A Christmas Story by John Gilbert

A Christmas Story bc. 1985

The Christmas tree stood in front of the living room window, glowing in all its majesty. Each ornament reflecting a hundred tiny lights.  Under its lower branches sat the greatest temptation that can come into the life of any young boy; presents.  Dozens of them.  Each of them wrapped in brightly colored paper and containing treasures unknown.  It was Christmas Eve, perhaps the longest day of the year, to a youngster that is.  I was five years old and it was almost bedtime but I wanted sit up for a few more minutes.  I wanted to watch the place where, in a few hours, something magical would take place.  I knew that sleep would be next to impossible but it would come. Then when I awoke, the tree would be surrounded by wonderful things that weren't there the night before.  As I sat spellbound in front of the glistening tree I noticed my mother watching my wonder-filled expression from the doorway.

"Mama, was Jesus really born on this night?" I asked.

She came and sat beside me.

"Well, we're not really sure which day he was born but for as long as anyone can remember His birth has always been celebrated on December 25th."

I thought for a moment.

"Is Santa Jesus' friend?" I asked.

Mother seemed to sense my confusion
.
"I'm sure he is," she replied.  "There was a good man who lived long ago whose name was Nicholas.  He loved the story of how the Wise Men gave presents to the baby Jesus very much.  On Christmas Eve he would leave presents at the doorway of every house with children in his village.  He was a godly man and was soon called Saint Nicholas.  His fame spread throughout the Christian world.  The Dutch children pronounced his name Saunt Neclaus which eventually became Santa Claus and he has been called that ever since."

I wasn't quite sure I understood, but I figured if someone had to deliver presents it might as well be good old Santa.

As I grew older I enjoyed many Christmas' yet with each one I would wonder, was Jesus born on this day?

It was in my seventh grade Social Studies class that we were studying Biblical lands.  It was there that I came across an interesting fact.  During the cold winter nights the shepherds of the region would drive their sheep under their houses.  The body heat of the sheep would rise into the houses to help keep it warm.  During the spring the shepherds would drive their sheep to the meadows many miles from home to fatten them up after the long winter.  Because the pastures were so far from home the shepherds would watch their flocks at night.  That way the sheep could be kept grazing for weeks at a time.  The teacher said that the practice has been going on for thousands of years and is still done today.

Then I had a thought.  When the Angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds to proclaim "Good tidings of great joy" they were in the fields watching their flocks by night.  Could this be a clue to the time of Christ's birth?  If it had been "A cold winters night that was so deep," as the song goes, the sheep would have been under the houses with no shepherds to watch them.  I felt like I was on to something.

Later I learned that when Caesar decreed that "All the world should be taxed" it was done at the Feast of the Passover also held in the spring.  "That's it," I thought.  Jesus must have been born in the spring.  I discovered that December 25th was the Roman festival of Saturnalia held in honor of the Roman god Saturn. Christianity became popular in about 300 A.D. and up until that time the early Christians had celebrated Jesus' birthday in the spring.  However by that time the records containing the exact date of Christ's birth had been lost so the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the observance to December 25th and simply replaced Saturn with Christ.

My search came to an end when I came across information that had been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. These were the records that had been lost by the time of Constantine but were rediscovered in 1947. Jesus Christ was born on the sixth day of the second month of the Roman calendar, whose new year started March 1st. Our New Year starts January 1st which corresponds with the sixth day of the fourth month or April 6th.  Jesus Christ, the Savior of Mankind, was born in the wee hours of the morning of April 6th, 1 B.C.  I now knew that the account of His birth in Luke was true as evidenced by traditions that continue to this day.

But what about December 25th, the day we traditionally celebrate His birth?  As I pondered that question the thought came to mind that it really doesn't matter which day we celebrate Jesus' birth as long as we remember what His birth means.

This Christmas, as we exchange gifts, may we remember the greatest gifts of all.  The gifts of salvation and eternal life offered to us by the tiny child born in a lowly manger in Bethlehem, yea, even Jesus Christ.