As Christmas rapidly approaches, I thought I would take the next two weeks to share several tales that look at the holiday from a Christian perspective. Whether you are a believer or not, I hope you find these stories entertaining, informational and quite possibly inspirational.

You Can’t Spell Christmas Without “Christ” . . . Or Can You?

Merry Xmas! You’ve probably seen this alternative spelling for the traditional holiday greeting several times in your life. Furthermore, if are a Christian, or know someone who is, there is a good chance you are familiar with the protests about how replacing the word “Christ” with an “X” is just another attempt to secularize the holiday. Church history, however, suggests a different story. We live in a world of abbreviations. Commonly recognized abbreviations help us save time and space by replaced long or often used words or phrases with just a few letters. We abbreviate addresses (St, Rd, Apt), states (FL, NY), degrees (PhD, MBA), government agencies (CIA, FBI), titles (Mr, Ms), and many other things. By the time of the Renaissance and the Reformation, the church was no different. Many Christian words or phrases were abbreviated, often with Greek letters. One common usage that is still seen today is the “ichthys.” The “Ichthys” is the simple fish symbol often displayed on car bumpers or Christian business advertising with five Greek letters (ΙΧΘΥΣ) printed inside. Those letters stand for the phrase, “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour.” As you can see in the above example, the Greek letter X was often used to abbreviate the word “Christ.” By the 1400’s church documents and pamphlets were using this letter to abbreviate several words that began with the word “Christ,” such as Xmas. (Other uses were Xian for Christian and Xiantiy for Christianity.) From there the use of Xmas spread to newspapers and other non-religious publications until eventually it was integrated into common usage. Ironically, instead of the secular world altering the word Christmas to distance themselves from the church, the church actually introduced the usage of the word Xmas and the secular world ended up embracing it.

A Christian Perspective on “The Twelve Days Of Christmas”

Everyone knows the song “The Twelve Days Of Christmas,” but have you ever wondered why anyone would write a song about such outrageous gifts? In the late 70’s a hymnologist named Hugh D. McKellar published an article theorizing that the song was actually a coded message. During times of persecution Christians, especially Christian children, could sing the song as a way to remember the tenants of their faith, since each of the gifts had a symbolic meaning particular to the Christian faith. While this is an interesting idea, a study of history and historical literature presents many problems with this theory, and the author himself eventually admitted that his conclusions were based on his own interpretation of the song. Even though the song was not written with Christian symbolism in mind, society often uses basic tools, such as mnemonic devices, to aid memory (i,e. "Every Good Boy Does Fine" to remember the lines of a musical Treble Staff). Additionally, society often changes the meaning of a word or symbol from its original intent (i.e. A # used to be called a “pound sign” and meant number, as in #1. Now it is called a hashtag and denotes a Twitter keyword.). This being the case, I don’t see a problem with applying the Christian meanings to the twelve gifts of Christmas as another way to reflect upon our faith during the holiday season. Just don’t try to imply that these meanings are canon. Below are Christian meanings associated with each gift. Partridge = Jesus Christ 2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments 3 French Hens = The Trinity and/or the Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity) 4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists 5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the “Pentateuch”, which gives the history of man’s fall from grace. 6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation 7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit 8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes 9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit 10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments 11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles 12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

Should Christians Even Celebrate Christmas?

The simple answer to this question is yes, it is totally appropriate that we celebrate the birth of Jesus. What this question really addresses is whether or not Jesus’ birth should be celebrated as we typically do, with decorations, parties, and other festivities all centered around a day in December. For some Christians, this type of celebration raises concerns and questions, specifically when one looks at the origins of our modern day holiday season. While the exact date of Jesus’ birth is not known, most historians and Biblical scholars agree that it was nowhere near the day of the year that our modern calendar records as December 25th. So why then was this day chosen to celebrate the Savior’s birth? In ancient days, during this time of year, many pagan festivals were held to honor their gods, such as Mithras. Like the Madison Avenue ad firms of today, the Christian church felt it needed a campaign to promote itself during this crucial festival time. So, it was determined that Jesus’ birth would be celebrated alongside the pagan festivals in an effort to compete with worldly beliefs and hopefully draw in people to hear the Gospel. In addition to the concern that Christmas is really just a pagan festival with a new name, some holiday traditions have also raised the eyebrows of some the faithful. For instance, I know a few people who are reluctant to put up Christmas trees in their homes. This hesitation is based on such things as the cultish tradition of decorating trees to worship their gods and Biblical prohibitions against Asherah, which were trees cut down and used in Baal worship. So, are Christians really celebrating a pagan holiday when they participate in all the December festivities? To this, theologian and teacher R. C. Sproul offers these insights:

"I can only say, good for the early Christians who had the wisdom to flee from Mithras and direct their zeal to the celebration of the birth of Christ. Who associates Christmas today with Mithras? No one calls it “Mithrasmas” . . . Never does the church get as much free air time as during the Christmas season. Not only music but the visual arts are present in abundance, bearing testimony to the historic significance of the birth of Jesus. Christmas displays all remind the world of the sacred Incarnation." (From “Don’t Be a Scrooge This Christmas”)

"I can’t think of anything more pleasing to Christ than the church celebrating His birthday every year. Keep in mind that the whole principle of annual festival and celebration is deeply rooted in ancient Jewish tradition . . . While the New Testament doesn’t require that we celebrate Christmas every year, I certainly see nothing wrong with the church’s entering into this joyous time of celebrating the Incarnation, which is the dividing point of all human history. Originally, it was intended to honor, not Mithras or any of the other mystery religion cults, but the birth of our King." (From “Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?”)

For me and my thoughts on this controversy, I feel that Christmas is very analogous to the life of a Christian. Before being saved, the Christian’s life was one of self-worship. Their main focus was either doing what benefitted them the most or what brought them the most attention and praise. After receiving Christ, that worship shifted from themselves to God and, as they grow in their faith, their focus shifts more from what benefits them to what brings God the most glory. (Eph. 2:1-10) In the same way, Christmas, once a celebration of the world and its idols, has now been transformed into a celebration that brings glory to God, not only in the Christian community but often in secular communities, as well.

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Sources

Xmas: Bratcher, D. (2014, December 9). The Origin of "Xmas". Retrieved from http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/xmasorigin.html Sproul, R. C. (2017, December 11). What Does the X in Xmas Mean? Retrieved from http://www.ligonier.org/blog/why-is-x-used-when-it-replaces-christ-in-christmas/ Twelve Days of Christmas: Deconstructing the Twelve Days of Christmas. (2013, December 20). Retrieved from http://schoolpress.cshgreenwich.org/kingstreetchronicle/2013/12/20/deconstructing-twelve-days-christmas/ Origins of Christmas: Sproul, R. (2014, December 24). Don't Be a Scrooge This Christmas. Retrieved from http://www.ligonier.org/blog/dont-be-scrooge-christmas/ Sproul, R. C. (2016, December 23). Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday? Retrieved from https://www.ligonier.org/blog/celebration-christmas-pagan-ritual/