What time was Jesus born? Secrets of the Bible. When and where was Jesus Christ born? How to briefly tell children the story of the Nativity of Christ
Mystical rhythms of Russian history Romanov Boris Semenovich
WHEN WAS JESUS CHRIST BORN?
WHEN WAS JESUS CHRIST BORN?
He was born in Bethlehem, on Saturday, September 21, 5 BC. e., but the most amazing thing is that the “official” dates (December 25 and January 7) are also correct! How can it be? It turns out it can!
I decided to present here the essence of my research, with as little astrological references as possible. This is all the more possible since the actual date of Christ was established, in general, without the help of astrology, using methods almost traditional for historical research. For the first time, the results of this work were briefly published in the Riga newspaper “SM Today” on September 21, 1995 - exactly a year before the actual (from 5 BC) 2000th anniversary of the Nativity of Christ, and here in Russia the St. Petersburg newspaper was the first to publish them “Requiem” (its organizer was the prominent journalist and public figure A.P. Sazanov) in November of the same year. Then an article was published in the journal Science and Religion. Throughout 1996, I sent my materials to many newspapers and magazines, but everywhere they refused to print them, citing mainly “the topic of the day.” Only in Moscow News V.V. Shevelev accepted them just in time for the 2000th anniversary, but, as the newspapermen say, “the material flew out of the strip” at the last moment. I am telling all this for the reader who may ask, why was the author silent in 1996? As you can see, he was not silent.
Neither the texts of the New Testament, nor the apocrypha, nor oral tradition have conveyed to us the actual date and year of the birth of Jesus Christ. Why? The fact is that according to deep tradition, probably since the time of Moses, the Jews did not celebrate birthdays. Of course, everyone knew their age, but they didn’t celebrate birthdays, and even if they wanted to, they couldn’t do it because of the long-adopted solar-lunar calendar with a floating beginning of the year, sometimes determined not even by the spring new moon, but by the day , “when the barley comes in.” They say that Omar Khayyam, while studying the Jewish calendar, once exclaimed that the Jews deserve damnation if only because of their calendar. Celebrating a birthday was a sign of paganism for Orthodox Jews and could only be practiced among apostates from the faith of their fathers in circles close and friendly to Rome.
This was the case during the time of the tetrarch Herod the Great, who ruled Judea for thirty-four years until his death in the spring of 4 BC. e., during whose reign the baby Yeshua, Jesus Christ, was born in Bethlehem. If a Jew of those times had wanted to say something about the date of his birth, he could have said something like the following: born on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, in the 33rd year of the reign of Herod, or rather (since the Jews did not like Herod), it would be said - in the 15th year of the Renewal of the Temple. The Gospel of John testifies that the year of the consecration of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem rebuilt by Herod (20 BC) was the most important reference point for the Jews in those days. We will return to this later, but for now let us recall how the “official” date of the Nativity of Christ arose - the night from December 24 to 25, 1 BC. e. (in Orthodoxy since 1918 - January 7, 1st year AD).
THE CHURCH AND THE CHRISTMAS OF CHRIST. HOW WAS THE DATE A.D. ESTABLISHED?
Until the seventies of the 1st century AD. e. The overwhelming majority of Christians were Jews, and among them the question of the date of birth of the Savior simply did not arise. But after the Jewish War, the complete destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of about six million Jews, among whom there were already tens of thousands of Christians, a significant and constant growth of Christian communities outside Judea began throughout the Mediterranean countries at the expense of newly converted “pagans”, for whom this question was familiar. And accepted into the reign of Julius Caesar on January 1, 46 BC. e. The Julian calendar made it possible to celebrate any birthday every year on the same date, almost the way we celebrate our birthdays now. In the I–II centuries. n. e. Judeo-Christianity, closely associated with the observance of the laws of Moses, was rejected by the new Christian majority. Although for the pagans converted to Christ, even by the Apostle Peter, by revelation from above, significant relaxations were introduced, and then the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem confirmed his innovations. This was around 50 AD. e. By the 2nd–3rd centuries. and these are the first attempts known to us to establish the date of the Nativity of Christ, and to celebrate it as one of the main Christian holidays.
The first widely known and accepted date of the Nativity of Christ by the Egyptian Church in Alexandria was associated with the ancient Egyptian holiday of the reborn Sun - the winter solstice. It was celebrated in Egypt in those days on January 6 (according to the Julian calendar), although astronomically this has long been inaccurate. In fact, the winter solstice should have been celebrated two weeks earlier. However, to this day, some Christian communities, dating back to the ancient Alexandrian tradition, celebrate the Nativity of Christ on January 6. For example, the Armenian Autocephalous Church. The binding of the date of the Nativity of Christ to the solar calendar and the winter solstice is explained by the fact that since ancient times all peoples believed that the Sun-Spirit takes precedence in the Universe over everything, and that it is from the day of the winter solstice that daylight begins to arrive - the spirit of the Universe is reborn, defeats darkness in the world.
This is exactly how the fathers of the Alexandrian Church justified their decision. Camille Flamarion in his “History of the Sky” wrote (on a different occasion, not in connection with the issue under consideration) that in the ancient Egyptian tradition the Sun of the vernal equinox was depicted in the form of a young man, the summer Sun in the form of a husband with a thick beard, the autumn Sun was depicted by an old man, and The sun of the winter solstice was depicted in the form of a child, a baby. The fathers of the Alexandrian Church, of course, knew the ancient Egyptian beliefs and traditions and, obviously, their choice of the date of the Nativity of Christ was connected with them.
In Rome, the holiday of the rebirth of the Sun was celebrated on the night of December 24-25, immediately after the Roman Saturnalia, the most joyful Roman holiday. The Sun Festival was associated in Rome with the cult of Mithra, the solar god of the ancient Persian-Zoroastrians, whose cult was long adopted by the Romans. In 337 AD e. Pope Julius I approved the date December 25 as the date of the Nativity of Christ. The combination of the Feast of the Sun with the Nativity of Christ in Rome was largely facilitated by the vision of the Gaul Emperor Constantine the Great on October 27, 312. Before the Battle of Rome, he saw on the solar disk a cross with the initials of Jesus Christ and the inscription “In hoc signo vinces” (“By this victory”).
Even the father of Constantine the Great, the Gaul emperor Constantine Chlorus, sympathized with Christians, and Constantine the Great subsequently proclaimed Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire. The combination of the pagan holiday of the Sun with the Nativity of Christ was obviously and purely pragmatically beneficial to the Christian Church, since this pagan holiday, beloved by the people, was invincible by any exhortations of the clergy and papal bulls.
The Church has never hidden the fact that the actual birthday of Jesus Christ is unknown and that the date of December 25 was established by the right of the Church itself. In the summer of 1996, in one of his messages, Pope John Paul II confirmed that the historical date of the Nativity of Christ is not known and that in fact the Savior was born 5–7 years earlier than the new era, the “official” Nativity of Christ. The chronology from the Nativity of Christ (from the new era) was established even later than the adoption of the date of December 25. In the 6th century according to the current count, and before that the count went from the founding of Rome, from April 22, 754 BC. e. In 1997, on April 22, Rome celebrated 2,750 years from the legendary founding of the great city. Another reader will ask, how can this be, since 1997 + 754 = 2751? The fact is that after 1st year BC. e. It's the 1st year AD. e., and there is no “zero” year, therefore, for example, if Jesus Christ was born in 5 BC. e., then in 1 AD. e. He turned not six, but five years old, and he turned 33 years old in 29 AD. e., - but we will return to this later.
And in 1278, from the founding of Rome, Pope John I ordered the compilation of Easter tables to the monk Dionysius the Lesser, an outstanding theologian, astronomer and mathematician of those times, by the way, a Scythian by origin. It was for the convenience of compiling Easter tables that Dionysius chose December 25, 753 from the founding of Rome as the hypothetical date of the Nativity of Christ, and then suggested to John I to introduce a new calendar, from the Nativity of Christ - and then it turned out that it was the 525th year from the Nativity of Christ , or rather, from January 1, 754 according to the old account, from 1 AD. e. according to the new account.
But for hundreds of years after this, many in Europe adhered to the Roman calendar of years, and only in the 19th century a new calendar was finally established throughout almost all of Christian Europe. Some researchers believe that Dionysius the Less, in his calculations of the reign of the Roman emperors, simply “overlooked” four years from the reign of Emperor Augustus; others believe that in his work he was guided not so much by historical accuracy as by the convenience of compiling Easter tables, because this was precisely the task set before him. This, in brief, is the history of establishing the currently accepted date of the Nativity of Christ. It remains to add that in 1918, after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in Soviet Russia, the Orthodox Church, in order to remain in the Julian count of days, moved all church holidays 13 days ahead, therefore, since 1919, the Nativity of Christ has been celebrated by the Orthodox world on the night from 6 to Jan. 7. But these details, although significant, are not the subject of our consideration.
WHAT YEAR WAS JESUS CHRIST BORN?
The upper limit is determined by the time of death of Herod the Great, and he died in the early spring of 4 BC. e., shortly after the lunar eclipse on March 13 of that year (750th from the founding of Rome). All modern researchers are almost unanimous on this issue. The lower limit of the possible year of the Nativity of Christ is also quite confidently determined from a joint consideration of the canonical Gospels. The Gospel of Luke says about the beginning of Christ’s ministry that it was “in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was in charge of Judea...” (Luke 3:1). It is known that Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar - this is his full name - was born in 712 from the founding of Rome (42 BC), was declared co-ruler of Emperor Augustus in 765 (12 AD) , and became sole ruler in 767 (14 AD). In the first case, the beginning of Jesus' ministry occurs in 27 AD. e., in the second - on 29 AD. e.
Further in the Gospel of Luke it is said that “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years old” (Luke 3:23). Probably, the Evangelist Luke considered the year 765 to be the beginning of the reign of Tiberius, since otherwise it turns out that Christ was born after the death of Herod the Great, and this already contradicts the Gospel of Matthew, the entire second chapter of which is devoted to the story of the events of the Nativity associated with Herod the Great. In addition, from the Gospel of John it follows that the first appearance of Jesus with the apostles in Jerusalem was shortly before the Passover in 27 AD. e. Indeed, we read the Gospel of John about the first disputes with the Jews in the temple: “Jesus answered and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews said to Him, “This temple took forty-six years to build, and will You raise it up in three days?” (John 2:19, 20).
The temple was largely rebuilt by Herod the Great and dedicated by the high priests in 20 BC. e., and then was constantly completed and improved, therefore, 46 years of its construction is 27 AD. e.
As we see, the testimonies of the evangelists agree, if we consider the beginning of the reign of Tiberius in 12 AD. e. and the beginning of Jesus' ministry in 27 AD. e. We are now almost ready to set a lower limit for the possible year of birth of Jesus Christ, taking into account Luke’s words “he was about thirty years old.” Obviously, more than thirty, since otherwise we again go beyond the upper limit, beyond 4 BC. e. If in 27 AD e. The Savior turned 31 years old, then the year of His birth was 5 BC. e. If 32 years old, then we get 6 BC. e. If He turned 33 years old in the year 27, then the year of the Nativity of Christ turns out to be 7th BC. e. Most researchers believe that this is the lower limit of the possible year of birth of Jesus Christ. Let us add that if the error of four years discovered in the calculations of Dionysius the Less is the only one, then the fifth year BC is obtained as the most probable.
Sometimes, however, one hears, with reference to the same Gospel of John, that in the last year of his earthly ministry the Savior was about fifty years old. In this case, the words from the Gospel are referenced, relating to the time of the Savior’s last, third visit to Jerusalem: “Abraham your father rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and rejoiced. To this the Jews said to Him: You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham? (John 8 - 57).
In order to correctly understand these lines, we must recall the above episode from the second chapter of the same Gospel, when, on their first visit to Jerusalem (in the year 27), the Jews say that the temple is forty-six years old. The episode from chapter eight also relates to the age of the temple, not Jesus. The matter again takes place, as follows from the Gospel, in the temple, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Now, if we follow the chronology of the Gospel, in 29, the Jews again correlate the behavior and words of Jesus, this time about Abraham, with the age of the temple. That is, they again point out to the Nazarene that He is younger than the temple, younger than many of his opponents, and at the same time he dares to teach them.
This “temple line” in the Gospel of John allows, as we see, to restore the chronology of gospel events through the age of the temple, that’s all. However, this is not all. We will also try to understand later what “His day” Jesus Christ spoke about on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles in the year 29. But more on that later. In the meantime, let's try to clarify the year of the Nativity of Christ.
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From the book The Road Home author From the book The Road Home author Zhikarentsev Vladimir Vasilievich From the book Numbers against lies. [Mathematical investigation of the past. Criticism of Scaliger's chronology. Shifting dates and shortening history.] author Fomenko Anatoly Timofeevich I would say that the Magi are to a large extent the predecessors of modern astrologers. “Magi” in ancient times were called healers and sorcerers who knew how to cast spells. In many modern translations they are called astrologers. That’s what they were called by Justin Martyr, Origen and Tertullian. in the Greek text, these people are called maga (magi). Herodotus wrote that the magicians belonged to the Persian class of priests who were engaged in astrology, dream interpretation and witchcraft. In the time of Herodotus, the religion of the Persians was Zoroastrianism. Consequently, the magicians he spoke about were priests of Zoroastrianism. In the Hellenistic world, a magician (magos) was a person who possessed supernatural knowledge and abilities. He could also practice magic.Here the question, in my opinion, is how the Bible, that is, the Word of God, relates to this type of activity (witchcraft and sorcery). An unequivocal answer to this question is given, for example, in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, in Leviticus 19 :26.Is it possible to ask people engaged in such ungodly activities anything at all? The Bible records the following advice from God:
“And when they say to you: “Turn to the callers of the dead and to the sorcerers, to the whisperers and ventriloquists, then answer: Should not the people turn to their God? Do the dead ask about the living” (Isaiah 8:19).
Shouldn't we, if we consider ourselves Christians, follow this advice of God?
And if something is revealed to magicians and wizards, then, based on the above, will this “something” necessarily be from God? In this case, by “something” I mean the so-called. “The Star of Bethlehem.” It is interesting that this star was visible only to the Magi. King Herod had to find out from them the details of its appearance. The star led the Magi first to Jerusalem to Herod the man, who was ready to commit any atrocity just to eliminate the future Messiah. Then the star sent the Magi south to Bethlehem, where little Jesus was, and the latter’s life was in danger.
What conclusion can we draw? We learned that God, to put it mildly, does not approve of witchcraft and fortune telling, which the Magi (magicians, astrologers) did, and therefore they could not possibly be messengers of God. The star that guided the Magi also acted against the Son God, and especially could not be a sign of God: it was clearly driven by an evil force. What kind of force could it be? I cannot avoid the assumption that most likely, Satan the Devil gave the ability to astrologers to see a star in order to lead them to God's Son, with whom Satan wanted to deal with. After all, it is Satan the Devil who uses "false miracles"(2 Thessalon. 2:9).
Well, God himself already announced this birth on the first night of Jesus’ birth (Luke 2:8-14). Thus, God informed people about the birth of Jesus with the help of angels, and not a star. Many critics argue that Quirinius ruled in 6 or 7 AD. But the facts indicate that Jesus was born in 2 BC. e.However, critics overlook two important circumstances.
Firstly, Luke admitted that the census was carried out more than once, because... he mentions the first census (Luke 2:2). If we recognize that Luke is the author of another biblical book, “The Acts of the Apostles,” then it turns out that he knew about another census that took place later (Acts 5:37). It is about this census of 6 AD. wrote Josephus, and it is this census that critics of Luke’s narrative have in mind. But then what about Quirinius, during whose reign both chronicles were carried out? The fact is that, according to available data, Quirinius became ruler twice. Many scientists agree that that Quirinius first began to rule around 2 BC, when Jesus was born during the first census.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4). This fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2, recorded in the 8th century BC.
“And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are you small among the thousands of Judah? From you will come to me one who is to be a ruler in Israel, and whose origin was from the beginning from the days of eternity.”
There were two Bethlehems in Israel, and therefore the prophecy specifically pointed to one of them, the small town of Bethlehem Ephrathah, where King David was once born. The meticulousness of Jewish genealogies did not provide any opportunity for fraud.
In the 6th century BC. The prophet Daniel predicted the appearance of a ruler who "he will send the tax collector to walk through the kingdom of glory"(Daniel 11:20). Apparently, these words referred to Augustus and his command for a census in Israel, since the main purpose of such censuses in ancient times was to identify potential taxpayers.
The prophecy goes on to say that the Messiah, or “chief of the covenant,” will be crushed during the reign of this king’s successor. And indeed, Jesus was “crushed,” that is, executed, during the reign of Tiberius, the successor of Augustus (Daniel 11:21,22) All of these examples demonstrate the accuracy and specificity of Bible prophecy.
However, in this way we can find the year of Jesus’ birth, but not the month. (Perhaps because neither the Father nor the Son wanted such a clarification). This means that the previous statement remains valid that the date of Jesus’ earthly birth is unknown. And It's definitely not December-January
Nativity
- one of the main Christian holidays, established in honor of the birth of the baby Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Despite the fact that Catholics celebrate it on December 25, and Orthodox on January 7, this is the same holiday, but according to different calendar styles - old and new. It should be noted that for Orthodox Christians, Christmas is the second most important holiday after Easter, but Catholics venerate it even higher than Easter. This is explained by the different meanings that representatives of these faiths attach to the concept of “Christmas”: Orthodox believers more reverence spiritual rebirth, that is, the resurrection of Christ after death and His ascension into heaven, while Western religious movements place higher value on the possibility of salvation, which came into the world with the birth of little Jesus, that is, his physical birth.The history of the holiday is interesting, but not too clear. The fact is that nowhere in the Bible is the exact date of birth of the baby Jesus mentioned. None of the four Gospels say that Christ was born on December 25 (or January 7 according to the new style). The Old Testament only mentions that Christ was born in 5508 from the creation of the world.
With the Nativity of Christ, a new era began, and the holiday began to be celebrated already in the first centuries. The date of Christmas - December 25th has been accepted by the Church since the 4th century.
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In 337, Pope Julius I approved the date of December 25 as the date of the Nativity of Christ.
Since then, the entire Christian world celebrates Christmas on December 25th. The Russian Orthodox Church also celebrates Christmas on December 25, but December 25, according to the Julian calendar of the Church, which did not accept the reform of Pope Gregory XIII, comes on January 7 - according to the new, Gregorian style.God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this sinful world to save humanity from sins and eternal destruction. With His birth a new era began on earth. Even our chronology begins with the Nativity of Jesus Christ. The story of the birth of Jesus is amazing. Just think, He, the Son of the Creator of the world and the universe, had to be born in an animal stable. But let's start from the beginning.
Annunciation of the Conception of Jesus
In the small town of Nazareth, in the north of Israel, there lived a girl named Mary. She loved the Lord and had a pure heart. One day, Angel Gabriel, sent by the Lord, appeared to her and said: “Rejoice, O Blessed One! The Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women." Mary, seeing Him, was embarrassed. But the Angel said to her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with the Lord; and behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Mary was not married at the time, but was betrothed to a godly believer named Joseph. She asked Angel: “How will this be when I don’t know my husband?” The angel answered her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Mary answered: “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; Let it be done to me according to Your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Having learned that Mary was expecting a child, Joseph wanted to let her go, but the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife; for that which is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus; for He will save His people from their sins.”.
Birth of Jesus Christ
A detailed account of the birth of Jesus Christ is given only by the Evangelist Luke:
“Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, to enroll with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. And while they were there, The time had come for Her to give birth; and she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."(Luke 2:4-7)
The reason why Mary and Joseph, then living in Nazareth, went to Bethlehem was the census. According to the decree of Emperor Augustus, every resident of the Roman Empire had to come “to his own city” to facilitate the census. Since Joseph was a descendant of David, he headed to Bethlehem. The road was long and difficult, they walked through mountainous terrain, and when they reached Bethlehem and began to look for a place to stay for the night, it turned out that all the inns were full.
There was no free space for them in the hotels. And they had to settle in a cave (nativity scene), where the shepherds drove their cattle during bad weather.
That same night, Maria felt that it was time to give birth. It was there, in the cave, that Mary gave birth to her son, swaddled him and put him in a manger. The fact of the birth of the holy baby was announced by a light in the sky.
Star of Bethlehem.
After the birth of Jesus, the first of the people to come to worship him were the shepherds, notified of this event by the appearance of an angel.
And a shining angel descended from heaven to them: “Fear not, I bring you good tidings of great joy that will come to all people, for today in the city of David a Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord, and this is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”. When the angel disappeared, the shepherds decided to go into the cave and see for themselves what was said - and they actually saw a baby sleeping in a cattle feeder..jpg)
According to the Evangelist Matthew, a miraculous star appeared in the sky, which led three wise men (wise men) to the baby Jesus: Gaspar, Melchior and Belshazzar. According to Eastern prophecies, the fact of the appearance of the star meant the time of the coming into the world of the Son of God - the Messiah, whom the Jewish people were waiting for. The Magi headed to Jerusalem to ask where the Savior of the world should be looked for. Hearing about this, King Herod, who ruled Judea at that time, became agitated and called the Magi to him. Having found out from them the time of the appearance of the star, and therefore the possible age of the King of the Jews, whom he feared as a rival to his reign, Herod asked the Magi: “Go and carefully investigate the Child and, when you find it, notify me, so that I too can go and worship Him.”(Matt. 2.8). Following the guiding star, the Magi reached Bethlehem, where they worshiped the newborn Savior, bringing Him gifts from the treasures of the East: gold, incense and myrrh. Then, having received a revelation from God not to return to Jerusalem, they departed to their own country another way.
Eight days later the baby was given the name Jesus, which means “The Lord is Salvation.” Subsequently, he was also called “Christ,” which means “anointed one.” This “prefix” in ancient Israel was previously used only in relation to kings and high priests, since elevation to high rank was accomplished through anointing. By giving the epithet “Christ” to the son of God, the prophets emphasized that he is the true King of the world, who at the same time brings the light of faith to people.
Having learned about the birth of Christ, and finding that the wise men did not listen to him, the angry King of Judea Herod ordered the death of all male infants under the age of 2 years. The Gospel tells that Joseph, having received a warning about danger in a dream, fled with the Mother of God and the Child to Egypt, where the Holy Family remained until the death of King Herod.
The story about the details of the birth of Jesus Christ is also present in two apocryphal sources: the Proto-Gospel of James and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew. According to these sources, due to the lack of space in the inn, Joseph and Mary were forced to spend the night in a cave, which was used as a stable to shelter livestock from the weather. When Mary felt the onset of labor, Joseph went to look for the midwife, but when he returned with her to the cave, the birth had already occurred, and such a light shone in the cave that they could not bear it, and a little later the light disappeared and a baby appeared and came out and took the breast of his mother Mary. The birth of Christ occurred before Joseph brought the midwife. At the same time, Salome is called an old woman and relative of Mary, that is, coming from the family of King David. Mentioned in the apocrypha, Salome the midwife witnessed the miracle of preserving the virginity of the Virgin Mary.
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Christmas Eve
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Christmas Eve is called Christmas Eve . On Christmas Eve, the day before Christmas, a strict fast is observed. Traditionally, kutia made from wheat or rice with honey is eaten. But it is allowed to start the meal no earlier than the first star appears in the sky - this symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, which announced the birth of the baby Jesus.
On the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, Orthodox Christians greet each other with the words: “Christ is born!” , answering them - “We praise Him!” .
History convinces better! (Christmas tree and Christmas - the whole truth)
"The Christmas tree is a sign of the light of Christ, Benedict XVI is convinced
Vatican City, December 19, ZENIT - Agnuz - The Christmas tree is a sign of the “radiant light” of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI noted at a meeting with a delegation from Austria, which included both laity and clergy.
The delegation arrived from the Austrian city of Eferding, which donated a 27-meter spruce to the Vatican, which has already been installed and decorated in St. Petra.
“At Christmas, the joyful news of the incarnation of the Redeemer is heard in all parts of the world: the long-awaited Messiah became man and dwelt among us,” the Holy Father said, addressing his guests in the Apostolic Palace.
“With His bright presence, Jesus dispelled the shadows of vice and sin and brought to humanity the joy of divine, dazzling love, of which the Christmas tree serves as a sign and reminder,” added the Bishop of Rome.
In this sense, he continued, the spruce serves as an invitation to a person to accept into his heart the gift of joy, peace and love of Jesus.
The Austrian delegation also presented the Pontiff with other small Christmas trees that will decorate some rooms in the Vatican."
http://www.agnuz.info - Catholic website
Below we offer historical facts that testify to the true origin of the Christmas tree and Christmas.
"The history of the retreat Pagan rituals and holidays crept into Christianity in parallel with other false teachings, which we have already written about: the cult of saints, the day of the sun, icons, etc. Therefore, in order not to repeat ourselves, we will dwell on some of the rituals and holidays with which today each of us faces. Christmas One of the largest and most revered holidays celebrated by many Christians is Christmas. "It is clear from documents that only in the first half of the 4th century did Roman Christians begin to officially celebrate the Nativity of Christ on December 25th. Why did the choice fall on this particular day, and not on any other? This day is the winter solstice, when the length of the day begins to increase and the strength of the sun increases. The pagan Romans celebrated the birth of the invincible sun “Dies natalis Solis Unvicti” on this day, celebrated noisily... with feasts and exchange of gifts. Business life stopped during these days, institutions did not work, schools were closed, sentences were not carried out... Such “annexation” of a pagan holiday to the Christian church was not immediately approved and not by all Christians. Syrian and Armenian Christians accused the Roman Christians of adopting a pagan cult, although they themselves could be reproached for celebrating Christmas on January 6, when they celebrated the birthday of the god Osiris, also identified with the sun. St. Augustine called on his brothers in Christ to celebrate December 25 not in honor of the sun, but in honor of the One who created the sun. Back in the 5th century, Pope Leo the Great (440-461) wrote in his pastoral letter: “There are those among us who believe that we should celebrate not so much the birth of Christ as the rising of a new sun...”. Thus, the date December 25 as the birthday of Christ was, as it were, imposed on the church by believers who, according to ancient folk customs, celebrated another change in nature on this day. These age-old traditions were deeply rooted in the consciousness of people, and it is not surprising that Christians - mainly ordinary people - could not and did not want to part with them. And the church, powerless to eradicate these customs, had no choice but to adapt them to its needs and put new content into them" [*1]. The direct connection between the day of worship of the sun god Mithra (Egyptian Osiris, Babylonian Tammuz) is recognized by the Orthodox priests themselves Thus, Alexander Men (pseudonym E. Svetlov - A.O.) notes: “Traces of the enormous influence of Mithranism have been preserved, however, to this day. It is evidenced by the fact that in the 4th century the celebration of the Nativity of Christ began on December 25, the “birthday of the sun.” Saint Justin and Tertullian, back in the 2nd century, were amazed at the similarity of some rites of Mithranism to church ones. Christian writers said that these are demons, seducing the faithful, imitating the Church" [*2].
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor I. S. Sventsitskaya writes in her work “Early Christianity: Pages of History” (p. 175): “Since the 4th century, December 25 - the feast of the birth of the “Invincible Sun” - began to be celebrated as the holiday of the Nativity of Christ.” In previous chapters we have already written that the cult of the sun is the oldest among pagan beliefs.
One of the ancient pagan religions that had a great influence on the formation of the religious views of the inhabitants of Kievan Rus was the cult of Tengri. It was widespread among the steppe peoples - the Turks, Huns, Mongols, etc. It was based on the worship of the Sun Man Tengri Khan (among the Chuvash - Tura, among the Mongols - Tenger, among the Buryats - Tengeri). Having been in contact with these peoples for many centuries, the Slavs adopted a lot from them, first refracting them through their national pagan beliefs, and then through accepted Christianity. What holidays did fans of Tengri Khan celebrate? “The biggest holiday was considered Epiphany. The holiday fell on December 25, when after the winter solstice the day begins to arrive and the Sky Man Tengri Khan comes out into the world.
On this day, Christmas trees were supposed to be brought into the house - a message from the more ancient god Yer-su, who was worshiped by the Altai peoples about 3 thousand years ago. For the Kipchaks, spruce has been a sacred tree since ancient times. The Turks brought the custom of honoring spruce to Eastern and Central Europe, where they were thrown by the wave of the great migration of peoples. In the valleys of the Danube, Dnieper, Don, Volga, this holiday has probably existed since the time of Attila" [*3].
In the annals of history we find confirmation that the day of the sun on December 25 has been celebrated since ancient times, back in Babylon. Thus, by introducing the celebration of Christmas on December 25, the emperor achieved two goals at once: firstly, he left the pagans with their favorite holiday with all its attributes, and secondly, he pleased Christians, filling this day with Christian content and symbolism. The same method was used by other rulers, in particular the Kiev prince Vladimir, who baptized Rus'.
So, we have seen that the holiday of Christmas, which is observed by many Christian denominations, has purely pagan roots and owes its appearance to the political situation of the Roman government.
What does Holy Scripture tell us about the celebration of Christmas? It turns out nothing! Nowhere in the Bible is there any mention of a command to celebrate Christmas. Moreover, Scripture does not give the date of birth of Jesus Christ at all. We generally do not know not only the day or month, but also the year of birth of the Savior of the world. God in His Word, apparently, did not accidentally hide this date from us. And before answering the question: “Why?”, let’s look at how the Christmas holiday is celebrated in many homes: a richly laid table, an indispensable attribute of which is drinking, many guests, jokes, songs, dancing, talking about everything, but not about Christ.
However, everyone is happy: they had a fun time and performed the ritual - they celebrated the Nativity of Christ. The religion of the Living God was replaced by ritual, worship not of Christ, but of the Day! Is this why God hid the true date of the Birth of Christ in the Bible?
And yet, can we even guess from the Scriptures at what time of year Christ was born? Yes, we can approximately. On the territory of Israel, in the area of Bethlehem, where Christ was born, in the winter season grass does not grow, even snow often falls, and livestock grazing is not carried out.
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“The spruce is a symbol of courage, courage (to the point of insolence, recklessness), high spirits, fidelity, immortality, longevity, royal dignity, hope, life. It also symbolizes flame, fire.
The New Year and Christmas tree embodies the general idea of fertility. At first glance, this symbol has nothing to do with Turkic culture. However, let us turn to Murad Adja’s book “Wormwood of the Polovtsian Field”: “It would seem that the Christmas tree... Note, not oak, not cedar, not pine, but spruce! Its appearance is now associated with the name of Christ. But spruce does not grow in Palestine, Egypt - too. The first Christians who lived in the Mediterranean could not see fir trees. Just as they could not see a polar bear or a kangaroo. This means that the fir holiday is an “alien” holiday in Christianity, it was brought to Europe and the Middle East, not to mention about Africa. Among the Kipchaks, the spruce has been a sacred tree since ancient times. And not only among them, but also among other peoples of Siberia and throughout deep Asia. The spruce was allowed into the house. Holidays were held in its honor three to four thousand years ago. Very ancient a tradition that is associated with Yer-su. This god was worshiped by the Kipchaks before they adopted Tengrism. He resided in the center of the Earth, exactly “where, according to legend, its navel is located and a giant spruce grows.”
An old man in a robe and with a thick white beard was sitting near the spruce tree; his name was Ulgen. He could be kind and generous, and more often he could be cunning and evil. Once a year, in winter, he kindly went out to people, the children helped him distribute gifts from a torba (bag). Ulgen brought a Christmas tree, around which they had fun all night. There were round dances. The Kipchaks called them “inderbai” - an obligatory element of the holiday.
"Ulgen" translated from Turkic means "dead". In the summer he slept in his underground world, and in the fall he woke up. What an accurate image! It’s amazing, because in Siberia there is permafrost, the soil only thaws a meter or two in the summer. Consequently, Ulgen could only sleep underground, and when he woke up and went out, nature froze and winter began. Hence - “ulgen”, which means “dead”.
Apparently, this is where another tradition comes from - the bottom of the grave of a Tengrian clergyman was supposed to be covered with spruce paws. Why? He went to the kingdom of Yer-su, where spruce is held in special esteem. The veneration of spruce was also continued by the Turkic “Europeans”, whom the Great Migration of Peoples brought to Europe. This holiday has probably been celebrated there since the time of Attila. Let's say, this fact deserves attention: among the Slavs the oak was considered a sacred tree, among the Finns - the birch, among the Greeks - the olive, and among the southern Germans - the spruce! Those same Germans who spoke the Turkic language until the 16th century.
The very first mention of a Christmas tree was found in the Alsatian chronicles of 1500, because earlier documents written in Turkic were destroyed. And in Celtic England, Christmas traditions appeared quite recently. The British began to have fun around the decorated Christmas tree" http://www.qirimtatar.by.ru/tamgalar.htm
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“The spruce was revered as a sacred tree by many European peoples. Even the ancient Germanic tribes had a custom: on the eve of a military campaign, leaders came to the spruce forests, stopped respectfully in front of the trees and cast mysterious spells. And on the paws of the evergreen tree they hung various gifts and decorations to appease the forest spirit .People believed that it was in the crown of the fluffy beauty that this spirit lived. Since then, the ritual of honoring the spruce passed to Holland and England, and here in Russia it appeared thanks to Peter 1, who really liked the decorated forest beauties. By a special decree on December 20, 1699 The tsar legalized the celebration of the New Year, which was previously celebrated in Russia in March or September. The decree read: “Count the New Year not from September 1, but from January 1 of this year 1700. And as a sign of that good beginning and the new centenary century, joyfully congratulate each other on the New Year. Along large streets and thoroughfares, near courtyards in front of gates, make some decorations from trees and branches of pine, spruce, and juniper."
http://www.sakhalin.ru/boomerang/der/h1.htm
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"The World Axis is the most important element of the mythological picture of the world: it, supporting the firmament, embodies the forces of Order, Good, Life. Most often it appears in the image of the World Tree [Myths of the Peoples of the World. Vol. 1. P. 398], which connects together earth, heaven and the underworld. It is not difficult to guess that we will be talking about the New Year tree. The custom of decorating a Christmas tree for the New Year came to Russia from Europe under Peter I, it is of German origin. However, the veneration of spruce as a sacred tree was originally not Germanic, but Celtic. In the culture of the Gauls, the spruce was the embodiment of the Tree of Life (that is, the World Tree) thanks to its evergreen branches. Let us note in passing that on Russian soil the custom of decorating a Christmas tree among the people did not take root, it seems, until the revolution - this is explained not so much by the fact that the Christmas tree The symbol of the New Year was initially part of the noble culture, but for another reason: the spruce in folk Slavic culture is inextricably linked with the world of the dead (remember modern funeral wreaths), and “reassigning” a symbol is much more difficult than approving a new one. Therefore, the Christmas tree as a symbol of the New Year came to modern peasant houses through urban culture.
Now let's look at the decoration of the Christmas tree. As you will see, each type of jewelry is mythological. But does this mean that symbolism has passed through centuries in an actual state, that people, when creating toys, balls, sparkles, consciously turned to mythologies? Of course not! In this case, as in many other cultural phenomena, we are dealing with archetypes embedded in our subconscious; the actualization of archetypes is a spontaneous process and in the vast majority of cases unconscious (for more details, see our previous works: on the material of literature - Barkova 1998b, on the material of fine art - Barkova 2001).
There is a star burning at the top of the tree. We all remember the time when this star was a red Kremlin star. Before that she was the eight-pointed silver star of Christmas, and it seems that now she is gradually becoming one again. How does this fit with what was said above - that the symbol is difficult to "reassign"? Oddly enough, it is easy to agree on, since the color and “ideological load” of the star are nothing more than the secondary motivation of the symbol. The deep meaning of this star is the top of the World Axis, the point of contact between the earthly and heavenly worlds, that is, that place in the mythological picture of the world from where the heavenly forces send everything that people perceive as good to the middle world. (We note by the way that the stars on the Kremlin towers embodied the same mythologem, no matter how atheistic their creators were - but atheism only contributes to the actualization of archetypes: secondary religious semantics are not superimposed on them. In the case of the Kremlin stars, the mythologem was read openly: as was sung in Soviet songs, the light of these stars illuminated the entire country, that is, they emanated the power of Power, which was declared as an absolute benefit for the whole world.)"
Archetypes easily change secondary motivation, and the Christmas star is by no means the oldest interpretation of the star at the top of the World Axis, the World Tree. Turning to Celtic mythology, preserved in Irish texts, we see as the World Axis the spear of the supreme god Lugh, the tip of which is the North Star, the center of the sky
[The Abduction of the Bull from Kualnge.S. 351, 487].
http://mith.ru/alb/mith/newyear.htm
So when was Jesus Christ born?
Even the first Christians admitted that they had no idea what month Jesus Christ was born! But the Bible gives several clues. The shepherds were in the field with their sheep. This would not be normal behavior during the rainy season (roughly November to March). In addition, the government conducted a census, which attracted many families to their home villages; this would be difficult to do during the cold rainy season. This seems to rule out December!
In fact, December 25th was the "birthday" of the Persian god Mithras, who, when transformed, became the "birthday" of Jesus - but this did not happen until the 3rd century. So things aren't looking too good for a traditional date! I will answer your question: You cannot know the answer. So celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ whenever you want. Why not every day?
700 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, Isaiah prophesied about His birth and sacrificial death in great detail (Isaiah 7, 9, 11, 53, etc.). Copies of the manuscript of Isaiah have survived from 150-100 AD. BC BC, and they are exhibited in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Yet Old Testament prophecies never indicated the exact year of birth of Jesus Christ. Christ was most likely born in Bethlehem around 7-5. BC e. (Herod the Great, who tried to kill him, died in 4 BC). Thus the prophecy of Micah 5 was fulfilled many centuries ago.
Our calendar, which was created in the Middle Ages and is based on several chronological errors, implies that Jesus Christ was born before His actual birth! Keep in mind also that there is no "year zero". The English designation B.C. conventionally means “before the birth of Christ,” but A.D. means “Anno Domini”—Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” This is why there is no year zero.
Jesus began His public ministry when He was “about 30,” probably in 27 CE. e. based on the chronology in Luke 2 and 3. It served an area of approximately 25,000 sq. km, which is similar in size to a very small state of the United States. (In other words, He served in a region far less than 1% of 1% of the planet - but what an effect!)
, if you have questions related to the Christian faith.Take it if you want to test your knowledge of the Bible and the basics of Christianity.
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