Merry Christmas Everyone. :) CHRIST´MAS (“Christ’s Mass,” or “Festival”). The annual festival held by the Christian church in memory of the birth of Christ. It begins with the evening of December 24 (called Christmas Eve) and continues until Epiphany (January 6), the whole period being called Christmastide. It is more particularly observed on December 25, called Christmas Day, or simply Christmas. As to whether our Lord’s birth really occurred on December 25 ancient authorities are not agreed. Clement of Alexandria says that some place it on April 20, others on May 20, whereas Epiphanius states that in Egypt Jesus was believed to have been born on January 6. For a long time the Greeks had no special feast corresponding to Christmas Day. Chrysostom, in a Christmas sermon, a.d. 386, said: “It is not ten years since this day was clearly known to us, but it has been known from the beginning to those who dwell in the West.” The Western church unanimously agreed upon this date, and the Eastern church adopted it without much contradiction. As mentioned above, the period from Nativity to Epiphany was consecrated. The four Sundays preceding Christmas were incorporated with the cycle, under the title of the Advent, as a preparation for the festival. On Christmas Day, in the Roman Catholic church, three masses were celebrated, namely, at midnight, dawn, and in the daytime, a custom still observed in collegiate and cathedral churches. “A mystical explanation of the three masses is given, and they are supposed to figure the three births of our Lord: of His Father before all ages, of the Blessed Virgin, and in the hearts of the faithful” (Cath. Dict., s.v.). Several non-Christian elements have crept into the observance of Christmas. The use of lighted tapers reminds us of the Jewish feast of purification. The giving of presents was a Roman custom, whereas the yule tree and the yule log are remnants of old Teutonic nature worship. Gradually the festival sank into mere revelry. In England an abbot of misrule was chosen in every large household; in Scotland an abbot of unreason, who was master of the house during the festival. The custom was forbidden by Parliament in 1555; and the Reformation brought in a refinement in the celebration of Christmas by emphasizing its Christian elements. bibliography: Clement of Alexander The Stromata 1.21; Marcus Aurelius Augustinus De Trinitate 4.5; A. Hislop, The Two Babylons (1939), pp. 101-2. —New Ungers Bible Dictionary https://youtube/watch?v=QXgH8ZIz9jQ
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 00:04:21 +0000
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