Christian History of Christmas

Christian tradition holds that God became man in the person of Jesus, who Christians believe is the Messiah foretold by Old Testament prophets. Christmas, the celebration of Jesus' birth, takes place on what was originally a pagan holiday--selected to help gain early converts to the new religion. The church did not establish this birth date as December 25th until the year 350 A.D.

Prophecy

1. Christians believe the birth of Jesus was foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament, says Reverend William Jensen of Wittenberg LCMS in Normal, Illinois. He cites Micah 5:2, in the King James Version of the Bible, as pinpointing Bethlehem as the location of the birth of Christ. "But thou Bethlehem Ephratah [an Israeli tribe], though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. " Jensen also points out that the Book of Isaiah is full of prophecies regarding the "suffering servant," Jesus, 600 years before His birth.

Spiritual King

2. Jesus "did not come to us as an earthly king," says Rev. Jensen. "The rulers of the world who knew the prophecies were expecting this Messiah who would be a king, a political leader and social reformer. They didn't realize it was a kingdom that would be ruled by Jesus spiritually until His return."

The Incarnation

3. Christian tradition holds that God became man in the person of Jesus. "The Incarnation of Jesus was God becoming flesh," says Rev. Jensen "God can do anything. This is one of the greatest miracles of all, that He was able to bear our flesh to be the perfect sacrifice 33 years later."

Pagan Holiday

4. There is some evidence that December 25th was a pagan holiday and the early church fathers chose that day as Jesus' birth to compete with the pagans. "There were pagan holidays that were being celebrated and the early church hijacked one of them for the purposes of tying into the Christian message. By doing this, the Gospel was actually spread," says Rev. Jensen.

First Christmas in 200 A.D.

5. Christmas was not celebrated until 200 A.D., according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Christians first observed the feast in Alexandria, Egypt. Over the years, the early Church celebrated Christmas on many different dates and did not settle on December 25 until about 350 A.D.