These days, the meaning of Christmas seems to be more about Santa Claus then the birth of the Baby Jesus. The pictures we, here in America, see are of malls full of people shopping, and children making requests to Santa Claus. Although it is a Holy Day, most of the depictions are of Santa Claus. The Christmas holiday, which is depicted as the birth of Jesus Christ, has been distorted almost out of existence. Although Western Countries celebrate Christmas on December 25, there is no definitive date for the birth of Jesus Christ. Add that to the fact that his name was not Jesus Christ! His first name was not Jesus and his last name was not Christ and that makes for quite a conundrum.
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Santa Claus
The American version of the Santa Claus figure received its inspiration and its name from the Dutch legend of Sinter Klaas, brought by settlers to New York in the 17th century. As early as 1773 the name appeared in the American press as "St. A Claus," but it was the popular author Washington Irving who gave Americans their first detailed information about the Dutch version of Saint Nicholas. In his History of New York, published in 1809 under the pseudonym Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the arrival of the saint on horseback (unaccompanied by Black Peter) each Eve of Saint Nicholas.
The Dutch-American Saint Nick achieved his fully Americanized form in 1823 in the poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas more commonly known as The Night Before Christmas by writer Clement Clarke Moore. Moore included such details as the names of the reindeer; Santa Claus's laughs, winks, and nods; and the method by which Saint Nicholas, referred to as an elf, returns up the chimney. (Moore's phrase "lays his finger aside of his nose" was drawn directly from Irving's 1809 description.)
The American image of Santa Claus was further elaborated by illustrator Thomas Nast, who depicted a rotund Santa for Christmas issues of Harper's magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s. Nast added such details as Santa's workshop at the North Pole and Santa's list of the good and bad children of the world. A human-sized version of Santa Claus, rather than the elf of Moore's poem, was depicted in a series of illustrations for Coca-Cola advertisements introduced in 1931 that introduced and made the red Santa Suits an icon. In modern versions of the Santa Claus legend, only his toy-shop workers are elves. Rudolph, the ninth reindeer, with a red and shiny nose, was invented in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company.
In looking for the historical roots of Santa Claus, one must go very deep in the past. One discovers that Santa Claus as we know him is a combination of many different legends and mythical creatures. The basis for the Christian-era Santa Claus is Bishop Nicholas of Smyrna (Izmir), in what is now Turkey. Nicholas lived in the 4th century A.D. He was very rich, generous, and loving toward children. Often he gave joy to poor children by throwing gifts in through their windows.
The Orthodox Church later raised St. Nicholas, miracle worker, to a position of great esteem. It was in his honor that Russia's oldest church, for example, was built. For its part, the Roman Catholic Church honored Nicholas as one who helped children and the poor. St. Nicholas became the patron saint of children and seafarers. It would make more sense to have Santa Claus depicted on Christmas, if he was giving to the poor as Jesus did. He has become a Patron Saint of Malls, here in America, a place where children tell him what they want for Christmas.
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There are Biblical Historians who know that Jesus line came out of Africa into Egypt, but very few will admit it. This does not fit the modern version of Christianity and it’s European Origins. The Madonna and Child are depicted in statutes throughout Europe as dark skinned, or at least brown. Changing his appearance is like changing the appearance of Martin Luther King Junior. Why would anyone want to lighten up Christ? It may have to do with conquering the new world, and passing on a religion in which Caucasians are depicted as the chosen ones. By Caucasian, I am referring to the Romans and the Anglos, both of whom were conquering the New World and ushering in Christianity. There are, in fact, several European Countries, which depict the Madonna as Black (African), or Brown skinned (Ethiopian).
“It is true that a large proportion of the ancient miraculous Madonna’s of the world are black, why is such a surprising phenomenon so little known and what are the causes of it? Scholars are proverbially un-inquisitive, especially about matters outside their own academic discipline, and the subject falls uneasily between art history and ecclesiastic. To art historians many of the Black Virgins must appear crude, even grotesque, worm-eaten, restored or replaced, of doubtful provenance difficult to examine or date. Where they belong to a recognizable class, like the Thrones of Wisdom in Catalonia or the Auvergne, their dark color has attracted little attention. The Black Virgin of Padua is well documented, because it is by Donatello.”[1]
The text of the Bible was translated for and by those who saw the teachings of Christ as a means to rule the world. The story of the birth of Christ is of a Child being born through a Virgin Birth. There are the three wise men, and an inn with no room for Mary and Joseph. The depictions I grew up with, even in a African American Church was of a white Mary and Joseph. The first time I heard that Jesus was a black man was from my mother, during one of her history lessons. I was surprised that someone would take Jesus and alter his face and wanted to know why. If my mother knew the answer, she did not share it with me.
The Muslims are the latest rulers of Egypt, and Jesus is described as a fair skinned, Middle Easterner (at least the blonde hair is gone). Muslims were not in power, during the rein of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and were not even a religion. The Middle Easterners were the last of those who conquered Egypt, after the Orientals and Greeks. Most people, unless they are Archaeologists and/or Anthropologists, have short memories and believe only what they see. Even in Movies, the Egyptian Mummies come out of their graves, looking Middle Eastern. The Muslims seem all to willing to allow the desecration of the Pharaohs Tombs in Egypt, but not so with the tombs in Mecca.
Jesus is a descendant of the Jews who fled Egypt, were in the Desert with Moses, and then entered the Promised Land. Egypt is in Africa, not in the Middle East, no matter how those who live there are classified (as European these days). It is truly sad to see the lengths some historians will go to make Egypt anything but an African State. God forbid that the most worshiped man in the world should be of African Descent. However, that is exactly how he is described in Revelation 1:14 thus; His hair white like lambs wool, as white as snow; and his eyes, as a flame of fire; 1:15 - And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
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The Virgin Birth
Jesus - Mary and Joseph
Matthew 1:1 states that Jesus mother, Mary was promised to Joseph in marriage. Before they were married, Mary realized that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was an honorable man and did not want to disgrace her publicly. Therefore, he decided to break the marriage agreement with her secretly. Joseph had this in mind when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said to him, "Joseph, descendant of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus [He Saves], because he will save his people from their sins."
Since Jesus is depicted as the son of God, he is not considered a true descendant of David. However, his mother, Mary and legal father, Joseph came from the same tribe and both are descendants of David. The genealogies prove that Joseph was a descendant of David, and may have been a rightful king of Israel, had there been a monarchy at the time of Jesus. However, Jesus, according to Christians, was the son of God and only adopted by Joseph. He was not his son by blood, but by law he was recognized as the son of Joseph (Luke 3:23).
What is interesting is that Matthew, the Biblical historian, gives the lineage of Jesus by way of Solomon the son of David, while Luke traces us to Jesus by way of Nathan another son of David. King Solomon who was Jewish, and a Son of David, and Jewish, stated; “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." Solomon was a Jew from the tribe of Judah. “Joseph, the son of David” (Matthew 1:20). A quote from the genealogy of Jesus states; “Where is he who is born King of the Jews?”
The two genealogies are the lines of two brothers and their families. Mary came from one brother and Joseph from the other, making them cousins. Luke gives us the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Matthew gives us the line of Joseph, the stepfather or adopted father of Jesus. Matthew and Luke both trace the evidence to the Messiah. One gives it through Solomon’s line, which was the royal line, and the other through Nathan, which was the legal line.
Why are there two genealogies of Jesus in the Gospels? I agree with a number of leading scholars who understand the two lines represent the lines of Joseph and Mary respectively. Nathan and Solomon were both sons of David. Nathan was the older brother of Solomon, but when David died, the younger brother took the throne. Nathan’s line ran on through the ages and ultimately produced the Virgin Mary. Solomon’s line ran down through the centuries and ultimately produced Joseph. Matthew is careful to inform us that Joseph was not the father of Jesus, but that he was the husband of Mary, to whom was born Jesus (1:16). While Luke uses a word for a son that includes what we should call a son-in-law.
Moreover, the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus could not have been the Messiah if Joseph was his human father. In the use of the name “Jechonias” in his genealogy, Matthew declares that Jesus is the son of Mary and not the son of Joseph. Jechonias received a curse of God that took the throne away from any of his descendants. Jeremiah 22:30 reads, “Thus says the Lord, write you this childless: a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” None of the seven sons of Jechonias could have been king because of the curse of God. If Jesus had been the son of Joseph, He would have been cursed and therefore could not have been the Messiah.
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A Prince by Any other Name…,
Although God is referred to as Jehovah (Yahweh), this was the name of Christ and not God. The Bible scriptures reference to the term Jehovah is used to refer to Jesus, God of Israel, not the Father (Isa. 41:14; 43:11, 14; Mosiah 3:5; 3 Ne. 11:14; 15:5). The name Jehovah vocalized thus is not found in ancient texts, but is a modern convention. In ancient times, the Hebrew text had no vowels; thus, the consonants in God's name were "YHWH". Jews avoided pronouncing these consonants when reading aloud, substituting 'adonai," a word meaning "the Lord." Following this practice, King James translators usually rendered YHWH as "the Lord." In medieval Hebrew texts, the vowels from 'Adonai were added to the consonants YHWH to remind Jewish readers to say "‘Adonai." English translators adopted this convention, creating the artificial form "Jehovah." Latter-day Saints accept Jehovah as a name for the pre-mortal Christ because this is the common English form for YHWH.
The truth is all power and there is no need to defend against it. Yahweh would want us to know him by his true name, his race, and to carry his true message. We should worship in truth and light, with the knowledge that the Evil One has no interest in truth. That leaves those who seek the truth to ask the true God for guidance, and courage. Many Biblical scholars have argued from time to time that December 25th was not the actual birth date of Christ. It was, in fact, adopted as a day to celebrate the birth of Christ as a Christian substitute to the Roman festival, Saturnalia, in the third century. Saturnalia was celebrated as the Feat of Sun and was actually considered the birth date of the Sun God of the Romans.
It should be clear what is going on here. One of the most revered Religious figures in the world has been distorted beyond recognition. Why was the name of Yahweh changed to Jesus while the name of Satan remains the same? The name change is ascribed to Emperor Constantine, the first Roman Emperor to claim to be Christine. He continued to hold fast to his pagan sun god worship, even after converting to Christianity. He demanded that the newly formed Roman Catholic Church change the seventh day Sabbath worship to Sunday, for Christians. They continued to worship, afraid to ask questions about the historical accuracy of the information. Catholic priests held a special mass (December 25th), for Christ and thus, it came to be known as 'Christ-Mass or 'Christmas'. There were several other pagan traditions, rituals and customs associated with Christmas, including decorating fir trees, burning Yule logs, and Santa Claus.
As far as Christ birth, the Bible does not specify a date or month. Many Biblical Historians believe that Christ Birth was on September 11th, around the time of the annual Feast of Tabernacle. The calendars used to chart his Birth were set up long after his death. The Century of his birth is not even certain and is set somewhere between, 3 and 6 BC. The birth date is as good as the Calendar used to mark it. The Julian and Gregorian Calendars are Christian Calendars used throughout Europe and America. Julius Caesar, as a Political Power Play, introduced the Julian calendar in 45 B.C.E. Prior to the introduction of the Julian calendar, priests in the Roman Empire exploited the calendar for political ends; and inserted days and even months into the calendar to keep the politicians they favored in office.
The Julian Calendar was in common use until the late 1500s, when countries started changing to the Gregorian calendar. In the Julian calendar, the topical year is approximated as 365¼ days (365.25 days). This gives an error of one day in approximately one hundred twenty-eight years. The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar or the Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted Civil Calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a Papal Bull, a decree signed on the 24th of February 1582, known by its opening words Inter Gravissimas. The document reformed the Julian Calendar, and created a new calendar, which came to be called the Gregorian Calendar, which is used in most Western Countries today. |
The Gregorian calendar reform contained two parts, a reform of the Julian calendar as used up to Pope Gregory's time, together with a reform of the lunar cycle used by the Church along with the Julian calendar for calculating dates of Easter. The Gregorian calendar continued the previous year-numbering system (Anno Domino), which counts years from the traditional Incarnation of Jesus, and which had spread throughout Europe during the Middle Ages. If the Roman Empire was Holy, it was because of its connection to Christ and his teachings. Yet, the Romans were the ones who crucified Christ. Does that not give us pause, as we contemplate the Gregorian and Julian calendar? It is as if he was taken to the cross again, while his life and teaching was used to prop up the Roman Empire.
The birth of Christ is celebrated by Christians all over the world, as an actual event. As we celebrate this Holy Day, our minds and hearts should be on the true spirit of Christ (Yahweh). Christ’s life was not about shopping at Macy’s or Target, it was about Faith, hope, and charity. It was also about truth and justice, for all of humankind. No matter how we celebrate the Holidays, his story of love and Resurrection should continue to flow through our communities.
“Let those who have eyes see, let those who have ears hear!”
[1] Begg, Ean C.M. Introduction. The Cult of the Black Virgin. (1985). England: Clays Ltd, St. Ives Plc, 1985
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