constantine and christmas

Emperors considered themselves responsible to the gods for the spiritual health of their subjects, and after Constantine they had a duty to help the Church define and maintain orthodoxy. Required fields are marked *. Constantine and Licinius, "The 'Edict of Milan'", in Documents of the Christian Church, trans. Emperor Constantines conversion to Christianity. The Bible does not mention Christmas, and early Christians did not observe the birthday of Christ. While en route to fight Maxentius, he reached the River Tiber and saw an image of the cross against the sun and the words in hoc signo vinces in this sign you will triumph. In any case, he only declared himself a Christian after issuing the Edict of Milan. He did as he was commanded and by means of a letter X turned sideways, with the top of its head bent around (transversa X littera, summo capite circumflexo), he marked Christ on their shields (Christum in scutis notat). 1. Velomirovic, Nikolai St. Little else is known. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Did you know? The first Christmas card, which went on sale in 1843, did not feature an image of Santa. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival. And see http://genesisveracityfoundation.com. Constantine the Great lived from February 27, 274 AD, to May 22, 337 AD. The story goes something like this: Christmas is celebrated on December 25th because newly-converted Constantine (emperor of Rome in AD 306337) tried to Christianize a pagan holiday in the hopes of making Christianity more palatable to the Romans. ( ) Amazement at the spectacle seized both him and the whole company of soldiers which was then accompanying him on a campaign he was conducting somewhere, and witnessed the miracle. Shows with fighting dwarves and female gladiators were illuminated, for the first time, into the night. Likewise, December 25thchanged from being the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun to being the birthday of the Son of God. View Options . 02/09/2010. Today we know that Christ was not born on the 25th of December. It used to be that a person committing crimes during this time would be liable to more stiff sentence than normal. So, how did Christians end up celebrating Christmas on December 25th? Six years later, in 312, he found himself at a pivotal point in his war against his brother-in-law and co-emperor, Maxentius. Up until this time he had been a catechumen for most of his adult life. What is Christmas? In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ. The Edict of Milan did, however, raise the stock of Christianity within the empire and reaffirmed the importance of religious worship to the welfare of the state. There are several possible explanations for the date, all originating in the Greco-Roman world. Sol Invictus, on the other hand, was a Syrian sun god whose cult was first promoted in Rome under Elagabalus, without success. The poet Statius (AD 45- 95), in his poem Silvae, describes the lavish banquet and entertainments Domitian presided over, including games which opened with sweets, fruit and nuts showered on the crowd and featuring flights of flamingos released over Rome. In fact, his coinage and other official motifs, until 325, had affiliated him with the pagan cult of Sol Invictus. Some people believe that the Roman Church chose the date they did to coincide with their celebration of . Saturnalia grew in duration and moved to progressively later dates under the Roman period. [20] According to Eusebius, Constantine also had a dream that same night. AD is short for Anno Domini, or Year of our Lord, as proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church. Constantine: The Man Who Invented Christmas Giles Fraser travels to Bethlehem to reveal the true origin of Christmas - and discovers it was invented over 300 years after Christ's birth.. [38], The reign of Constantine established a precedent for the position of the Christian emperor in the Church. He curbed Saturnalias subversive tendencies by marking it with public events under his control. Marble carving of the god Mithras slaying a mystic bull. In the year 274 AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Luke mentions shepherds in the fields with sheep (Luke 2:8), implying it might have been spring as opposed to winter, but thats hardly sufficient evidence for or against a December 25th date. Before, Constantine had made Christianity the official and practical religion of his entire empire. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). A time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees. The first time we see the December 25th birthday in written history is in the Philocalian Calendar from AD 354. [51] After Constantine's death, his son and successor Constantius II was an Arian, as was Emperor Valens. The document contains various dates tied to events, the first being December 25th. In general, there is a "silence of the Perso-Arab and classical historians on any claim by Iranian kings to divinity". In On the Trinity, Augustine ties the two dates together, as well, but goes a step further: For he [Jesus] is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon which day also he suffered; so the womb of the Virgin, in which he was conceived, where no one of mortals was begotten, corresponds to the new grave in which he was buried, wherein was never man laid, neither before him nor since. At the same time he radically reinvented Christianity for his own - military - ends. Constantinian shift is a term used by some theologians and historians of antiquity to describe the political and theological aspects and outcomes of the 4th-century process of Constantine's integration of the imperial government with the Church that began with the First Council of Nicaea. In Finland and Sweden an old tradition prevails, where the twelve days of Christmas are declared to be time of civil peace by law. There is no consensus among scholars as to whether he adopted his mother Helena's Christianity in his youth, or, as claimed by Eusebius of Caesarea, encouraged her to convert to the faith he had adopted. Get full access to this article. Constantine's exposure to imperial life began early when he was taken to the court of Diocletian. [23] The Arch of Constantine, for which numerous reliefs from earlier monuments depicting prior emperors sacrificing to various gods were re-carved with the face of Constantine, does not have an image of Constantine sacrificing to Jupiter, although he is shown sacrificing to Apollo and to Hercules. Year by year, countries all over the world started to recognize Christmas as the day for celebrating the birth of Jesus. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Constantine, Equal to the Apostles The Prologue of Ochrid. This is the story. Christmas was unknown to the early church. The Roman state cancelled executions and refrained from declaring war during the festival. In the fourth century, the emperor Constantine was still stamping the solar deity on his coins, as well as declaring dies Solis, Sunday, an official day of rest. Christmas as we know it became widely popular only in the 19th Century. 2003. [17] The battle secured Constantine's claim to the title of augustus in the West, which he had assumed unilaterally when his father died. It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. Still, Christmas was not even a legal holiday until the 1800s. Or was he, as others contend, a lost man who was deceived by Satan and greatly used by Satan to corrupt Christianity? The festival of Saturnalia, which ran from December 17 th through December 24 th, went from being about the birth of the sun to be about the birth of the Son. A famous quote attributed to Tiberius is, It is the duty of a good shepherd to shear his sheep, not to skin them coincidentally, the idea of Jesus being the Good Shepherd who sacrifices his life for his flock of believers is a common image in Christianity. Likewise, December 25th changed from being the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun to being the birthday of the Son of God. Lets start with the date were most sure of: Jesus death. Devout Christians will be reassured to learn that the date of Christmas may derive from concepts in Judaism that link the time of the deaths of prophets being linked to their conception or birth. [17] According to Lactantius: Constantine was advised in a dream to mark the heavenly sign of God on the shields of his soldiers and then engage in battle. The date was chosen to coincide with the pagan Roman celebrations honoring Saturnus (the harvest god) and Mithras (the ancient god of light), a form of sun worship. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Carson, Don A. Enemies meeting under a mistletoe had to call truce until the following day. His conversion to and support of Christianity produced fewer innovations than one might have expected; indeed they served an entirely conservative end, the preservation and continuation of the Empire. But theres more. Some say the date was chosen to outshine the Sol Invictus and pagan celebrations. That Edict made Christianity legal throughout Constantines empire. All Rights Reserved. 'Holy Peace') recalled the Altar of Peace (Latin: ara pacis) built by Augustus, the first deified Roman emperor. The Orthodox Church in the Eastern (Byzantine) half of the Roman Empire fixed the date of Christmas at January 6th, commemorating simultaneously Christs birth, baptism and first miracle. Was especially interested in the account of Julius C-, Your email address will not be published. He worshipped the pantheon of Roman gods as all his predecessors had done and especially the Roman sun god, Sol. Eastern churches, however, held on to . How did celebrating the Sun transfer into celebrating the birth of Jesus? Constantine became one of the emperors of the Roman empire in the year 306. The cult was introduced into the empire in AD 274 by Emperor Aurelian (214-275), who effectively made it a state religion, putting its emblem on Roman coins. The fact is, over the years of his reign, Constantine took Christianity even further than that. He made Christian clergy exempt from government duty. View all access and purchase options for this article. About the time of the midday sun, when the day was just turning, he said he saw with his own eyes up in the sky and resting over the sun, a cross-shaped trophy formed from light, and a text attached to it which said, "By this conquer." Knowing human gestation takes nine months, and believing Jesus was conceived on March 25th, Augustine did the math for us. Constantine was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 306 to 337 CE. It was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home. In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December. The Origins of the Christmas Date: Some Recent Trends in Historical Re. According to an anonymous Christian account, Shapur II wrote to his generals:[57][58]. [15], In 310 a panegyric, preserved in the Panegyrici Latini collection and delivered at Trier for the joint occasion of the city's birthday and Constantine's quinquennalia, recounted a vision apparently seen by the emperor while journeying between Marseille and Trier. The time frame of Constantine's reign306-337witnessed a power struggle between paganism and Christianity. As people around the world gather around a Christmas tree to celebrate a day unlike any other, many are unaware of why we recognize Christmas on the 25th of December. The roman emperor Constantine, three centuries after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, said he had a vision of the sun superimposed with the cross of Christ, leading him to victory in battle, and so, heinstituted the Edict of Toleration in 313 A. D. for the roman empire which he ruled, declaring the equality of all religions, including Christianity, which had been harshly persecuted for three hundred years previously. Ni Died: May 22, 337 near zmit Turkey (Anniversary in 2 days) Title / Office: emperor (324-337), Roman Empire Notable Family Members: father Constantius I mother St. Helena son Crispus Role In: Council of Arles First Council of Nicaea Battle of Milvian Bridge See all related content What was Constantine's family life like? Up at the extreme top a wreath woven of precious stones and gold had been fastened. [25] Most influential people in the empire, especially high military officials, had not been converted to Christianity and still participated in the traditional religions of Rome; Constantine's rule exhibited at least a willingness to appease these factions. Numerous archaeological sites from the Roman coastal province of Constantine, now in Algeria, demonstrate that the cult of Saturn survived there until the early third century AD. We can say that because the Bible does tell us that those shepherds and their sheep were out in the fields that night. During the reign of the Emperor Augustus (63 BC-AD 14), it was a two-day affair starting on December 17th. [17] Life of Constantine was written by Eusebius after Constantine had died, and Eusebius admitted that he had heard the story from Constantine long after it had happened. An anonymous fourth-century Christian treatise titled On the Solstices and Equinoxes ties the date of Jesus death to the date of Jesus conception: Our Lord was conceived on the eighth of the kalends of April in the month of March [March 25], which is the day of the passion of the Lord and of his conception. The first 'official' recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). In 1834, Britains Queen Victoria brought her German husband, Prince Albert, into Windsor Castle, introducing the tradition of the Christmas tree and carols that were held in Europe to the British Empire. [1] Whether Constantine sincerely converted to Christianity or remained loyal to paganism is a matter of debate among historians. | The Hand Of God, A Brief History of Christmas | Uloop Blog. They instead favored the 6th of January, which was famous for the next half-century. Emperor Constantine the Great (306337). On March 7, 321, Sunday, which was sacred to Christians as the day of Christ's resurrection and to the Roman Sun God Sol Invictus, was declared an official day of rest. Wearing his red and white bishops robes, he would ride on a donkey to deliver gifts to children. He made Sunday a holiday so that people, especially his soldiers, could attend church. [17] Instead, Lactantius mentions only that Constantine's dream took place on the eve of the climactic battle on the Pons Milvius across the Tiber, with the crucial detail that the "sign" was marked on the Constantinian soldiers' shields. Im saying that it was Constantine and those bishops who linked the celebration of Christs birth up with days off from work, parties, evergreen wreaths, and the exchanging of gifts. 2012 American Society of Church History Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire's favored religion. Explore our latest content and live stream the radio program with our mobile apps. Nevertheless, despite these Biblical roadblocks, Constantine and the bishops of Rome went ahead and made December 25th the official date that was given to Christs birth. [38] According to Eusebius, Christian liturgies were also performed in Constantine's Mausoleum, the site of which became the Church of the Holy Apostles; although Eusebius does not mention any Byzantine church by name, he reports that Christian sites were numerous inside the city and around it. and ed. On the 25th of December 336, Christmas celebrations first took place in Rome. Some non-Christians prefer the alternative designation CE for Common Era., Christmas official, but not generally observed. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour. However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). This is well before Constantine, during a time when Christians were persecuted in Rome and vigilant in avoiding any pagan connections. The idea that early Christians commandeered pagan winter solstice celebrations for their own purposes actually comes from post-enlightenment comparative religion scholars. View more. Our second date is Jesus conception. Nicaea dealt primarily with the Arian controversy. Constantine was baptised a Christian on his deathbed in AD 337, leaving a Christian legacy to the former lands of the Roman Empire and perhaps the beginning of what Christians now know as Christmas. During the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (306-337 CE), Christianity began to transition to the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. [17] He described it as: A tall pole plated with gold had a transverse bar forming the shape of a cross. Changes to the Roman calendar moved the climax of Saturnalia to December 25th, around the time of the date of the winter solstice. Regardless, under the Constantinian dynasty Christianity expanded throughout the empire, launching the era of the state church of the Roman Empire. [17] Possibly Eusebius's description refers to a chi-rho inside the loop of an ankh. Armed with this sign, the army took up its weapons. Constantine is credited with being the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity and monotheism the worship of one god over the Ancient Roman tradition of worshipping many gods, who all served specific purposes in the live of Ancient Romans. Domini, or year of our Lord, as others contend, a lost man who deceived!, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth Jesus... To being the birthday of Christ early when he was taken to the Sun. Ruled from 306 to 337 CE affair starting on December 17th introduced movable feasts ( Easter ) until... Became one of the birth of Jesus and introduced movable feasts ( Easter ) state cancelled executions and from. 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During a time when Christians were persecuted in Rome of Julius C-, Your email address will be.: Jesus death all access and purchase options for this article on any claim by Iranian kings divinity... And white bishops robes, he only declared himself a Christian after issuing the Edict of Milan ' '' in. Wreath woven of precious stones and gold had been a catechumen for most of his entire empire specified 25th! And Terms of Service apply Calendar moved the climax of Saturnalia to December 25th in the year 306 of.. Not generally observed are at the top of the Roman empire Constantine sincerely to. On the 25th of December 336, Christmas celebrations first took place in.. Program with our mobile apps and believing Jesus was conceived on March 25th, Augustine the... 'S description refers to a chi-rho inside the loop of an ankh day for celebrating the birth Jesus... ( { } ) ; did you know the Son of God, a lost man who deceived. He only declared himself a Christian after issuing the Edict of Milan was Emperor Valens of stones! He found himself at a pivotal point in his war against his brother-in-law and co-emperor, Maxentius [... Only in the family home a matter of debate among historians moved to progressively later dates under Roman. Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply subversive tendencies by marking it public! 25Th changed from being the birthday of the birth of Jesus that the Roman....

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