Christian Festivals - Christmas

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

R.E COURSEWORK/ FESTIVALS/CHRISTMAS

The festival of Christmas is seen as one of the most important of the Christian calendar year. On this day, the 25th of December, they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The festival of Christmas celebrates the birth of the saviour who ‘opened the gates to heaven’ and made eternal life a reality. The festival celebrates something very significant. This is that if Jesus Christ were never born then he wouldn’t be able to rise from the dead; there would be no Christianity at all! The initial Christian belief is that Jesus is the Son of God and Mary, our lady. The word that means God taking Human form is Incarnation. The word literally means ‘In flesh’, God becomes a man. The Virgin birth of Jesus is seen as a miracle. This is linked to Jesus performing his own miracle, when he rises from the dead. This was redemption. To redeem all mankind from darkness and evil.

Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December because at this time of year it is so dark and this is the time when it starts to get light again. Symbolic of Jesus, the light of the world, Christians chose the 25th of December from a Pagan festival of the Sun. Also December the 25th was the date of a Roman festival called Saturnalia, which celebrated the Sun god’s victory over winter. When Christianity became the Roman Empires official religion, they stopped worshipping the Sun god and mad December the 25th, Jesus’ official birthday.

The Christmas story is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The other two gospels start their stories when Jesus is an adult. In both Matthew and Luke the story is that Jesus was born of a Virgin mother as a result of a miracle. Matthew’s story is full of hidden meanings. According to Matthew, an Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream (1:18-21), ‘She will have a son, and you will name him, Jesus – because he will save his people from their sins’. Matthew also included about the Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh presented to the baby Jesus by the three wise men (2:10-12), ‘Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of Gold and of incense and of myrrh’. The gifts from the wise men have a symbolic meaning. The Gold is linked to Kingship, Frankincense represents the presence of God and Myrrh represents the Saviour (herbs suggested Jesus was destined to die for us). Also Matthew’s states that there was a star which stood over the stable where Jesus was and which the three wise men saw (2:2), ‘and asked, “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him” ‘. The star indicates the presence of God on the journey of the wise men. On meeting the Christ, they travel back a different route. They are changed people. Matthew uses the title Immanuel that was a name for Jesus. The name means ‘God with us’ in Hebrew. This shows that Matthew wanted to tell us that God came in human form. Whilst in Luke’s version, the angels appeared to the shepherds to tell them Christ had been born (2:8-20). Luke has used the shepherds because they were seen as outcasts in society. Luke is showing that Jesus was concerned about this society and that he cared for them. Also Luke states that the Angel Gabriel came to tell Mary she would give birth to the Son of God (1:28-33), ‘Greetings, you are highly favoured! The Lord is with you… You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus” ‘. Luke has born Jesus in poverty because he wants us to ask ourselves, is there room for Jesus in our inns, in our lives.

Looking at these two stories of Christmas, Matthew and Luke’s versions are very different. The things included in their versions shows what the birth of Jesus meant to them. All the symbolic pieces of text show that Matthew and Luke are indicating why Jesus was born.

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The meaning of Christmas is that Christians believe God came to people in a special way for a reason God wanted to show that Good is always stronger than evil. He wanted to show that he loved and cared for people. He did this through his son, Jesus. Christians believe Jesus’ birth was a turning point and would and can bring peace to the world. This is a goal for every Christian.

Roman Catholics, in a number of ways, celebrate Christmas. The season of Advent, which is a time of preparation, is kept for 24 days before Christmas and is a Roman Catholic tradition. One tradition performed during this time is in most churches a candle is lit on every Sunday. The wreath includes 3 purple candles, 1 pink and one white (for Christmas Day). Also, Advent Calendars will be used in the house, having 24 windows, counting down through December to Christmas Eve. Christmas trees are decorated as symbolism for their evergreen leaves, in which they last through the winter. The purpose of Advent is to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. During Advent Christians prepare spiritually for the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time for thought and prayer and for thinking about their relationship with God and other people.

One example of ways Roman Catholics celebrate religiously is by singing carols. These carols relate to what Jesus did for us. They also express the importance of Christmastide. In O come, all ye faithful, in verse 4 the words are, ‘Jesu, to thee be glory given; word of the father, now in flesh appearing’. Here it is saying, praise God, he has come to us in human for, in Jesus. Also some carols express what God wanted to do – redeem the world. This can be recognised in the carol O holy night, ‘Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, before us breaks a new and glorious morn.’ This carol is literally explaining how the earth was in darkness and God realised he had to put things right. There are also the Nativity plays. These plays were made from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. People brought all the significant events together and brought it into one big story. Nowadays, children act it out in Primary School because teachers want them to know the story. More importantly, the nativity must get across to everybody why Christmas happened. So in the plays, the significant parts are: Angel appears to Mary, they travel to Bethlehem, to a stable, shepherds come after seeing the angels, Kings see star in the east and come to worship the new born King. Another way Roman Catholics celebrate religiously is Christ ingle. This is symbolic of Christmas and is used in advent, in the house. The Christ ingle is an orange decorated by different items that are symbolic for something that relates to Jesus. The main symbol is the orange that is a sphere, which is round and the diameter never ends. This represents Jesus in eternal life and how he came to let us in as well. The red ribbon around the orange represents the blood that he shed for us on the cross. The candle on the top represents Jesus being the light of the world. The cloves inside represent the herbs used on Jesus’ body after he was crucified.

Roman Catholics, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will go to their Parish church and celebrate Christmas together as a Parish. At this service they will light the last and the centre candle on the Advent wreath. The baby Jesus would also be revealed in the crib. The mass would take its normal structure however carols would be sung instead of hymns. Candles may be held by the congregation to represent Jesus, the light of the world. At Midnight mass these readings are read:

Old Testament – Isaiah, ch9, v2-7.

Responsorial Psalm 95 – Today a Saviour has been born to us, he is Christ the lord.

Second reading – New Testament, Titus, ch2, v11-14.

Gospel – Luke, ch2, v1-4.

In the house on Christmas day, the majority of Christian families will exchange presents and would usually share a family meal. This is all represents religious doing. The presents that are exchange represent the gifts that were offered by the wise men to the newborn King. The meal signifies what Jesus wants us to do, to enjoy life with each other and to share everything we have.