The True Meaning of Christmas

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The True Meaning of Christmas

Posted On : Dec-02-2011 | seen (1263) times | Article Word Count : 1730 |

Charlie Brown complained to his friend Linus about the commercialization of Christmas in the classic cartoon by Charles Shultz called, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965). Many Christians feel that way at times. However, like Linus we must continually look to the true meaning of Christmas. He spoke it from the book of Luke 2:8-14.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

There are many traditions and facts about Christmas which are either incorrect or borrowed from pagans. Here's but a few of them.

1) Most scholars agree that Jesus was born in September or October, and that Mithra, Osiris, and Dionysus (all of whom were pagan gods) were all born on December 25th. The first known celebration of it began in 336 A.D. by the Catholics. The Catholic Church adopted that date in order to win over the pagans during the early fourth century.

"The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances at mid-winter. December 25 was regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. . . The ecclesiastical calendar retains numerous remnants of pre-Christian festivals—notably Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of the god Mithra." Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976 edition; Micropedia II, pg 903, Macropedia 15, pg 1063.

"And first, as to the festival in honour of the birth of Christ, or Christmas. How comes it that that festival was connected with the 25th of December? There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October. It is in the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December. There is great unanimity among commentators on this point. Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of until the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance." Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons pages 91-93.

2) The Christmas tree comes from pagans as well. "The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt, that tree was the palm-tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the Pagan messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the sun-god and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as the 'Man the branch.' The Christmas tree is (also considered) Nimrod revived; the slain god come (back) to life again." (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons page 97).

Jesus, the true Messiah is also known as the branch (Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5). The Babylonian system of religion spread to all parts of the world and was adopted into the Catholic system in an attempt to gain converts (this was accomplished by them through combining pagan traditions which came from outside the word of God). Nevertheless, the modern custom (which of course originated from pagans without any doubt) of it was revived in Germany, especially with Martin Luther who was from there. The tree was decorated by him to supposedly represent the forbidden tree that was in the Garden of Eden. It became a tradition in England, especially among the royalty. The custom of the tree eventually came to America though many at first resisted this idea, calling it pagan symbol. Yet today according to christmastree.org "There are approximately 30-35 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. every year.”

3) Most people assume that the original "Santa Claus" was a bishop by the name of St. Nicholas of Asia Minor of the fourth century, this is not really true. Although some of this bishop's deeds later came to be associated with "St. Nick," the original "Nicholas" was once again Nimrod, the "mighty one against the Lord." The word "Nicholas" means "mighty one, powerful." Traditions of a "god" who gave gifts under an evergreen tree antecede the Asian Minor bishop by thousands of years! Among the Scandinavians it was the god Odin or Woden who left special gifts during the Yuletide season under the evergreen tree, his sacred tree.

Who was this Odin, or Woden, the original "Santa Claus"? He was the chief god of Norse mythology, a fierce fighter who carried a spear as his special weapon. He was renown as a mighty hunter, and for his magical powers. Tony Van Renterghem, the author of "When Santa Was a Shaman" shows the connection between Odin/Wodan and Saint Nicholas in his book. "Wodan/Odin: ...man's friend, the mysterious Schimmel rider. Dragging his dark and devilish slave Eckhart along on a chain, he rides through the stormy skies. He leads the Wild Hunt, eluding, and finally subjugating, the powers of evil. He also wears a broad-brimmed hat, a wide mantel, holds his spear, and rides through the skies (replace his hat with a bishop's mytre and the spear with a crozier, and we have the Dutch Saint Nicholas)" (page 111). In other words, Odin was another name for Nimrod, who, the Bible says, was "the mighty hunter before [the Hebrew word for "before" also means "against"] the LORD" (Genesis 10:9). Nimrod's reputation as a mighty hunter was widespread.

Alexander Hislop states, "The Wodan or Odin of Scandinavia can be proved to be the Adon of Babylon" (The Two Babylons, pages 133-134). Nimrod, Adon, or Adonis, of Babylon was the great "war-god." Odin was the same. Nimrod, in the character of Bacchus, was the god of wine. Odin was said to partake of no other food but wine. The name of one of Odin's sons, Balder, indicates the meaning of Odin's own name. Balder is a form of the Chaldee Baal-zer, "The seed of Baal." The Hebrew "z" in the later Chaldee frequently became a "d." Baal and Adon both signify "Lord." Since Balder is the "son of Baal," as well as the "son of Adon," or "Odin," then Baal, Adon, and Odin must be the same person -- representative of Nimrod, the first human to be deified and proclaimed by the pagans as a "god" after the Deluge.

"In newly Christianized areas where the pagan Celtic and Germanic cults remained strong, legends of the god Wodan were blended with those of various Christian saints; Saint Nicholas was one of these. There were Christian areas where Saint Nicholas ruled alone; in other locations, he was assisted by the pagan Dark Helper (the slave he had inherited from the pagan god Wodan). In other remote areas...ancient pockets of the Olde Religion controlled traditions. Here the Dark Helper ruled alone, sometimes in a most confusing manner, using the cover name of Saint Nicholas or 'Klaus,' without in any way changing his threatening, Herne/Pan, fur-clad appearance. (This was the figure later used by the artist Nast as the model for the early American Santa Claus)" (page 96). (Tony Van Renterghem, When Santa Was a Shaman).

The Catholic Saint Nicholas also had a confusing past. Says van Renterghem, "He was a compilation of two separate saints (one from Myra in Asia Minor, the other from Pinora), both of whom were -- as the Church nowadays admits -- nothing more than Christianized water deities (possibly related to the Greco-Roman god Poseidon/Neptune)." In the 1970s, the Second Vatican Council formally stated that no Roman Catholic bishop by the name of Nicholas had ever existed. Vatican II further confessed that the legends attributed to this "saint" had no Christian origin, and probably came from pagan traditions!

There's definitely a lot of pagan tradition intertwined into Christmas. But if we recall the real reason for the season by spreading the good news that God loves us and wants us to be part of His great plans, then we all will be blessed. Christians now can say these same words of Joseph. "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Genesis 50:20) In like manner Satan has tried to make the true meaning of Christmas lost (through commercialism or pagan traditions), yet Jesus Christ has made a way for us to get back home to God. May God give you peace, love and joy this Christmas.

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<h1>The True Meaning of Christmas</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Steve-0.aspx'>Steve-0</a> Charlie Brown complained to his friend Linus about the commercialization of Christmas in the classic cartoon by Charles Shultz called, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (1965). Many Christians feel that way at times. However, like Linus we must continually look to the true meaning of Christmas. He spoke it from the book of Luke 2:8-14.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

There are many traditions and facts about Christmas which are either incorrect or borrowed from pagans. Here's but a few of them.

1) Most scholars agree that Jesus was born in September or October, and that Mithra, Osiris, and Dionysus (all of whom were pagan gods) were all born on December 25th. The first known celebration of it began in 336 A.D. by the Catholics. The Catholic Church adopted that date in order to win over the pagans during the early fourth century.

"The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observances at mid-winter. December 25 was regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. . . The ecclesiastical calendar retains numerous remnants of pre-Christian festivals—notably Christmas, which blends elements including both the feast of the Saturnalia and the birthday of the god Mithra." Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976 edition; Micropedia II, pg 903, Macropedia 15, pg 1063.

"And first, as to the festival in honour of the birth of Christ, or Christmas. How comes it that that festival was connected with the 25th of December? There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October. It is in the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December. There is great unanimity among commentators on this point. Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of until the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance." Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons pages 91-93.

2) The Christmas tree comes from pagans as well. "The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt, that tree was the palm-tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the Pagan messiah, as Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith. The mother of Adonis, the sun-god and great mediatorial divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the mother was a tree, the son must have been recognized as the 'Man the branch.' The Christmas tree is (also considered) Nimrod revived; the slain god come (back) to life again." (Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons page 97).

Jesus, the true Messiah is also known as the branch (Isaiah 4:2; Jeremiah 23:5). The Babylonian system of religion spread to all parts of the world and was adopted into the Catholic system in an attempt to gain converts (this was accomplished by them through combining pagan traditions which came from outside the word of God). Nevertheless, the modern custom (which of course originated from pagans without any doubt) of it was revived in Germany, especially with Martin Luther who was from there. The tree was decorated by him to supposedly represent the forbidden tree that was in the Garden of Eden. It became a tradition in England, especially among the royalty. The custom of the tree eventually came to America though many at first resisted this idea, calling it pagan symbol. Yet today according to www.christmastree.org "There are approximately 30-35 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. every year.”

3) Most people assume that the original "Santa Claus" was a bishop by the name of St. Nicholas of Asia Minor of the fourth century, this is not really true. Although some of this bishop's deeds later came to be associated with "St. Nick," the original "Nicholas" was once again Nimrod, the "mighty one against the Lord." The word "Nicholas" means "mighty one, powerful." Traditions of a "god" who gave gifts under an evergreen tree antecede the Asian Minor bishop by thousands of years! Among the Scandinavians it was the god Odin or Woden who left special gifts during the Yuletide season under the evergreen tree, his sacred tree.

Who was this Odin, or Woden, the original "Santa Claus"? He was the chief god of Norse mythology, a fierce fighter who carried a spear as his special weapon. He was renown as a mighty hunter, and for his magical powers. Tony Van Renterghem, the author of "When Santa Was a Shaman" shows the connection between Odin/Wodan and Saint Nicholas in his book. "Wodan/Odin: ...man's friend, the mysterious Schimmel rider. Dragging his dark and devilish slave Eckhart along on a chain, he rides through the stormy skies. He leads the Wild Hunt, eluding, and finally subjugating, the powers of evil. He also wears a broad-brimmed hat, a wide mantel, holds his spear, and rides through the skies (replace his hat with a bishop's mytre and the spear with a crozier, and we have the Dutch Saint Nicholas)" (page 111). In other words, Odin was another name for Nimrod, who, the Bible says, was "the mighty hunter before [the Hebrew word for "before" also means "against"] the LORD" (Genesis 10:9). Nimrod's reputation as a mighty hunter was widespread.

Alexander Hislop states, "The Wodan or Odin of Scandinavia can be proved to be the Adon of Babylon" (The Two Babylons, pages 133-134). Nimrod, Adon, or Adonis, of Babylon was the great "war-god." Odin was the same. Nimrod, in the character of Bacchus, was the god of wine. Odin was said to partake of no other food but wine. The name of one of Odin's sons, Balder, indicates the meaning of Odin's own name. Balder is a form of the Chaldee Baal-zer, "The seed of Baal." The Hebrew "z" in the later Chaldee frequently became a "d." Baal and Adon both signify "Lord." Since Balder is the "son of Baal," as well as the "son of Adon," or "Odin," then Baal, Adon, and Odin must be the same person -- representative of Nimrod, the first human to be deified and proclaimed by the pagans as a "god" after the Deluge.

"In newly Christianized areas where the pagan Celtic and Germanic cults remained strong, legends of the god Wodan were blended with those of various Christian saints; Saint Nicholas was one of these. There were Christian areas where Saint Nicholas ruled alone; in other locations, he was assisted by the pagan Dark Helper (the slave he had inherited from the pagan god Wodan). In other remote areas...ancient pockets of the Olde Religion controlled traditions. Here the Dark Helper ruled alone, sometimes in a most confusing manner, using the cover name of Saint Nicholas or 'Klaus,' without in any way changing his threatening, Herne/Pan, fur-clad appearance. (This was the figure later used by the artist Nast as the model for the early American Santa Claus)" (page 96). (Tony Van Renterghem, When Santa Was a Shaman).

The Catholic Saint Nicholas also had a confusing past. Says van Renterghem, "He was a compilation of two separate saints (one from Myra in Asia Minor, the other from Pinora), both of whom were -- as the Church nowadays admits -- nothing more than Christianized water deities (possibly related to the Greco-Roman god Poseidon/Neptune)." In the 1970s, the Second Vatican Council formally stated that no Roman Catholic bishop by the name of Nicholas had ever existed. Vatican II further confessed that the legends attributed to this "saint" had no Christian origin, and probably came from pagan traditions!

There's definitely a lot of pagan tradition intertwined into Christmas. But if we recall the real reason for the season by spreading the good news that God loves us and wants us to be part of His great plans, then we all will be blessed. Christians now can say these same words of Joseph. "But as for you, you thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive." (Genesis 50:20) In like manner Satan has tried to make the true meaning of Christmas lost (through commercialism or pagan traditions), yet Jesus Christ has made a way for us to get back home to God. May God give you peace, love and joy this Christmas.
 
About the Author: www.christmastree.org, The Two Babylons, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The King James Bible Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The-True-Meaning-of-Christmas_113562.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The True Meaning of Christmas_113562.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_The True Meaning of Christmas_113562.aspx

Author Resource :
www.christmastree.org, The Two Babylons, A Charlie Brown Christmas, The King James Bible

Keywords : Christmas, Christ, traditions, Martin Luther, Christmas tree, Santa Claus, December 25th, Mithra, birth, Chalie Brown, Charles Shultz, j,

Category : Society : Religion

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