The following article was published in the Philippine Canadian Inquirer Vol. 12 No.95 Christmas 2013 issue December 20, 2013 page 26
Little did my family knew. For years we were celebrating our mother’s birthday on the wrong date. It was off by almost a month. The need for a birth certificate unraveled the mistake.
Little did my family knew. For years we were celebrating our mother’s birthday on the wrong date. It was off by almost a month. The need for a birth certificate unraveled the mistake.
And
perhaps for almost 2016 years, give or take a few hundred years from Anno
Domini 1, we were probably celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ on the wrong
date and still do.
December
25th?
According
to several scholarly studies, the Bible itself in its gospels Matthew and Luke
gives enough data to indicate the birth of Christ was certainly not in December
or any winter month. The weather in Israel according to meteorologists
has basically remained unchanged since AD 1 or BC 1. Based on the
biblical account that shepherds were out in the fields at night with their
sheep - the months suitable to do so would generally be from April to
September. In fact there was just snow in Israel on December 2013.
In
addition, the Roman census - the reason why Joseph and Mary had to go from
Nazareth to Bethlehem, would most likely have been decreed to take place in
September or early October, right after harvest so as not to disrupt an
agrarian economy, and when the weather was still agreeable to be outdoors both day
and night. Why would Joseph and a near–term Mary travel about 4 days on
foot (for the man) in a chilly December? Unless God created a miraculous
change in weather patterns that year and had divinely led emperor Caesar
Augustus to go against the reasonable grain of thought. If this was the
case, the Bible was certainly quiet about it.
Christmas
was not officially celebrated until the fifth century when according to some
historians the Church of Rome ordered Christ’s birth to be observed December 25th
from then on to replace the pagan old Roman feast of the birth of Sol.
A
number of experts think Jesus was most likely born in September.
The
Three Kings?
The
Bible never said there were three, nor were they designated as kings. There
was certainly more than one. The number three could have been
ascribed to the three gifts cited: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Simply
wise men or magi, not royalty. The supposedly three names: Caspar,
Melchior, and Balthazar - are man-made coinage. The kingship could have
been inferred from the Old Testament book of Psalms chapter 72 verse 10 (NIV):
May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him gifts
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him gifts
But why
call them magi or wise men in the gospels?
Furthermore,
the magi were certainly not in the manger or on the actual birthday of
Jesus. The Bible narrates: On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. (Matthew
2:11 NIV) A child - not a baby. A house - not in a manger.
Modern
Day Symbolic Acts of Celebration
The
Christmas tree, Santa Claus or St. Nicholas, the wreath, stockings,
amongst others do not have any biblical foundation. One of the
symbolical acts closest to what happened during the birth of Christ is the
Philippine parol
The
Star of Bethlehem itself has been subjected to numerous scientific investigations
leading some researchers to theorize that a planetary conjunction, among other
solar phenomena (that did occur during the window of years Jesus could have
been born), was the “star” seen by the magi.
Another
rite of Christmas, Handel’s Messiah popularly performed with a sing-along, was meant for Easter and Lent, to celebrate Christ's Resurrection and Victory Over Death. The oratorio
premiered on April 13, 1742 in Dublin, Ireland.
In all
likelihood the Savior was born on a balmy pleasant late September or early October evening. No need to
dream of a White Christmas.
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