Based on historical information, it is highly unlikely the scene took place in what we typically see in a Nativity Scene. They were most likely in the bottom floor of a house where animals could be feed indoors.
- Check out Genesis 33:17 for an interesting twist.
We’ve covered who is celebrating, who is being celebrated, and what traditions there are. Generally, the pagans, witches, wiccans, and even the Jews have stayed true to their time honored traditions in celebration of their gods for thousands of years. The Christians and the Messianic Jews however have made major changes in the last 1,600 years, some in just the last 300+ years. We’ll take a look at just when did things change for them next.
Micah is a book written around 700 years before Jesus’s birth. The Prophet speaks about the coming birth of a Messiah, Jesus, and the millennial kingdom to come. Nimrod/Tammuz, Asherah, and several other gods are spoken of throughout Micah.
As you read scripture such as Micah, consider, what could the things he refers to be a symbol or representation of in our time? For example, obviously, we no longer have chariots – what might those represent?
The final verses of Chapter 5, :
10 “In that day,” declares the Lord,
“I will destroy your horses from among you
and demolish your chariots.
11 I will destroy the cities of your land
and tear down all your strongholds.
12 I will destroy your witchcraft
and you will no longer cast spells.
13 I will destroy your idols
and your sacred stones from among you;
you will no longer bow down
to the work of your hands.
14 I will uproot from among you your Asherah poles[e]
when I demolish your cities.
15 I will take vengeance in anger and wrath
on the nations that have not obeyed me.”
Micah 5 TLV (emphasis added)
CalltoCeaseFire 