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Christmas Traditions:Past and Present A Christmas Narration
This Christmas program tells the history of various Christmas traditions.
SONG: O, Come Let Us Adore Him! O Come
let us adore Him Christ’s Mass and St. Nicholas The word Christmas comes from the Old English term - Christ's Mass. It was the Roman Catholics who introduced the celebration of Christ Mass to the world. As you will see, most of the traditions we see today, were born, not in Jesus’ time, nor in the days of the Apostles, but at least several centuries later. Even the story of the original Santa Claus comes from the Roman Catholics. The original Santa Claus was the Catholic Bishop Nicholas of Myra, Asia in the fourth century. One story about him is that he was a very benevolent man, but very shy. He often gave help to the needy, but in an anonymous way. There were two little girls in a needy family that Saint Nicholas wanted to help, so he secretly climbed the roof of their house and dropped a purse of money down their chimney. As the story goes, they had hung their stockings to dry, and the purse of money fell into one of the stockings. The hanging of Christmas stockings is a custom that continues to this day. It has also become a custom to give gifts on Saint Nicholas day, which was December 6. In some countries, this tradition has continued. In ours, it was transferred to December 25, and eventually was tied to Christmas. But it is important that we put the emphasis back where it belongs. Not on Santa Claus, or Saint Nicholas, but on Jesus Christ. The truth is that no one ever gave a better gift to the world than when God stepped down from His throne and became as one of us. We really need to recognize the fact that He is both the Giver and the Gift. Yes - the... SONG:
BEST GIFT OF ALL IS JESUS! (Song with
soundtrack) Was
Jesus born on December 25th?
Even
the Calendar is wrong about the year. In calculating the change from
B.C. to A.D, Dionysius Exiguus misplaced the birth date of Jesus by at
least four years. Herod the Great, who slew the innocent male children
of Bethlehem, died in 4 B.C., so the birth of Jesus had to be earlier.
Another
record showed that the Roman census took place around 6 BC. So the
actual birth of Jesus would have been between 5 and 7 years B.C. The
Egyptian Coptic Church traditions say that Mary and Joseph and the baby
spent three and a half years in Egypt. Adding that to the death of
Herod would again reinforce the idea that Jesus was born 5-7 years BC.
It
came upon a midnight clear That glorious song of old The
Star of Bethlehem We do
not know the exact date of Jesus’ birth. We do know that
there is an error in the Roman calendar that would place
Jesus’ birth back to at least 5-7 years B.C. There were
ancient magi, ancestors of the modern Zoroastrians, in the old land of
Persia, which is now Iran. They knew Bible prophecies foretelling a
Jewish Messiah. They also were students of astronomy following signs in
the Pisces constellation that they believed meant something ominous in
the "Western Country." Cuneiform writings found in Babylon show they
were tracking remarkable heavenly events at the time. Three of these
wise men were called by Herod to investigate the occurences, because
rumors were circulating everywhere. The three men’s names
were Balthasar, Melchior and Caspar. Modern
astronomers tell us that in 5 B.C. a nova was visible for over seventy
days. A NOVA is a white dwarf star that undergoes a thermonuclear
explosion that causes it to be over fifty thousand times brighter than
normal. Its brightness could be seen as far away as China, and its
brightness would have endured just long enough for the magi to make
their 1-2 month journey from Persia to Bethlehem. Other ancient Chinese
writings reported a Comet sweeping slowly through the skies earning the
expression "broom star." It might have been the movement of this comet
that prompted the Magi. Either way, we have compelling evidence that
something truly significant took place at that time. The
ancient prophet Balaam had said a Star would rise out of Jacob. We know
now that the star was God’s sign to the world that Jesus was
being born in Bethlehem. In fact, Jesus himself is the real Star of
Bethlehem. He is the Beautiful... SONG: Star
of Bethlehem. How
Winter Solstice became the Christmas Holidays Since
December 25th has the shortest daylight of
the year, it was called the End of Darkness, or the Winter Solstice, by
the ancient Romans. The people celebrated to distract themselves from
the long, depressing nights of winter. Street plays were performed, and
festivities were rampant. In 273 AD, the Emperor of Rome invented a
pagan Sun god, Invictus, and an entire cult celebrated his birthday on
December 25th. In the fourth century, the Roman Catholic Pope Julius
the First urged the transition from pagan festivals to Christian
festivals and officially designated December 25th to be a celebration
of the birth of Jesus. Romans
had for centuries celebrated the winter
solstice from December 17th to the Kalends of January, (the Roman New
Year.) The name Calendar comes from the kalends of January. Notice
that none of these traditions are even
directly connected with Jesus Christ. It is only because the birth of
Jesus began to be celebrated in December that all these celebrations
began to be associated with Jesus and Christmas. If the Winter Solstice
was the End of Darkness to the Romans, then the birth of Jesus would be
like the Morning Dawn. And that it was on that Bethlehem Morning. SONG: Bethlehem Morning Yule
Tide and the Twelve Days of Christmas Our
Christmas references to Yule-tide and the
twelve days of Christmas spring from a unique bit of history. One of
the first Catholic Popes sent a missionary named Augustine to Northern
Europe. He was to convert the barbaric Anglo-Saxon tribes to
Christianity. He suggested that Christian traditions should replace
local traditions. Saint
Augustine found the Ancient Druids of what is
now Scotland in a mid-winter revelry. It was a twelve day celebration
of their sun-god. The festivities were called Yule, from an old
Germanic root word, geol. It is still a pagan observation by the occult
Wiccans. But Augustine originally taught them not to worship the S-U-N
but the S-O-N, Jesus Christ! The
miracle of Jesus’ being born of the
Holy Spirit to a virgin girl is the greatest event in all human
history. When God made the first Adam, He breathed on a lump of
lifeless clay, and man became a living soul. But when God made the
second Adam, He breathed upon a young virgin named Mary, and she
conceived the Holy Child Jesus! Adam sinned away his life, and by that
one man, death came to the entire human race. But Jesus Christ knew no
sin, and by Him, all men can know everlasting life. May that Holy
Breath of Heaven breathe on us all! SONG: Breath of Heaven The
Gifts of the Wise Men The
gifts the wise men brought to the Christ child were Gold, Frankincense
and Myrrh. Gold represented the deity, God with us. Frankincense
represented the incense of our prayers, indicating that Jesus would be
our intercessor. The myrrh symbolized death, representing the price
Jesus would pay for our salvation at Calvary. All three gifts spoke a
message loudly and clearly, Jesus is God, Jesus is our Intercessor, and
Jesus is the Sacrifice for our sins. Oh, What a precious promise. Oh,
what a gift of love. Lying in a manger in Bethlehem. SONG: Precious Promise Where
did Christmas Cards begin? It is
always a pleasure to receive Christmas cards from old friends and
family. It might be more of a chore to send them though. The custom of
Christmas cards can be traced to the year 1843 in London, England. Sir
Henry Cole was the founder and director of the Victoria and Albert
Museum (named after the Queen and her husband). Sir Henry Cole had
1,000 cards designed and printed by a man named Mr. John C Horsley. The
card was entitled ‘Brimming Cheer’. It pictured a
family celebrating Christmas by giving gifts of clothing and food to
the poor. Six
years later, in 1849, an English artist, William Egley, produced a very
popular card. Nowadays, hundreds of millions of Christmas cards of all
shapes, sizes and colors are sent around the world. Amazingly, many of
those cards never mention anything about Jesus, but then we realize
that not all men have faith in Jesus. Even the scriptures tell us that
Jesus came unto His own - the Jews - and they didn’t believe
that He was Messiah. How
could a baby be born to a virgin mother? How could Messiah be laid in a
manger? Why would they lodge in a stable? What was the meaning of the
star? So many unusual things were going on. It certainly seemed to be a
strange way for God to save the world! SONG: Strange Way to
Save the World The
origins of the Christmas tree. One of
the most time-honored customs at Christmas time is the putting up of a
Christmas tree. Many ancient cultures had winter-time celebrations.
Houses were decorated in evergreens: holly, ivy and mistletoe - each
somehow representing continuing life and good fortune. But
History tells about a Christian missionary from England named Boniface.
He went to Germany to teach the people about Jesus Christ. Germany was
a pagan land, and the people worshipped many gods. In the month of
December, Boniface encountered a group of people under an oak tree.
They were preparing to sacrifice a small child to please their god.
Boniface rushed in and rescued the child and chopped down the oak tree.
At the foot of the oak tree was a small fir tree. He cut the little fir
down, and gave it to the people as a symbol of life. He called it the
tree of the Christ-child. Centuries
later, in December 1540, Martin Luther, the famous Protestant,
performed a similar ritual by cutting down a fir tree and taking it
into his home. He said that the evergreen reminded him that life
continued even in the hardship of winter, when most of nature seemed to
be subdued. He attached several small candles to illuminate the tree to
symbolize the light of Jesus. Finally,
in the middle of the nineteenth century, it is said that the Christmas
tree was introduced to England by Queen Victoria’s husband,
the German-born Prince Albert. Its popularity increased from then on as
a part of the celebration of Christmas. Today, the evergreen tree
symbolizes the continuation of life. It is no wonder that this tree became
associated with the birth of Jesus, because Jesus is the true tree of
life. No one else but Jesus could make an honest claim to be the source
of life. Joseph
was espoused to Mary, and planned to be married soon. But when the
angel announced that she was with child of the Holy Ghost, Joseph felt
the pressure of his role. What an awesome thing, for a man to become
the father to the Son of God! Christmas
Caroling Christmas
caroling is a fairly recent addition in history. We imagine
snow-covered streets with carolers gathering under a lantern singing
Christmas hymns. That image was created by another Victorian-era
personality, Charles Dickens. His famous "Christmas Story" is where it
all began. The
very Christmas carols themselves have an interesting beginning.
Hundreds of years ago, the word ‘carole’ meant a
dance of celebration! It had nothing to do with Christmas or hymns.
Many serious musicians created great compositions about Christmas. But
the carols were more often folk-tunes created by common people. One
well-known song by Fredrick Mendelssohn was actually written as a tune
to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the printing press. The
people borrowed the tune and created a Christmas hymn entitled "Hark,
the Herald Angels Sing." Mendelssohn complained that the music was too
"soldier-like and buxom" to be used as a carol. But its popularity
persists into our day. Another
famous carol was created almost by accident. In Obendorf, Germany in
1818, the church organ failed because a hungry mouse had eaten into its
bellows. The choir would have to be cancelled on Sunday. But the
director, Joseph Mohr, in desperation took a poem to the church
organist to see if he could create a tune on the guitar. He could, and
he did. In one evening, the beautiful song, Silent Night, Holy Night
was written. It was later performed with great success. It was quickly
taken up by other churches all over Germany. People wanted to
sing. They wanted to make music. They wanted
to celebrate. They wanted to celebrate the child - the new
born King! What
or Who are we really Celebrating? Christmas
celebrations are not called for in the Bible. God did not tell us to
commemorate the birth of Jesus every year. We do not do so because we
have to, but because we want to. Truth
is, a lot of what we do at Christmas time is completely unnecessary. In
some cases, it might be better if we refrained from some activities. A lot
of Christmas things don’t reflect at all on Jesus. Some
things even work against Him. So why do we go through this year after
year? The
sad fact is that Christmas holidays have done little to promote true
faith in Jesus Christ. If
anything, the merchants have kept alive the festivities, while the
message of Jesus has been lost in the shuffle. It was
never the duty of the merchants or society in general to keep the story
of Jesus on track. It is the task of the Church to preach the Gospel to
every creature. So we are here tonight to turn our thoughts back to
where they really belong. The
baby in the manger. The son of God. Emmanuel. God with us. SONG: Emmanuel, God
with Us How
did Christmas become so commercial? Maybe
the biggest reason Christmas is such a
secular event is that holidays are seldom as sacred as they are
supposed to be. Everybody has to go to the shopping malls. They have to
decorate the tree and the house. The Christmas Cards have to be signed
and mailed. There are parties and dinners and visits to family and
friends in far away places. We
finally run out of time to think about Jesus!
After all, you never see His name in the stores. Jesus isn’t
mentioned in all the advertising. The stores just want your money. And
that’s about all. So it
is up to us to remember what is important. We always say we should keep
Christ in Christmas. But His name isn’t even Christ! His name
is Jesus. And He isn’t a baby in a manger any more. He is the
King of Kings and the Lord of Lords! Let’s try really hard to
remember that this year. KING JESUS is His name! SONG: King Jesus Is
His Name Isaiah’s
Prophecy Yes,
KING JESUS is His name! As a lowly baby, He
was a Prince. But as the exalted Father, Jesus is KING. God was in
Christ. The KING was in the PRINCE, reconciling the world to Himself.
Jesus instructed His disciples never to be troubled. He taught them
that there were many mansions in our Father’s house. He said
that He was going to prepare a place for all who believed on Him. And
He said that if He went away, He would return. That fact speaks to us a
profound truth. If He came once, He WILL come again. And when He comes
back, the government shall be upon His shoulder. And of the increase of
His Kingdom and Power there will be no end. And His name shall be
called WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. AND HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER!
SONG:
The Hallelujah Chorus Here are two more Christmas songs that our family did at Christmas time in 2001. Maybe you will want to use one of them. Here is a song medley, "Above All" and "Daystar," sung by father-and-son duo, Chris and Blaine Slaughter. Ken Raggio is on the keyboard. Performed at a Christmas Concert 2010 at Bridge City United Pentecostal Church (Texas). SEE COMPLETE LIST OF ARTICLES ON HOME PAGE I am continually writing new content for this site. Please return often for more material, and tell your friends about www.kenraggio.com , too! THANKS! And God bless you! Ken Raggio 
Click here for BOOKS and VIDEOS by Ken Raggio ALL ARTICLES WRITTEN BY KEN RAGGIO, Copyright 1988-2011 Articles may not be republished on the Internet without express permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Thanks for coming by!
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