8/6/2019 5 Things You Think You Know about Christmas . . . but Really Don't
1/5
You Know About
Christmas...
ThingsYou Think
(five)
Do
nT
ButReally
blueprint 93 continued on page 10
& C
5. It Happened inDecember
There it was, December 24th, Zero ..
Snow sprinkled gently on the rooftops, while
Jewish kids went ice-skating on the Dead
Sea, before making snowmen in the yard, and
drinking mugs of kosher hot chocolate before
bedtime. The next day, after an eventful
delivery, Joseph headed down to the local
Roman Consulate and got a nice ocial birth
certicate scroll, saying December XXV, in the
XXVIIth year of the reign of Caesar Augustus.
First name: Jesus. Last name: Christ.
With the spot for fathers name leftsuspiciously blank...
What really happened:Nobody actually knows what day Jesus was
born. Jews and early Christians cared more
about His death and resurrection than when
He was born. In fact, it was considered pagan
to care about birthdays, because the Roman
Empire made a big deal about birthdays.
I came, I saw, I had cake.
So it wasnt until a couple of centuries
later that people really even started asking
about the date. Most early suggestions were
between March and May. Which makes sense.
Christmas today is a joyful time, to say the
least. From the rst snowake of the season to
the post-Thanksgiving shopping sales, mostof us spend several months anticipating the
big day. But somewhere along the way, our visions of
sugar plums are replaced with just-before-Christmas
nal exams, crowded shopping malls, forced house
decorating, and being made to go to parties wed
rather not attend. And its precisely for those reasons
that most of us feel burned out after the holidays are
over.
And so we nd ourselves reecting on the very rst Christmas,
oh-so-long ago. That original Christmas was a simpler, quieter, more
spiritual time. When we reect on what Christmas truly means, we
nd that our sense of giddiness and anticipation cant be sated with
gifts or shopping bags, or stockings crammed with goodies. When we
clear up our misconceptions about the purpose of Christmas, we ndourselves much more satised with the truth.
So, in the spirit of getting back to the heart of the holiday, weve
compiled a list of common misconceptions of the Christmas season.
As it turns out, a lot of things we think we know about that rst
Christmas are completely untrue. You might realize that a lot of
Christmas pageants, movies (and maybe even our well-intended
Sunday school lessons) have misled us about a lot of the facts of that
rst Christmas. Lets get into what really happened.
8/6/2019 5 Things You Think You Know about Christmas . . . but Really Don't
2/5
celebrateChristmasin South Africa
Christmas is a summer
holiday. People often use
the Christmas break as an
opportune time for camping.
in Alaska
Christmas songs are ended
with a blessing in the Aleut
language: Mnogaya leta,
which means, God grant
you many years.
in Argentina
the traditional Christmas
beverage is a drink prepared
with different kinds of fruit,
cut into pieces, and mixed
with juice and cider.
in Australia
Christmas celebrations
down under include an
annual televised Carols
by Candlelight concert in
Melbourne.
in Brazil
Papai Noel (or Father
Christmas) is the Brazilian
version of Santa Claus. Since
its hot at Christmas, he
doesnt wear a red fur coat,
but lighter, silk clothes more
appropriate for the summer
heat.
10 DEC JAN FEB
3 continued on page 16
3 5 Things You Think You Know ... continued from page 9
If the shepherds were out with their sheep,
it wouldnt have been winter; it was most
likely spring. But even though that is a logical
conclusion, a spring birthday just never
caught on. Eventually, church leaders decided
on December 25. Why? Well, there are two
theories: either they stole the date from a
pagan holiday, or its because of the power ofmath.
Or maybe they just did this.
You may not realize it, but lots of our current
Christmas traditions are adapted from pagan
religions: the Christmas tree, the Yuletide log,
mistletoe, stockings by the chimney, etc.
So it would make sense for the date to be
adapted from another pagan holiday. In this
case, the Romans worshiped a sun god named
Sol Invictus. They celebrated his day on
December 25. Why would anybody celebrate
a sun god in the middle of winter? Well, as
we all know (or should if we paid attention
in science class!), December 21st is the winter
solstice, the shortest day of the year. Every
day after that is longer than the one before.
So the Romans celebrated their sun god when
the days started getting longer.
The theory goes like this: when Emperor
Constantine made Christianity the ocial
religion of Rome, they were already used to
celebrating on December 25, so he designated
that as Christs birthday, to trick the Romans
into celebrating for Jesus.
But most modern scholars now think that
we decided on December 25 because of some
simple arithmetic. As you may have noticed,
God seems to do things in number patterns.
Elijah spent 40 days in the wilderness:Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness.
Jonah was in a whale for 3 days:
Jesus was dead for 3 days.
There were 12 tribes of Israel:
there were 12 disciples of Jesus.
So early Christians started thinking: If
Jesus died on a certain date, maybe He was
conceived on the same date?
By this logic, we can assume thatTim Tebow will win the Super Bowl
on August 14th.
Since it was believed that Jesus was
crucied on March 25, then that meant
the Holy Spirit came to Mary for the
Annunciation on March 25, as well, 33 yearsearlier. Add nine months of pregnancy to
March 25, and you get . . . DECEMBER 25!
(Orthodox Christians use the dates April 6 and
January 6, but the principles the same.) So
you can thank early Christian mathematicians
for the reason we celebrate Christmas in the
winter instead of the spring.
4.There were 3 wisemen, and they were ontime
We can blame a lot of our wrongness aboutChristmas on popular Christmas songs. We
know all about We three kings of Orient
are, and nativity scenes always show us
three wise men, generally in an aesthetically
pleasing, tiered display: one kneeling low
in worship, one kneeling normally, and one
standing.
The fourth king, who walked like anEgyptian, is generally not pictured.
8/6/2019 5 Things You Think You Know about Christmas . . . but Really Don't
3/5
celebrateChristmasin Denmark
Christmas Eve dinner begins
with rice pudding that holds
a single magic almond
inside. Whoever finds the
almond in their bowl receives
a prize.
in China
December 25th is not an
official holiday. But the
commercialization of
Christmas has crept into
the culture, and people do
buy each other presents at
Christmastime.
in Germany
the traditional visitor is
the Christkind, who is a
messenger for baby Jesus.
She is a beautiful fair-
haired girl with a shining
crown of candles who
visits each house with a
basket of presents. Children
leave letters on their
windowsills for Christkind,
and sometimes the letters
are decorated with glue and
sprinkled with sugar to make
them sparkle.
in India
Christians in India decorate
banana or mango trees.
They also light small oil-
burning lamps as Christmas
decorations and fill their
churches with red flowers,
such as the poinsettia.
16 DEC JAN FEB
3 5 Things You Think You Know ... continued from page 10
3 continued on page 36
I would let them sleep in thegarage, but then where would we
keep the Porsche?
What really happened:The Bible never says that there were three
wise men, only that there were three gifts.
But whatever, its convenient to assume one
wise man per gift. Heres what will blow your
mind: the wise men werent even at Jesus
birth!
You know that song, The 12 Days ofChristmas? The reason there are 12 days is
because it is traditionally believed that the
wise men were 12 days late, which is why
January 6 is Epiphany Day. But even that
tradition is giving the wise men too much
credit.
You ever wonder why King Herodwhen
he was looking for baby Jesushad his
soldiers kill every baby up to two years old?
Its not because he was bad at estimating ages,
its because by the time the wise men told him
about the baby king, theyd missed the birth
by almost two years.
The reason there werent fourgifts is because Jesus had alreadyoutgrown the newborn onesies.
3. There was no roomat the inn, so Jesuswas born in a stable
This is the part of the Nativity story that
always gets lots of outrage and sympathy.
Mary had to give birth to a baby in a stable
because there was no room at the inn. It makesyou want to give up faith in humanity. There
wasnt a single guest at the inn that was willing
to give up his roomfor a pregnant lady? Even
if all the guests were selsh jerks, surely the
innkeeper himself would say, Hey look, lady,
you can have my room. Ill sleep in the stable.
Try not to ruin the sheets. But he didnt.
So because of peoples self-centeredness, the
Son of God was born in a lowly manger, in a
stable with a bunch of farm animals.
If God wants to save us, He can doit during the off-season. Doesnt Heknow you can never get a room over
the holidays?
What really happened:There was no innkeeper and no stable in
the Nativity story. And almost certainly no
animals. Dont believe me? Go check outthe Bible story in Luke 2. The Bible doesnt
mention any of those things. It wasnt a
heartless innkeeper who kicked Mary out into
the cold, it was . . . Josephs own family.
The point of the census was to go back to
your familys hometown. Joseph and Mary
went to Bethlehem where many of Josephs
aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, parents,
and siblings still lived. Bethlehem was a tiny
town; its not like there was an Embassy
Suites on every corner. So when Joseph
and Mary needed a place to stay, they went
to a relatives house. But then why does it
say inn? Because modern scholarship has
improved our understanding of the Greek
word kataluma. Instead of inn, it should be
translated as guest room. Thats right, it was
the spare room at his familys house that was
full, not an inn. The real scenario was that
Josephs local relatives were swamped with all
the out-of-town relatives.
8/6/2019 5 Things You Think You Know about Christmas . . . but Really Don't
4/5
celebrateChristmas
in Greece
The Christmas feast in
Greece features loaves of
christopsomo or Christ
Bread. This bread is made in
large sweet loaves of various
shapes and the crusts are
engraved and decorated in
some way that reflects the
familys profession.
in the Philippines
There is a unique tradition
in the Philippines of making
3-D parols or star lanterns
made from thin strips of
bamboo and covered in
colored thin plastic film to
symbolize the guiding star
that the three wise men
followed to find Jesus Christ.
It is also the Filipinos way
of inviting the spirit of Christ
into their homeit mentally
reverses the notion of no
room at the inn. The star
symbolizes the willingness
of each home to house the
baby Jesus.
in Spanish Countries
In Spain, Argentina, Mexico,
and Uruguay there is a
long tradition for having
the children receive their
Christmas presents from the
three wise men, or tres reyes
magos, during the night of
January 5th, known as Magi
Eve. (The figure of Santa
Claus only became popular in
recent years.)
36 DEC JAN FEB
3 5 Things You Think You Know ... continued from page 16
3 continued on page 48
So instead of being put up in a spare
bedroom, Mary and Joseph had to camp out
on the oor of the living room. And since
Josephs relatives hadnt proactively picked
up a crib from Babies N Babies, they used
whatever furniture was already there, namely
an old manger.
The most accurate modern-day equivalentwould be to say, The relatives house was so
crowded that Mary had to give birth on the
couch. Then they kicked the dog out of its
doggy bed and put baby Jesus in that instead
of a bassinet.
2. It was peacefulWhats the most famous Christmas hymn
of all time? Thats right, Silent Night.
Weve been singing that hymn for hundreds
of years, ever since the Germans wrote it.
On top of that, weve got the other popular
Christmas hymns, with lines like, It cameupon a midnight clear, and the little boy
Jesus, no crying he makes. It all combines
to paint a picture of a calm, tranquil evening,
where everyone placidly accepted that God
was going to do a nice little miracle.
Then theres that line about the shepherds
guarding Jesus while he peacefully sleeps.
Shepherds werent guarding Jesus; they were
guarding sheep. You know, sheep, animals that
reek so badly that shepherds were ostracized
from the rest of societyfor a reason! When
you only shower once before foaling season
and once after eecing season you are not
the best-smelling company possible for atired new mom and a God who isnt potty-
trained yet. (Well, maybe that worked in the
shepherds favor.)
In any case, they almost certainly didnt
bring the sheep with them into Josephs
familys house. Have you tried moving a
hundred sheep in the middle of the night
when theyre already sleeping?Us neither.
Unless you count Wii Party.
What really happened:
The Christmas miracle scared the pants
o of all the people involved. This was a
tempestuous night. Start with a teenager
giving birth without the benet of modern
anesthetics. Factor in that God was staging a
supernatural invasion of the natural world.
The birth of Jesus violated all the laws ofnature.
Also, what was the rst thing angels had
to say to everybody when they appeared?
Do not be afraid! When Gabriel told Mary
she was pregnant, he had to start by calming
her down. When an entire army of angels
appeared to shepherds, they rst had to
prevent the shepherds from running away.
We dont always think about the
fearsomeness of angels, because when we hear
angel, we think of something adorable, like
this . . .
when the reactions that people have to real
angels are more something like this . . .
Theyre not thinking, How cute!
Angels are Gods divine messengers,defenders against demons, and warriors
of the spiritual realm. Christmas night was
the winning of a heavenly battle against
thousands of years of sinful consequences.
Any silent night was interrupted by a
fearsome angel army shouting a victory cheer.
Happy time? Yes. Peaceful time? No.
8/6/2019 5 Things You Think You Know about Christmas . . . but Really Don't
5/5
d
evos
Put on the fullarmor of Godso that you cantake your stand
against thedevils schemes.
Ephesians 6:11
monRead Ephesians 6:11.
Focus on the belt of truth
(6:14). Its truth in your
life and your beliefs that
wins Gods battle. Listen
carefully to the messages
you hear today, and make
the distinction between
truth and error.
tuesRead Ephesians 6:11, 14
again. Christ has given
you His righteousness
and helps you develop
personal righteousness
as you grow in your faith.
Ask God to help you live
righteously for Him.
wedRead Ephesians 6:11, 15.
When you talk about thegood news of salvation (the Gospel),
you announce that Christ has won.
Thank God for His victory over Satan.
thursRead Ephesians 6:11, 16. As a
Christian, your faith is in the nal
victory already won by Christs
resurrection. With this kind of faith,
you can face anything. Ask God to
increase your faith.
friRead Ephesians 6:11, 17. Salvation
is your ultimate protection. Onceyou trust Christ for salvation, your
life is changed and you have a new
direction. Thank God for His salvation.
satRead Ephesians 6:11, 18. Although
prayerisnt listed as a weapon,
you need it to have victory over the
enemy. Spend a few minutes in prayer,
thanking God for equipping you to
take your stand against Satan.
3 5 Things You Think You Know ... continued from page 36
48
Sorry to disillusion you. Also, there is noTooth Fairy. It was just your parents. p
1. The meaning of ChristmasBut the worst misunderstanding about Christmas is its meaning. Every year, TV
shows have a Christmas episode where the main characters discover the meaning of
Christmas. Ebenezer Scrooge, after a long night of hallucinations, nally gures out
the true meaning of Christmas! Tons of movies and songs ponder the true meaning
of Christmas. And that meaning is . . . get your shopping done before Black Friday.
No, seriously. Before Black Friday.
What really happened:
Sadly, too many people think Christmas is mostly a time of gift-giving, hanging
with family, doing the occasional good deed. But its much more important than
that. Its the only time in all of human history that the only all-powerful God
became human so that He could suer with us and save us from our own fallenness.
Zeus doesnt count. He onlybecame human to get dates.
Christmas is a time to remember and be thankful that God was willing to give
up so much because He loves us. Gifts are nice. Good deeds are nice. But Christmas
is more than our traditions and our misunderstandings. Its a paradox. A mighty
God becoming a humble baby. A fallen race, saved for all time. So lets recap. Not
in December, no wise men, no sheep, no stable, no Silent Night. Hopefully,
challenging these myths of Christmas will also help you challenge the watered-
down meaning of Christmas.
2107512 33 64 FSE i dd 48 4/19/11 9