Chriatmas, the day (December 25th) which is ceU ebratofltbroughout nearly the whole of Christendom as the bir^day of our Saviour. " It is occupied, there- fore, with the event — the incarnation — which forms the centre and turning-point of the history of the world. .It is, of all the festivals, the one most thor^ oughly interwoven with the popular and £EunUy life, and stands at the head of the great feasts in the West- em Church year. It continues to be, in the entire Catholic world, and in the greater part of Protestant Cliristendom, the grand jubilee of children, on which innumerable gifts celebrate the infinite love of God in the gift of his only-begotten Son. It Idndles in mid- winter a holy fire of love and gratitude, and preaches in the longest night the rising of the Sun of Life and the glory of the Lord. It denotes the advent of the true Golden Age, of the freedom and equality of all the redeemed before God and in God. No one can meas- ure the joy and blessing which fh>m year to year flow forth upon all ages of life fh>m the contemplation of the holy child Jesus in his heavenly innocence and di- vine humility" (Schaff, (Mrch History, iii, § 77).
The observance of Christmas is not of divine ap- pointment, nor is it of N. T. origin. The day of Christ's birth cannot be ascertained from the N. T., or, indeed, from any other source. The fathers of the first three centuries do not speak of any special ob- servance of the nativity. The baptism of Jesus was celebrated in the Eastern Church by A.D. 220, but not in the Western untfl the fourth century ; and the Eastern Church finally adopted the Christmas festival from the Western (about A.D. 880). Some writers (e. g. Cave, PrimUive Ckristianiiy, pt. i, ch. vii, p. 194) trace the observance to the 2d century, about the time of the emperor Commodus. Cave dtes, to prove that it was observed before the time of Coostantine, the following sad story from Baronius (An, 801, p. 41) : *^ While the persecution raged under Diocletian, who then kept liis oourt at Nicomedia, the tyrant, finding multitudes of Christians, young and old, met together to celebrate Christ*s nativity, commanded the church door to be shut, and fire put to it, which reduced them and the church to ashes." But it is historically cer- tain that the Christmas festival proper "is of oompar- artively late institution. This may doubtless be ac- counted for in the following manner. In the first place, no corresponding festival was presented by the Old Testament, as in the case of Easter and Pentecost. In the second place, the day and month of the birth of Christ are nowhere stated in the €roepel history, and cannot be certainly determined. Again, the Church lingered at first about the death and resurrection of Christ, the completed feet of redemption, and made this the centre of the weekly worship and the Church year. Finally, the earlier feast of Epiphany afforded a substitute. The artistic religious impulses, howev- er, which pEoduced the whole Church year, must soon- er or later have called into existence a festival which forms the groundwork of all other annual festivals in honor of Christ" (Schaff, 1. c). To account for the or- igin of Christmas, therefore, it is not necessary to trace it, as some writers do, to thefeati of dedication cele- brated by the Jews ; or, as others do, to the heathen
SatumaUa. JablonaU endeavors to show tiiat it osSg- inated with the Basilidians in Egypt (fipvucula, ii, ^72). ** The institution may be sufficiently explained by the circumstance that it was the taste of the age to nral> tiply festivals, and that the analogy of otto events in our Saviour's history, which had already been mariL- ed by a distinct celebration, may natoiaUy luive ponit- ed out the propriety of marking his nativity with tbe same honorable distinctitm. It was celebrated with all the marks of respect usually bestowed on high fes- tivak, and distinguished also by the custom, derived probably from heathen antiquity, of interchanging presents and making entertainments." At tbe same time, the heathen winter hoUdays (SatumaUa, Jnve- nalia, Brumalia) were undoubtedly transformed, and, BO to speak, sanctified by the establishment of the Christmas cycle of holidays ; and the heathen cus- toms, so fer as thciy were harmless (e. g. the giving of presents, lighting t^)er8, etc.), were brought over into Ciiristian use.
The Christmas Qfde of festivals gradually grew up around the observance of the day of nativity. It embraced Christmas eve, or Vigils, which were cele- brated with especial solemnity, because, though the precise day of Christ's birth could not be ascertained, it is certain that he was bom in the night (Luke ii, 8). The four Sundays before Christmas were made prepa- ration days for the festival, and called Advent-Sun- days. See Advent. Memorial days, etc., for the Martyr Stephen (Dec. 26), St. John (Dec 27), Massa- cre of the Innocents (Dec. 28), were established in the fourth century. The festival of Circtmicision and Ke w Tear (Jan. 1) is of later origin, while Epiphany (Jan. 8) is earlier than Christmas.
In later ages many observances, some pleasant, others absurd, grew up around the Christmas festiTal. Accounts of old English Christmas usages may be found in Chambers, Book ofDagt (Edinb. 1864, 2 vols. 8vo), and in Brand, Popular Antiquidet (Lond. 1841, 8 vols. 12mo). Among them are the following. It was customary to light candles of large size, and to lay upon the fire a huge log, called a TtUe dog m Christmas block, a custom not yet extinct in some parts of England. Tule (from hxtel, a wheel) was a son- feast, commemorative of the turn of the sun and the lengthening of the day, and seems to have been a pe- riod of pagan festival in Europe ftx>m ancient times. At court, among many public bodies, and in distin- guished families, an officer, under various titles, was appointed to preside over the revels. Leland, speak- ing of the court of Henry VII, A.D. 1489, mentions an Abbot of Misrule, who was created for this purpose, who made much sport, and did right well his office (Collect, iii, App, 256). In Scotland he was termed the Abbot of Unreason; but the office was suppressed by act of Parliament, A.D. 1556. Stow (Swvqf of London, p. 79) describes the same officer as Lord of Misrule. The Puritans regarded these diversions, whidi appear to have offended more against good taste than against morality, with a holy horror. Prynne says, in his strong way 0n Histrxo-Mastix), " Our Christmas lords of misrule, together with dancing, masks, mum- meries, 8tage-pla3rer8, and such other Christmas disor- ders, now in use with Christians, were derived frtnn these Roman Saturnalia and Bacchanalian festivala, which should cause allpious Christians etemalfy to oftooi- inate them,^^ The dishes most in vogue were foxmeriy, for breakfest and supper on Christmas evo, a boar's head stuck with rosemary, with an apple or an orange in the mouth, plum porridge, and minced pies. Eat- ing the latter was a test of orthodoxy, as the Puritans conceived it to be an abomination ; they were origin- ally made long, in imitation of the manger in which our Lord was laid (Selden^s Tablo-Talk), The houses and churches were dressed with evergreens, and the former especially with mistletoe— a custom probably as old as the Diuidical worship. Whether this festi-