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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1982)
<1 Page 2 Section II Portland Observer, December 15, 1982 - ' --.W n rc - •’ *71 The First Christmas M a tth e w 2:1-16 O W when Jesus was born in Bethlehem o f Judaea in the N days o f Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem. 2. Saying, Where is he that is born King o f the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was tro u bled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes o f the people together, he demanded o f them where Christ should be J they said unto him, In Bethlehem o f Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6. And thou. Bethlehem, in the land o f Juda, art not the least among the princes o f Juda; for out o f thee shall come a Gover nor, that shall rule my people Israel. 7. Then Herod, when he had p rivily called the wise men, en quired o f them diligently what time the star appeared. 8. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search d il igently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9. When they had heard the king, they departed; and. Io, the star, which they saw in the east, went before (hem, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11. A nd when they were come in to the house, they saw the young c h ild w ith M ary his m other, and fell dow n, and w o r shipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they pre sented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 12. And being warned o f God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13. A nd when they were departed, behold, the angel o f the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee in to Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod w ill seek the young child to destroy them. 14. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt; 15. And was there until the death o f Herod: that it might be fulfilled with was spoken o f the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out o f Egypt have I called my son. 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked o f the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the chil dren that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had d ili gently enquired o f the wise men. Luke 2:18-21 A ND there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9. A nd, ol, the angel o f the Lord came upon them, and the glory o f the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. Christmas through the ages--------- The m ovem ent o f the sun's re b irth , bringing the lengthening o f the days, has always been a vital re ligious tim e. Because early people realized that their life depended on the sun as a source o f life and light, so sun worship was prevalent among them. M an y centuries before C h rist's birthday other religious groups had religious festivals during the winter solstice The Romans honored their god o f agriculture, Saturn, from the middle of December until the begin ning o f Janu ary. They exchanged g ifts , did m uch e a tin g , d rin k in g , gaming and visiting. In Persia they built great fires to M ithra, their god o f light. Redating C h ris tia n ity . M ith ra is m had many similarities with the newer religion. There was baptism , a sacred meal, the observance o f Sunday, and the god was born on December 25th out of a rock. The idea of good and evil, ihe triumph o f evil by salvation, md special appeal to the poor were present in both religions. M an y o f ihe M ith raic features were adopted h o r n earlier religions. W hether C h ris tia n ity absorbed many o f these features from M ilhra- ism is not known. W hal is known is that they w ere co m p etito rs in the Roman Empire. S a tu rn a lia was celebrated throughout the Roman Empire. The medieval Feast o f fo o ls, led by the I ord o f M is ru le , comes fro m the w orsh ip o f S a tu rn . Roles were changed, with masters working for their servants. When Fmperor Constantine es tablished Christianity as the state re ligion, the persecution o f Christians ended At first Christ's birthday was not celebrated because his followers did not want to fo llo w pagan cus toms. The exact d ale o f C h ris t's b irth was not kn o w n , so in ihe 4th cen tury A D. Julius I made an investig- ■ition into the m atter and in A .D . 550. December 25th was selected as ihe probable date. The Feast o f Ihe Nativity was first observed in Rome and the custom ra p id ly spread. i A bout a century later most Chris- ians accepted the Decem ber 25th date, except the Armenians who still keep January 6th. As the Christmas festival spread th ro u g h o u t the western w o rld it look on many aspects o f the earlier pagan ceremonies, assimilating old traditions and myths into the new C h ris tia n ce le b ra tio n . M a n y o f those myths and practices are now fa m ilia r aspects o f (he m odern Christmas. The Christm as holiday was first observed in En glan d in A .D . 521 when King A rth u r celebrated his v ic to ry in re tak in g Y o rk . M an y guests sat at the fam ous Round Table, entertained by minstrels, jug glers, and pipe players. During the ninth century Alfred the Great set aside 12 days for Yule- tide festivities. W hile feasting in la vish style during the Christm as o f 878, the Danes made a surprise attack, scattering A lfre d 's forces. A lfre d escaped into the woods dis guised as a Christmas minstrel. During the M id d le Ages C h rist mas became the most important fes tival of the year. When the Purilan Cromwell came to power in 1642 he attem p ted to bar C h ristm as as a "heathen” practice. W ith the return o f the monarchy in 1660 C h ristm as returned from underground. But Charles I I . who knew poverty during his exile, dis couraged indulgence. C h ristm as continued through the ages but on a much smaller scale. The nineteenth century was a pe riod o f m ajor growth and develop m e n t— the in d u s tria l age. People m oved to the cities; ra il and ship tra n s p o rta tio n and new ways of co m m u n ica tio n made the w orld smaller. 10. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings o f great joy, which shall be to all people. 11. For unto you is born this day in the city o f David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude o f the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good w ill toward men. 15. A nd it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20. And the shepherds returned, glo rifyin g and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. 21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcis ing o f the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named o f the angel before he was conceived in the womb. P uwktt P ros W €L€FsS 410 SW Morrison 223-1143 Validated Parking VISA. MasterCard. Burnett Bros. Charge & s p e c ia f/u fo r J 'fe r Choose from our unique collection of 14K, 18K, or Platinum and Diamond Engagement Sets. Starting from $500 C sp ecia f/y f o r The groom receives a Botany 500 suit ($250 retail), EPEE compliments of Burnett Bros , from 726 SW Alder [ ./MILLER’S i£H 226-3933 A new interest in Christmas also developed. 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