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Page 2 Section II Portland Observer, December 15, 1982
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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.
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A new interest in Christmas also
developed. Along w ith the C h rist
mas feasts, carols and worship there
has developed an intense com m er
cialization.
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