Most Christians Say Jesus Wasn't Born on Dec. 25, Poll Finds

When King James Bible Online asked the 110,000 users on its Facebook page if they believe Jesus was born on Dec. 25, Christmas Day, 83 percent of those who responded answered in the negative. A majority of the respondents also said Santa Claus is a "lie."

The date of the birth of Christ was among the four questions King James Bible Online asked as part of its survey, titled "What Do Christians Really Believe About Christmas," that was conducted this month.

Only 11 percent of the respondents said tradition is right about the date of Jesus' birth. Six percent marked "Not sure."

King James Bible Online, a website inviting its visitors to read the Bible online, says 65 percent of its users live in the United States. And 96 percent of those polled said they are Christian.

Interestingly, while the majority of the respondents do not believe Jesus was born on Dec. 25, 71 percent said they think Christians should celebrate Christmas. One-fourth of the respondents said "No."

When asked, "Do you think it's OK to let kids believe in Santa Claus?" the majority, or 64 percent, said, "Definitely not, it's a lie." However, 28 percent said, "Yes, it's just for fun," and six percent had no opinion.

The last question of the survey was, "Do you think it's OK to have a Christmas tree in a church building?" More than half, or 58 percent, of respondents marked "Yes," while 39 percent said "No." Three percent said they were not sure.

The majority of those polled, 82 percent, reported they have been a Christian for more than 10 years, and 79 percent said they had read the entire Bible at least once. Females in the group made up about 60 percent of the respondents.

Several academics have made the claim that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed.

In his recently published book, Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, Pope Benedict XVI argues that the Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation. "The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years," says the 85-year-old pontiff in the book that was published weeks before Christmas.

Exiguus, or Dennis the Small, was a 6th-century monk from Eastern Europe who is best known as the inventor of the Anno Domini (AD) era, which is used to number the years of both the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar.

As I type this, I hear the siren of the city fire truck, which is going along all the streets of the city to bring Santa, while the firefighters hand out candy and toys. It is an all day event, and firefighters from neighboring towns cover the fire response for the day.

Santa regularly makes stops along the way, to personally visit families who have lost loved ones, had tragedies during the year, etc.

I’m still surprised that some busybody hasn’t stepped in and convinced a judge to ban the practice. The tradition is deeply ingrained in the community, with estimated times of Santa’s arrival posted by community members, and a constantly updated feed as to where Santa is. Some families will not open presents on Christmas morning until after Santa has been by, and, well, go ahead and try to sleep in on Christmas morning - when Santa comes down your street, you’ll hear the siren.

This is a tribute to the Savior’s sacrifice and teachings. Is it something that Jesus would have done? No. He would never have waited until some special day to visit a grieving family and offer comfort. He’s already been there. These are the actions of imperfect people, who have chosen a day to bring joy and happiness that the Savior brings each and every day.

SOURCE: http://www.faithfreedom.org/oped/sina21224.htm

EXCERPT:

The origin of this festivity is presumed to be Mithraic and about 4000 years old. Mithra was the god of light in ancient Iran. The symbol of Mithra is Sun. Iranians used this symbol in their flag for at least the last 2500 years. The period of 17th to 24th of December was the duration of this feast. The 21st of December, which is the solstice of winter, is still celebrated in Iran. It is called “Yalda” and it represents the victory of light over darkness, which symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. Mithraism was brought to Europe by Greek soldiers after the defeat of the Persians by Alexander and by the forth century AD it was the predominant religion of Europe and the main rival to Christianity. The worship of Mithra spread throughout Asia to Europe where he was called Deus Sol Invictus Mithras. Romans adopted this festivity to celebrate the god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god during the winter solstice. The winter holiday became known as Saturnalia and began the week prior to December 25th. The festival was characterized by gift-giving, feasting, singing and the priests of Saturn called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

Noting that days start becoming longer after the winter solstice, the ancients gave birth to the myth that the sun-god rises from his death after three days. This belief of the death and resurrection of god was later incorporated into Christianity. Mass is the public celebration of Eucharist, the sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus’s death. The word “Mass” in Christmas means death and the ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and his consequent resurrection.

Prior to the dominance of Christianity the Romans celebrated this festivity during the 25th of December to 6th of January. Mithraism gained favor by the Emperor Commodus and Julian and in 307 Diocletian built a temple on the Danube River dedicated to Mithra. Mithraism spread throughout Europe from Rome to the province of Numidia in North Africa up to England and Scotland.

But after the conversion of emperor Constantine in 313 A.D. Christianity was spread throughout the empire and Mithraism, as St. Jerome reports, was forcefully subdued especially in Rome and in Alexandria. In the forth century, Pope Leo destroyed the temple of Mithra (376 A.D.). Despite that the Mithraic festivity of the birth of the Sun continued, as it was a convenient time to be merry in the middle of the winter. Even today many celebrate the Christmas although they are not Christians. It was not till the year 530 AD that the church commissioned the Monk Dionysius Exiguus to proclaim this popular festivity as the birth of Christ. Constantine converted to Christianity but he kept celebrating this pagan festivity and transformed it into the “Christian” holiday of Christmas.

The use of evergreen tree in Christmas festivities comes from Germany where it was used in worship and celebration of the yule god as well as in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen represented life and also was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship. It was believed that the red holly was a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, Diana. The white berries of mistletoe were considered to be the droplets of the semen of the sun god. Branches of holy and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes and it was believed that kissing beneath them will make the spirits of the god and goddess to enter one’s body and make them fertile.

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I found this on another message board. It’s a “Christmas Greeting” to the liberal minded who rejects Christianity and religion. It’s quite funny:

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all;

Additionally,

a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2013, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.

(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.)

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