2023-12-24 07:35:24
The birth of Christ is a religious holiday that is celebrated on December 25 in the Christian orbit; However, its roots are not biblical, but sink into the dark bosom of ancient cults. During the first centuries there was a syncretism of the early Church with Egyptian, Neoplatonic and Mithraic elements. Consequently, Christmas is a rite of pagan etiology under New Testament garb. The truth is that we do not know when Jesus was born, but not the date of his death (Nisan 14, 33). This is because the Jews did not celebrate birthdays, which is why they did not keep these records. So, how is it that today it forms a conjunctural part of the liturgy of Christianity and our social customs?
During the 4th century, Emperor Constantine the Great, who revered the sun, converted to Christianity, resulting in an inevitable shift at the heart of the Church. Rome, the classic “enemy of God”, is now transformed into an instrument of salvation, preparing the return of the Messiah at the end of time. In reality, Constantine, faced with an empire that was frankly in decline, used this rural faith widely spread among the humble classes to retain power. Which required nuclearizing a huge number of dissimilar peoples under a common doctrine. Monotheism was appropriate and the polytheistic lists would now be read under the figures of the holy martyrs. Christ, who by then already had divine status, had to be amalgamated with circadian movements, as well as with foreign rituals, thus being viable as official worship. In other words, the Christian mask that we see today is, in reality, the inheritance of past creeds that have been preserved within the Western world.
For archaic peoples, December was sacred. In Egypt the transfiguration of Osiris was commemorated in that of his son Horus. Likewise, among the Romans, although with a different meaning, the Saturnalia was held, a party dedicated to Saturn that was celebrated from the 17th to the 23rd of the same month. On the other hand, the Persian god Mithras was killed the next day, the night of the 24th, and was reborn the next morning bringing blessings. Myth that was embodied in the drama of sacrificing a bull (suggestively analogous to the crucified “Passover lamb” and its subsequent revival). Specifically, from the point of view of the northern hemisphere, Christmas is celebrated during the winter solstice. It is the darkest period, where the shadows overcome the light. The star seemed to die when its power was exhausted, while it avoided mysterious dangers in the underworld and, at dawn, it was feared for its extinction. At dawn everything was hubbub. That day was sacred, it was the Natalis Solis Invicti (nativity of the unconquered sun) and life was renewed. The importance of the star king was such that it was very well understood with the monotheistic experience and the god Phoebus (Syrian El-Gabal) was naturally incorporated into the cosmic Christ.
The latter has to do with the Christmas tree. Among the Nordic peoples, trees were burned, whose luminaries magically served to encourage solar rebirth. The practice of “lighting lights” on the foliage was to infuse strength into the celestial bodies, so that they would recover their brightness, which resulted in Christic assimilation with the cycle of vegetation. The tree is rich in hierophanies. Due to its shape and modality, it is an ideal symbol of existence. By losing leaves and renewing them in spring, it is syndicated to the triumph over death. We already find bas-reliefs among the Assyrians of the sacred plant in the palace of Ashurbanipal II. In Babylon he was seen under the sign tau or “the cross,” which represented Tammuz, the hero who was sacrificed on a tree. In the Middle Ages, the cut log was part of the tax that the vassal had to pay to his lord. At Easter eggs were required; at Christmas, logs. This had to be kept lit in homes during that night, otherwise it was a sign of misfortune. We owe the happy and festive character it has today in part to English monarchical interventions in addition to literature, such as that of Charles Dickens or Anton Chekhov, among others. Through Protestantism, this custom moved to North America. By 1850 in New York, the Christmas pine trees were lit with gas, praising the new industries, and thus they acquired worldwide fame.
Another heretical belief that survived to this day is the visit of an entity called Saint Nicholas. In Germany there was a custom of placing gifts in homes because it was believed that a diabolical being would come that night to murder the children. However, in Christian heritage he is associated with Bishop Nicholas of Licia. Man famous for his generosity and for giving gifts. But it is most likely that this image was inspired by Odin, a deity who resurrected between December and January, and as he rode through the heavens the winds he raised fertilized the fields.
This is just a brief review for us to take note that not everything we practice in traditional religions is what it seems. At Christmas, under friendly and graceful figures, we are actually paying mercy to primitive spirits that hide evil faces. Carl G. Jung told us regarding archetypes that we constantly repeat without realizing it. No spiritual configuration is pure. In some way, the terrible coexists among us under an era that boasts of being secular, rational, technical and scientific, since it still practices ancestral rites that deep down it cannot overcome, maintaining a need to contact the invisible. Perhaps because man is the only being who is aware of finitude and meaninglessness, despite his omnipotence, he always succumbs, bowing before the enigma of the transcendent.
*Theologian, philosopher, writer and journalist. His latest book is Passion and Death of History (Antigua, 2022).
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