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The True True Meaning of Christmas

Red Tani
Red Tani

800px-Saturn_during_EquinoxI was supposed to deliver a reflection at the Unitarian Universalist meeting tonight, but I had to cancel at the last minute. I was asked to send a short piece that would be read at the service instead. Here it is:

***

I have always loved Christmas. When I was a kid, this was like a bonus birthday, a time when I could ask for another expensive gift. When I was a teen, Simbang Gabi gave me an excuse to go out past curfew with friends and, of course, see a lot of pretty girls, especially in prestigious churches like those in Alabang. And even when I lost belief in the Christ, who Christians assert to be the reason for the season, I never lost my love for the holidays. This is because I know, and have always known, the true meaning of Christmas.

But it is not the same meaning preached by the bishops and priests. I read of a bishop who wrote an article about how Christmas is supposed to be about worship, not courtship. Nor is it supposed to be about commercialism or consumerism or anything material. Even your loved ones — your friends, your family, your special someone — have to take a backseat to the true event which allegedly inspired the celebrated day. After all, they argue, can there be Christmas without Christ?

Yes, there can. And for centuries before it was even called “Christmas,” there has. It was called Saturnalia. It was one of the most popular Roman festivals. But if it was so popular, how come only a few know about it today?

We have the Church to thank for this. They wanted to compete with the pagans celebrating Saturnalia, so they invented a celebration of their own to coincide with it. This is how Christ’s birthday was born. This is interesting for two reasons. First, they had to make an exception for Jesus — it was considered pagan to celebrate birthdays at that time. Second, they didn’t even know when Jesus was born (they still don’t). Eventually, after centuries of conditioning — not to mention the Crusades and Inquisition — Christmas came to replace Saturnalia as the default December celebration.

So for the early Catholic Church, Christmas meant competing with the pagans. But what did it mean for the pagans who invented it?

Saturnalia was introduced to raise the spirits of soldiers and citizens after a bad beating in battle. Students took a break from school, people gave and got presents, everyone had good food and drinks and the celebration that went with it. Everyone — even the slaves. Many described it as the best of days. And although the festival still involved rituals offered to Saturn (the god of sowing), it was clear to everyone why it was a wonderful time.

And this, I believe is the true reason for the season. A lot of bad things may happen in a year, but at the end of it, you get a chance to celebrate life by giving and receving, eating and drinking, and most importantly sharing the experience with people, in this world — right here, right now. The bishops and priests want to make it about an event that happened thousands of years ago — it might not have happened at all. And they want to make it about receiving rewards in a place that’s worlds away from this — a world that might not exist at all.

But by trying to distract us from this world they are merely trying to be consistent with what they have done before. They have stolen the holidays from the pagans, and they want to keep it that way.

Yet people always remember the true meaning of Christmas — of Saturnalia — no matter how much they know about its history. They may attend the Misa de Gallo or pray before Noche Buena, but they instinctively know why they are happy. It may have taken me years to realize this, but I’ve never needed the Savior myths or the Sunday masses to enjoy Christmas. All I needed was to exchange greetings and presents, or even just share a meal or a drink, with people — even just a person — that I truly love.

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24 comments

  1. It is true that the Ancient Roman had a festival called Saturnalia and celebrating birthday has a pagan origin but the celebration of that pagan festival does not fall on Dec 25 and has nothing to do with the message of scripture, so clearly there is no basis to say that the origin of Christmas Birth comes from that pagan tradition. That is not the meaning of why Christians celebrating Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is the love of Jesus Christ. He saves us from our sins. God loves all of us, many may reject the love of Jesus Christ but God does not force Himself to us. God is love.

    Christians believe that receiving reward of eternal salvation through Christ because that is the promise of God and God is good and loving. Jesus even claimed that He is the truth. Jesus promise heaven and I believe in Jesus’ words. Red states “a worlds away from this — a world that might not exist at all.” I respect Red’s opinion and I know God loves Red. For me I trust Jesus Christ because I believe that what Jesus said about heaven is true.

    The exact date of Jesus Birth is not the issue. What is important is we celebrate Dec 25 to exalt and give thanks and praise to God. Many biblical scholars can make a biblical calculation from the scripture and so I believe that Dec 25 is exact date of Jesus birthday but Jesus is more important than the date. God bless everyone. I love you through Christ our Lord.

  2. If Jesus Christ wasn’t born on December 25, does the Bible indicate when He was born?
    The biblical accounts point to the fall of the year as the most likely time of Jesus’ birth, based on the conception and birth of John the Baptist.
    Since Elizabeth (John’s mother) was in her sixth month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:24-36

    ), we can determine the approximate time of year Jesus was born if we know when John was born. John’s father, Zacharias, was a priest serving in the Jerusalem temple during the course of Abijah (Luke 1:5
    ). Historical calculations indicate this course of service corresponded to June 13-19 in that year ( The Companion Bible, 1974, Appendix 179, p. 200).
    It was during this time of temple service that Zacharias learned that he and his wife Elizabeth would have a child (Luke 1:8-13

    ). After he completed his service and traveled home, Elizabeth conceived (Luke 1:23-24

    ). Assuming John’s conception took place near the end of June, adding nine months brings us to the end of March as the most likely time for John’s birth. Adding another six months (the difference in ages between John and Jesus) brings us to the end of September as the likely time of Jesus’ birth.

  3. This Saturnalia article is quite inaccurate. For one thing, in and around the winter solstice, many pagans celebrated many different festivals. While Saturnalia appears to be a precursor of Christmas, it may be only somewhat coincidental. Saturnalia, celebrated December 1-23, was more related to welcoming the new year in Roman times. The celebration of Christmas by the Western tradition of the Catholic Church is first found in the 11th century. For the first several hundred years of the Church traditionally believed that Christ's birth was somewhere around May. In fact until now, some Eastern Rite traditions celebrate Christmas on January 6th. Curiously, the pagan feast of Natalis Invicti seems to be closer to this date. However, once again, the Christianization of a once pagan feast was a practice commonly done to get rid of the old false ways much the same way as pagan worship sites where transformed into early churches but does not in any way mean that Christianity is merely a continuation of it.

  4. Psalm14:1 says, "the fool says there is no God". So to those unbelievers who want to hostage December 25, please note that April 1 is yours so yo don't have to do this. It's crass and tacky. Happy Fools day in advance!

    • //So to those unbelievers who want to hostage December 25, please note that April 1 is yours so yo don't have to do this.// So what are you going to do? Bust every non-believer who celebrates the Winter Solstice?

  10. The celebration what we now call Christmas was pagan in origin: the celebration of the birth of a child in the family. In order to gain membership, Christianity adopted the idea of the pagans. Celebration is a good human thing to do and it is contagious. But happiness here on earth is not the primary objective and doctrine of Christianity. That's what makes it a contradictions in their dogma.

  11. Thank you for this reflection. As a pinoy who found Unitarian Universalism in the US, it is refreshing to know that there are kindred "spirits" back home. It is the same theme I have been engaged with fellow UUs here in the US. Rejecting the christian myths need not be totally dismissive or filled with anger but rather that christian teachings of universal love can also inform our liberal faith. Salamat.

  13. I must say, I'm impressed with your argument even though I am a believer. Like "CP" said, it's rational but not antagonistic, unlike nonbelievers who really truly despise anyone not sharing their beliefs. Merry Christmas!

    And by the way, just respect our contemporary Church people. If you must pinpoint someone, pinpoint the original "stealers" of Saturnalia.

  18. I love this! Rational but not antagonistic.. Let me just say that this article is my introduction to this website and it feels good to have found you guys =)

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