聖誕節的由來

Origin of Christmas

Origen, a father of the Christian church, argued against the celebration of birthdays, including the birth of Christ.It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 was originally associated with Jesus' birth; the New Testament does not name a specific date. One widespread explanation is the appropriation of the popular festivals of Sol Invictus and Mithras by the Christian church. Early Christian writers made frequent connections between the rebirth of the sun and the birth of the "Son" - Jesus, who they regarded as the son of God.[3]

Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea in his Chronographiai, an early reference book for Christians written in AD 221.[3] December 25 is nine months after March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation and presumed date of the Incarnation of Jesus.[15]

The identification of the birthdate of Jesus did not at first inspire feasting or celebration. In 245, the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Jesus' birthday "as if he were a king pharaoh." He contended that only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays.

The earliest reference to the celebration of Christmas is in the Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[4][16] A reference from 360 indicates that Christmas was well-established in Rome by that time. Christmas was promoted in the east as part of the revival of Trinitarian Christianity following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. It was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in Constantinople, the "fortress of Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[4]