[Avodah] Nittelnacht

[Richard Wolberg]

Toby Katz responded:      Your question about Easter -- xmas is  
especially associated with the night,
with the darkness of night -- that's when their god was born and  
that's when they are all outside, going to church.


The answer above is not accurate:

Most biblical scholars and preachers readily admit that they know  
Jesus was not born on December 25th. However, they claim that this day  
is as good as any other to celebrate the birth of Jesus, despite the  
fact that it was originally a pagan celebration called Saturnalia  
which commemorated the birth of the sun god.

Determining the exact day of Jesus' birth is even more problematic  
than the year. Some say that the birth could not have happened in the  
deep winter, because the Bible says that shepherds spent the night  
outdoors with their flocks when Jesus was born (Luke 2:8). Paul L.  
Maier, In the Fullness of Time: A Historian Looks at Christmas,  
Easter, and the Early Church, Kregel Publications (1998), p28

In the first 200 years of x-stian history, no mention is made of the  
calendar date of Jesus' birth. Not until the year 336 do we find the  
first mention of a celebration of his birth.

Why this omission? In the case of the Church fathers, the reason is  
that, during the three centuries after his life on earth, the event  
considered most worthy of commemoration was the date of his death. In  
comparison, the date of his birth was considered insignificant. As the  
Encyclopedia Americana explains, "xmas... was, according to many  
authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the xtian  
church, as the xtian usage in general was to celebrate the death of  
remarkable persons rather than their birth..." [probably patterned  
after yahrzeit] (1944 edition, "Christmas"). For several centuries,  
xtians paid little attention to the celebration of Jesus' birth. The  
major Christian festival was Easter, the day of his purported  
resurrection. Only as the church developed a calendar to commemorate  
the major events of the life of Jesus, did it celebrate his birth.  
Therefore, a date had to be selected and was done so arbitrarily.

Speculation on the proper date began in the 3rd and 4th centuries,  
when the idea of fixing his birthday started. Quite a controversy  
arose among Church leaders. Some were opposed to such a celebration.  
Origen (185-254) strongly recommended against such an innovation. "In  
the New Testament, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a  
great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners who make great  
rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this  
world" (Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908 edition, Vol. 3, p. 724, "Natal  
Day").

During this time eight specific dates during six different months were  
proposed by various groups. December 25, although one of the last  
dates to be proposed, was the one finally accepted by the leadership  
of the Western church.

The following is very interesting:

Since Jesus was conceived six months after John the Baptist, and a  
likely date was established for John's birth, we need only move six  
months farther down the Luach to arrive at a likely date for the birth  
of Jesus. From the 15th day of the 1st month, Nissan, we go to the  
15th day of the 7th month, Tishri. And what do we find on that date?  
It is the festival of Succos!


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