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Here are some of my favorite misconceptions about Christmas. Do you have some? Share them in the comments below!

People wanting to return to the good old days of Christmas before consumerism / commercialism might not want to travel too far back in time. Celebrating Christmas was banned in Boston from 1659-1681. Celebrations of Christmas in those days looked more like Mardi Gras with drunken revelers partying and going to the homes of the wealthy demanding a treat (“bring us some figgy pudding…”).

The very name Christmas is a contraction of “Christ’s mass.” The Council of Trent (1545-63) declared that “The same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, is present and offered in an unbloody manner” in the Mass. The church used to celebrate Easter, marking Jesus’ overcoming death, far more prominently than Jesus’ birth. After all, everyone has been born, but only one has died and was resurrected for all.

Jesus was not born on December 25 – A federal holiday since 1870, few secularists object to getting this religious holiday off, especially when it means opening presents! It was Pope Julius around 350 AD who chose December 25 in hopes of redirecting pagans from their Saturnalia festival. The bible does not state a date for Christ’s birth, but scholars imply it was sometime in the spring when shepherds would be tending their flocks. With Herod’s death in 4BC, most pin Jesus’ birthday between 6 and 4 BC.

Bring a tree inside (and watch it die!) – A symbol of life in the middle of Europe’s dark days of winter, an evergreen was cut down and brought into the home. It added a splash of color and would counter the saturating smell of smoke and soot which came about as a result of keeping the home tightly closed to stave off winter’s chill. Christians interpret the Christmas tree as a symbol; an arrow pointing toward heaven, adorned with celestial planets testifying of the one who created the heavens and earth (and planets!), and surrounded by presents to echo the greatest present ever given – reunion with the Creator through the atonement of Jesus.

There were not three wise men. As detailed in my earlier post, there were certainly wise men and they brought Jesus three gifts, but this does not necessarily mean there were three men. Nativity scenes (in my opinion) also erroneously depict the wise men presenting their gifts at the manger, upstaging the shepherds (and likely the little drummer boy). In Matthew 2, we learn of men visiting Jesus “in a house” and presenting him with gold et al, then Joseph and his family escaping to Egypt then returning to Nazareth only after Herod’s death. Luke chronicles Jesus presented in the Temple eight days after birth then returning to Nazareth. They present doves as a sin offering, something reserved for those who cannot afford a lamb (Lev 12:8). My position is this; if they’d already received the gifts of gold (and frankincense and myrrh), they could have been able to afford a lamb as burnt offering. Ergo, they did not receive these gifts until Jesus was a young child. An additional argument is that Herod, in an attempt to do away with kingly competition, ordered the killing of not infants, but children up to the age of two. I present the wise men visited months if not years after Jesus’ birth, after his return from Egypt.

The war on Christmas is not characterized by the abbreviation “Xmas.” The letter “X” is the Greek letter for Chi, the first part of the word Christ. Way back in the 4^th Century, Emperor Constantine the Great used this shorthand notation to refer to Jesus Christ (parchment was very expensive and saving space was vital to allowing important content to be included in messages). If you want to exchange a greeting that truly reflects what Christians are  celebrating on Christmas, say “Immanuel” which means “God with us”. And in addition to reading The Night Before Christmas, be sure to read Matthew 2 and Luke 2 to the kids!

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Writers Block