“Merry Christmas!†“You’re welcome!â€
The very name, Christmas, should clue us in to the fact that this is a Catholic holiday; Christmas is a contraction of the Middle English Christemasse or Christ’s Mass.1 Christmas owes its particular date to the Sol Invictus, the Winter Solstice festival of ancient Rome when Rome celebrated the “unconquered” sun as it victoriously emerged from the shortest day of the year.2 What better time of year to celebrate our unconquered son? The choice of this particular date may also have helped the polytheistic Romans learn that there was only one true God: they may have been presented with a not so subtle choice—you can celebrate Sol Invictus or Christmas, but not both.
By the time the Protestant revolt got a foothold, Christmas was condemned as “Popery” and was even banned in England in 1647 by its Puritan rulers. Riots ensued and by 1660 the ban was lifted. America suffered from this same anti-Catholic fervor, and Christmas was actually outlawed in some parts of New England.3
By the early 19th Century sectarian violence was waning, and some writers, like Charles Dickens, worried that the old Christmas tradition was dying out. Dickens’s A Christmas Carol sparked a more universally palatable popularity in Christmas that continues to this day.4
Throughout all of this revolt and turmoil, the church founded by Jesus Christ continued to celebrate his birth on December 25th. If not for the Catholic Church, Christmas could have been nothing more than a footnote of history. So next time someone wishes you a Merry Christmas, as a Roman Catholic, feel free to respond with a hardy, “You’re Welcome.”
Â
1Catholic Encyclopedia Online, s.v. “Christmas,†http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm(accessed December 11th, 2006)
2 Wikipedia, s.v. “Christmas,†http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas(accessed December 11th, 2006)
3Ibid
4Ibid
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Very intriguing info I had not known. What resource(s)? Would love to know more!
Hello,
Interesting history. Although this may be true, I don’t think its a good idea to take credit for a holiday where the focus should clearly be on Jesus Christ and not on who picked the day. I personally don’t like the fact that it shares the same day as a former pagan festival but what can I do about it. Whether or not the Catholic Church started “Christmas”, I think Christians everywhere would still celebrate the birth of Jesus in some way, just maybe not with presents, santa clause, and a tree (which might not be so bad). Just my $0.02USD. For the record, I am a Christian (former Catholic).
Merry Christmas (Happy Birthday Jesus)!
Brian,
You’ve used words like, “may be true” and stated, “whether or not the Catholic Church started Christmas”; but the historical fact is, the Catholic Church did start Christmas. As for “taking credit”, we’re not taking it—we’ve earned it. And as you’ve pointed out, Jesus is the reason for the season, but taking account of the historical facts behind the holiday doesn’t detract from the significance of the birth of Jesus Christ–no matter how inconvenient those historical facts are for some of us.
We are honored that you choose to celebrate Christ’s Mass with us on December 25th. I would hope that as a Protestant, you would look to the Catholic Church as your alma mater (This literally translates as “nourishing mother†and, in this case, is very descriptive.) the same way a catholic might look on the Jewish faith as the patriarch of our combined Judeo-Christian tradition.
Differences aside, it sounds like we will both be keeping Jesus in our hearts and on our minds this Christmas season and that’s a very good thing.
Merry Christmas Brian, and God Bless