THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS

The exact date of Jesus Christ's birthday
has never been satisfactorily settled, January sixth,
March 25 or December 25 have been set by different author-
ities of bygone days. In A.D. 450 the church fathers
decided on December 25 as the date for Christmas and for
fifteen hundred and seven years that has continued to be
the day. There was a strong reason for their decision,
Christmas customs antedate the Christian period by at
least two thousand years, connected from the beginning of
history with pagan feasts of the Winter Solstice,

In those far off times men became Sun
Worshippers. When the sun sank lowest in the heavens,
ancient peoples in northern lands held feasts and lit bon-

fires in mid-December, to strengthen and encourage the Sun
God,

When their prayers were answered by the
lengthening days there was great rejoicing and thanks-
giving. The feast of the Winter Solstice was therefore, a
firmly fixed date in the minds of the people. The return
of light to the world became the hope of the world in the
birth of Jesus Christ,

December 25 in Britain, was a festival long
before the people were converted to Christianity. Bede
rolates that the 'People of the Angli' began the year on
that day and the pagan festival was obsorved up) tO the end
of the Sixth Century. Since then changes in calendars make

the time of the Solstice and the date of Christmas vary by
a few days.