Christmas
“Christmas: When
and Where?”
CLBA JOURNAL 2000
By Oba Ernesto Pichardo
Years ago a news reporter made the observation that our religious community celebrated Christmas and many even had the adorned tree’s at home. Moreover, the exchange of gifts is noted and families consume traditional holiday food. Academic perspectives could even be used to speculate calling this activity “syncretism,” as a unique phenomena found in the so called santeria. Before making such claim of unique syncretism we must wonder when and where this holiday originated.
Truth Established by References
The word “Christmas” means Mass of Christ, shortened to say Christ-mass. The holiday made its presence into non-Christians and Protestants from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Catholic did not get it from the New Testament, the Bible, or from the original apostles as some people may think. The holiday gravitated from paganism in the fourth century into the Roman Catholic. The celebration of Christmas has no authority other than to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, published by that church says as follows under the heading “Christmas”: Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church.....the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas. Under the heading “Natal Day,” an acknowledgement of this truth says: ......In the Scriptures, no one (who obeyed God) is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners [like Pharaoh and Herod] who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 edition indicates this: Christmas (ie., the Mass of Christ) ...Christmas was not among the festivals of the church.....it was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. It was picked up afterward from paganism.
Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition, states: It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth.......The Communion, which is instituted by the New Testament Bible authority, is a memorial of the death of Christ...... A feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.
The truth is that many authorities affirm that Christ was not born on December 25th. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia makes the acknowledgement. In the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, we find an article on Christmas that presents a clear understanding of the issue: How much the festival depended on the pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25th) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’....cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence....The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.
Encyclopedia Britannica: Certain Latins, as early as 354, may have transferred the birthday from January 6th to December 25th, which was then a Mithraic feast....or birthday of the unconquered sun....The Syrians and Armenians, who clung to the January 6th, accused the Romans of sun worship and idolatry, contending.....that the feast of December 25th, had been invented by the disciples of Cerinthus.
Cuba by example was governed by the Spanish and Catholic church during slavery. The celebration of Christmas was abolished by the present day political governance. However, The Spanish Catholic church in Cuba celebrated the three kings day [tres reyes magos] on January 6th. On this day the gifts were exchanged and were focused on children. On the 24th of December, called Noche Buena, was the traditional late evening feast with family and friends. It was customary to share in food gifts and attend the midnight mass. The 25th of December was known as la monteria. On this day, several meats where cooked in the form of fricase being share by family and friends. Cubans in exile have adapted to the American Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration days. The three kings day [three wise men] has been reduced to a street parade celebrated in Miami. The American church has made its contribution supporting the loss of Spanish customs and the adoption of American customs.
Origin of Christmas and the Tree
The origin of Christmas is traced back to ancient Egypt in the days of King Osiris and Queen Isis, about 3000 B. C. After the death of King Osiris, his wife propagated the doctrine of the survival of Osiris as a spirit being. She established the idea that a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead stump symbolizing the springing forth unto new life of Osiris. On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Osiris would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of Osiris reborn as the son Horus. Therefore this became the origin of the Christmas tree. Moreover, the concept of mother and child [Isis and Osiris] became objects of worship spreading into many nations. The madonna idea became especially popularized every Christmas season. Several of the most popular hymns originated from pagan customs and beliefs that were incorporated. The ancient celebration on December 25th honors the birth of the reborn son Horus and not the birth of Jesus. The apostles and early Church never celebrated Christ’s birthday.
The Wreath, Mistletoe and Yule
For the ancient pagans, the mistletoe was used at the festival of winter solstice. It was considered a sacred symbol to the sun in belief that it had miraculous healing power. The customs of kissing under the mistletoe was done in celebration of the old sun and the birth of the new at the winter solstice. Holly berries were considered sacred to the sun-divinity. A similar custom is found among Cubans. On the 31st of December, at the wake of the new year, twelve grapes are placed in small plates for each person present, including traditional holiday sweets, cidar or champagne. At midnight everything is consumed in celebration leaving the old year behind and welcoming the new.
The yule log is the sun log. The yule means wheel which is a pagan symbol of the sun. The lighting of candles or fires in Christian ceremony is a continuation of pagan custom, encouraging the waning sun-divinity as he reached the lowest place in the southern skies. Encyclopedia Americana says: The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log....are relics of pre-Christian times. The use of the Christmas wreath is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan custom of decorating buildings and places of worship during the feast celebrations.
The jolly old Santa Claus which is impersonated by many sitting in malls and awaiting children for a photo opportunity is also interesting. Santa Claus is a corruption of the name St. Nicholas, a Roman Catholic bishop who lived in the fourth century. Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 19, pages 648-649, 11th edition says this: “St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, a saint honored by the Greek and Latins on the 6th of December.....A legend of his surreptitious bestowal of dowries on the three daughters of an impoverished citizen....is said to have originated the custom of giving presents in secret on the Eve of St. Nicholas [Dec. 6th], subsequently transferred to Christmas day. Hence the association of Christmas with Santa Claus.”
A curious observation can be make about “Old Nick,” which is also a name of many used to depict the Christian Satan as an ‘angel of light’ [II Cor. 11:14; Rev. 12:9]. However, the facts remain that this Christian observance borrowed from ancient Egypt is a pagan custom and it became exported to many nations in modern times. Today, it has become an overwhelming commercial custom. A season where buying gifts is a must to exchange with family and friends. A time of the year where over spending and eating is the norm. Whether we believe in Christmas or not, everyone gets blasted with commercial advertisements luring people to consume. Millions of trees pay the price of death to satisfy this popular custom. Joined in the seasonal spirit that does not technically celebrate Christ’s birthday we find the religious participation of the holiday. It is evident that an overwhelming range of religious products are sold and churches nationwide support the holiday. A season of the year where Christ’s work is somewhat challenged by the spending spree. Those in the minority face the peer pressure of gift exchanges in the workplace, family, and friends. Their children get lured into having the latest toy or face their peer pressure. After it’s all over, the competition starts by comparing gifts with others as if the holiday was some kind of award winning sport.
The Clarification of Reason
So what is the point of the curious reporter and academic ideas of religious syncretism? Don’t they know this is a pagan holiday that originated in Egypt, borrowed by the Roman Catholic’s, and imposed as a custom in the New World? Then again, we can safely say that most Catholic adherents most likely don’t know the history of this popular season and simply follow what that church presents to them. The same is probably true for members of the African based religions in the Diaspora. However, for the slaves in Cuba the concept of three wise men, their divination, gifts, and feast in honor of a sun-divinity would not come as a shock. After all, since our pre-Christian existence we've celebrated Olorun as sun-divinity.
It would be an error to believe or assume that our religion celebrates the birth or death of the biblical God Jesus. However, our religion teaches tolerance and diplomacy concerning religious matters and cultural customs. For us, the celebration would be under a different contextual meaning being unrelated to Osiris, Isis, Horus, and the borrowed Catholic form. The reason relies on cultural influence given the history of the Diaspora and not a cause of religious fusion.
As an outsider the observation of behavior among some Lukumi adherents can be confusing on its face. Some people including the ordained from Cuba may find themselves in a psychological transitional state. These are people that were raised Catholic and may not be fully liberated from Catholic customs. For these people the truth comes smashing into inherited ideas and preconceived notions. Truth comes to them in many instances as an unwelcome intruder that questions rooted thoughts and habitual cultural custom. To suggest a sudden stop to the individual participation of the celebration would challenge their comfortable habit. Even though truth may be acknowledged most people initially prefer to hold unto their old notions. This is true especially when the dominant cultural custom aggressively makes its presence in all levels of society as an imposing norm. In said cases it is normal for people to reject the idea of changing the customary habit.
To embrace this change the person encounters many questions. It would require the person to face peer pressure. The other face to face conflict would be between family and friends. Perhaps the more difficult problem could be explaining it to their children growing up in a culture that builds-up expectancy of seasonal celebration and the falsehood surrounding Santa Claus. Rather than going through withdrawal symptoms people try to fit the old with the new way of life which is the comfortable and natural reaction. Some may even justify themselves noting that it is a harmless and joyful celebration that is not in conflict with our religious concept of cultural diplomacy. The truth is that children are raised with a fantasy about Christmas and the jolly old man dressed in red that will reward them with their favorite wishes if they’re good. At some point their curiosity leads them to seek the truth until they find the lies of their parents and the falsehood of Old Nick. The truth is that this celebration has nothing to do with our religion or our Yoruba inheritance. Happy holiday and merry Christmas to the Judeo-Christian community. Without reservation, may the sun-divinity known to us as Olorun bless with everlasting light of purity the original Egyptian founders of this ancient celebration that has spread throughout the world.
CLBA JOURNAL 2000
By Oba Ernesto Pichardo
Years ago a news reporter made the observation that our religious community celebrated Christmas and many even had the adorned tree’s at home. Moreover, the exchange of gifts is noted and families consume traditional holiday food. Academic perspectives could even be used to speculate calling this activity “syncretism,” as a unique phenomena found in the so called santeria. Before making such claim of unique syncretism we must wonder when and where this holiday originated.
Truth Established by References
The word “Christmas” means Mass of Christ, shortened to say Christ-mass. The holiday made its presence into non-Christians and Protestants from the Roman Catholic Church. However, the Catholic did not get it from the New Testament, the Bible, or from the original apostles as some people may think. The holiday gravitated from paganism in the fourth century into the Roman Catholic. The celebration of Christmas has no authority other than to the Roman Catholic Church.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition, published by that church says as follows under the heading “Christmas”: Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church.....the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas. Under the heading “Natal Day,” an acknowledgement of this truth says: ......In the Scriptures, no one (who obeyed God) is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday. It is only sinners [like Pharaoh and Herod] who make great rejoicings over the day in which they were born into this world.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1946 edition indicates this: Christmas (ie., the Mass of Christ) ...Christmas was not among the festivals of the church.....it was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority. It was picked up afterward from paganism.
Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition, states: It was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth.......The Communion, which is instituted by the New Testament Bible authority, is a memorial of the death of Christ...... A feast was established in memory of this event [Christ’s birth] in the fourth century. In the fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the birth of Sol, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.
The truth is that many authorities affirm that Christ was not born on December 25th. Even the Catholic Encyclopedia makes the acknowledgement. In the New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, we find an article on Christmas that presents a clear understanding of the issue: How much the festival depended on the pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25th) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’....cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence....The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.
Encyclopedia Britannica: Certain Latins, as early as 354, may have transferred the birthday from January 6th to December 25th, which was then a Mithraic feast....or birthday of the unconquered sun....The Syrians and Armenians, who clung to the January 6th, accused the Romans of sun worship and idolatry, contending.....that the feast of December 25th, had been invented by the disciples of Cerinthus.
Cuba by example was governed by the Spanish and Catholic church during slavery. The celebration of Christmas was abolished by the present day political governance. However, The Spanish Catholic church in Cuba celebrated the three kings day [tres reyes magos] on January 6th. On this day the gifts were exchanged and were focused on children. On the 24th of December, called Noche Buena, was the traditional late evening feast with family and friends. It was customary to share in food gifts and attend the midnight mass. The 25th of December was known as la monteria. On this day, several meats where cooked in the form of fricase being share by family and friends. Cubans in exile have adapted to the American Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration days. The three kings day [three wise men] has been reduced to a street parade celebrated in Miami. The American church has made its contribution supporting the loss of Spanish customs and the adoption of American customs.
Origin of Christmas and the Tree
The origin of Christmas is traced back to ancient Egypt in the days of King Osiris and Queen Isis, about 3000 B. C. After the death of King Osiris, his wife propagated the doctrine of the survival of Osiris as a spirit being. She established the idea that a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead stump symbolizing the springing forth unto new life of Osiris. On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Osiris would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of Osiris reborn as the son Horus. Therefore this became the origin of the Christmas tree. Moreover, the concept of mother and child [Isis and Osiris] became objects of worship spreading into many nations. The madonna idea became especially popularized every Christmas season. Several of the most popular hymns originated from pagan customs and beliefs that were incorporated. The ancient celebration on December 25th honors the birth of the reborn son Horus and not the birth of Jesus. The apostles and early Church never celebrated Christ’s birthday.
The Wreath, Mistletoe and Yule
For the ancient pagans, the mistletoe was used at the festival of winter solstice. It was considered a sacred symbol to the sun in belief that it had miraculous healing power. The customs of kissing under the mistletoe was done in celebration of the old sun and the birth of the new at the winter solstice. Holly berries were considered sacred to the sun-divinity. A similar custom is found among Cubans. On the 31st of December, at the wake of the new year, twelve grapes are placed in small plates for each person present, including traditional holiday sweets, cidar or champagne. At midnight everything is consumed in celebration leaving the old year behind and welcoming the new.
The yule log is the sun log. The yule means wheel which is a pagan symbol of the sun. The lighting of candles or fires in Christian ceremony is a continuation of pagan custom, encouraging the waning sun-divinity as he reached the lowest place in the southern skies. Encyclopedia Americana says: The holly, the mistletoe, the Yule log....are relics of pre-Christian times. The use of the Christmas wreath is believed by authorities to be traceable to the pagan custom of decorating buildings and places of worship during the feast celebrations.
The jolly old Santa Claus which is impersonated by many sitting in malls and awaiting children for a photo opportunity is also interesting. Santa Claus is a corruption of the name St. Nicholas, a Roman Catholic bishop who lived in the fourth century. Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 19, pages 648-649, 11th edition says this: “St. Nicholas, bishop of Myra, a saint honored by the Greek and Latins on the 6th of December.....A legend of his surreptitious bestowal of dowries on the three daughters of an impoverished citizen....is said to have originated the custom of giving presents in secret on the Eve of St. Nicholas [Dec. 6th], subsequently transferred to Christmas day. Hence the association of Christmas with Santa Claus.”
A curious observation can be make about “Old Nick,” which is also a name of many used to depict the Christian Satan as an ‘angel of light’ [II Cor. 11:14; Rev. 12:9]. However, the facts remain that this Christian observance borrowed from ancient Egypt is a pagan custom and it became exported to many nations in modern times. Today, it has become an overwhelming commercial custom. A season where buying gifts is a must to exchange with family and friends. A time of the year where over spending and eating is the norm. Whether we believe in Christmas or not, everyone gets blasted with commercial advertisements luring people to consume. Millions of trees pay the price of death to satisfy this popular custom. Joined in the seasonal spirit that does not technically celebrate Christ’s birthday we find the religious participation of the holiday. It is evident that an overwhelming range of religious products are sold and churches nationwide support the holiday. A season of the year where Christ’s work is somewhat challenged by the spending spree. Those in the minority face the peer pressure of gift exchanges in the workplace, family, and friends. Their children get lured into having the latest toy or face their peer pressure. After it’s all over, the competition starts by comparing gifts with others as if the holiday was some kind of award winning sport.
The Clarification of Reason
So what is the point of the curious reporter and academic ideas of religious syncretism? Don’t they know this is a pagan holiday that originated in Egypt, borrowed by the Roman Catholic’s, and imposed as a custom in the New World? Then again, we can safely say that most Catholic adherents most likely don’t know the history of this popular season and simply follow what that church presents to them. The same is probably true for members of the African based religions in the Diaspora. However, for the slaves in Cuba the concept of three wise men, their divination, gifts, and feast in honor of a sun-divinity would not come as a shock. After all, since our pre-Christian existence we've celebrated Olorun as sun-divinity.
It would be an error to believe or assume that our religion celebrates the birth or death of the biblical God Jesus. However, our religion teaches tolerance and diplomacy concerning religious matters and cultural customs. For us, the celebration would be under a different contextual meaning being unrelated to Osiris, Isis, Horus, and the borrowed Catholic form. The reason relies on cultural influence given the history of the Diaspora and not a cause of religious fusion.
As an outsider the observation of behavior among some Lukumi adherents can be confusing on its face. Some people including the ordained from Cuba may find themselves in a psychological transitional state. These are people that were raised Catholic and may not be fully liberated from Catholic customs. For these people the truth comes smashing into inherited ideas and preconceived notions. Truth comes to them in many instances as an unwelcome intruder that questions rooted thoughts and habitual cultural custom. To suggest a sudden stop to the individual participation of the celebration would challenge their comfortable habit. Even though truth may be acknowledged most people initially prefer to hold unto their old notions. This is true especially when the dominant cultural custom aggressively makes its presence in all levels of society as an imposing norm. In said cases it is normal for people to reject the idea of changing the customary habit.
To embrace this change the person encounters many questions. It would require the person to face peer pressure. The other face to face conflict would be between family and friends. Perhaps the more difficult problem could be explaining it to their children growing up in a culture that builds-up expectancy of seasonal celebration and the falsehood surrounding Santa Claus. Rather than going through withdrawal symptoms people try to fit the old with the new way of life which is the comfortable and natural reaction. Some may even justify themselves noting that it is a harmless and joyful celebration that is not in conflict with our religious concept of cultural diplomacy. The truth is that children are raised with a fantasy about Christmas and the jolly old man dressed in red that will reward them with their favorite wishes if they’re good. At some point their curiosity leads them to seek the truth until they find the lies of their parents and the falsehood of Old Nick. The truth is that this celebration has nothing to do with our religion or our Yoruba inheritance. Happy holiday and merry Christmas to the Judeo-Christian community. Without reservation, may the sun-divinity known to us as Olorun bless with everlasting light of purity the original Egyptian founders of this ancient celebration that has spread throughout the world.
