How often do we accept the dates and traditions of the Christian calendar without really thinking about their origins? A debate rages over 'Christianizing' pagan festivals which is where many of our celebrations come from. I'm not going to get into that today. But in the Northern Hemisphere Christ's birth is celebrated in the dead of winter, and we've condensed Easter into a long weekend. Do these dates reflect the greater story?
I'm no Bible scholar but I want to share some of my thoughts on these two celebrations - Christ's birth and death - in relation to the dates that we attribute to them. Although I'm in the Southern Hemisphere I'm going to refer to the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere at the time of our celebrations for the simple reason that the Holy Land is in the Northern Hemisphere.
When we look more deeply into the Christmas story and consider that Mary and Joesph had a distance to travel on foot before Jesus could be born does it make any sense that they would do it in the dead of winter? Or in the middle of summer for that matter? Surely a time of year when the nights are warm enough to sleep out, and the days comfortable for walking - not too hot but not too cold - would be a more likely time for the birth of our Saviour? Remember too that there were shepherds out in the fields watching their flocks. Is it possible that Christ was born in Spring and not winter as is traditionally celebrated?
Some research that I've done suggests that Jesus was born April 1 and that this is the origin of "April Fools' Day" - a custom that seems to be clouded in mystery. When Jesus' disciples - which would have included His brother James - and the early Christians celebrated His birthday (after the time of His ascension into Heaven) they were consider "fools" by the rest of the world. Hence the name, "April Fools". I don't think this can be proven but it certainly makes for an interesting theory. April is also the time of year that the passover lambs were born - and Jesus came to be the ultimate passover lamb.
Easter is celebrated at the beginning of Spring, not as is so often thought because Spring means new life, but because it is the time of the Passover in the Jewish calendar. Furthermore, our tradition of remembering Friday as the day of His crucifixion confuses us when we do the math. Three days He lay in the grave: Friday to Sunday is NOT three days. There are two thoughts on this that I want to share.
Firstly, the Jews counted days differently to the way many of us do today. When we say three days we mean three lots of 24 hour periods, but apparently for the Jews, the fact that His body was in the grave before evening Friday counted as one day, then there was Saturday the second day, and finally Sunday the third day. So according to this way of measuring time, it was three days.
Secondly, we know that Jesus' body had to be removed from the cross before the Sabbath but those familiar with Jewish customs suggest that the first and last day of the Feast of the Passover were considered special Sabbaths. Therefore, according to this way of reasoning, Jesus was crucified earlier in the week and lay in the tomb Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
As I said, I'm no Bible scholar and I simply share these thoughts to make you think. I don't know which one is correct. I believe that He was in the grave three days as the Scriptures say - but how those three days were calculated I'm not sure. Either interpretation I believe is consistent with Scripture.
And as for the time of year we celebrate, what matters more is that we put our hope and faith in the one that we celebrate - Jesus Christ - and not in the celebrations themselves.
I'm no Bible scholar but I want to share some of my thoughts on these two celebrations - Christ's birth and death - in relation to the dates that we attribute to them. Although I'm in the Southern Hemisphere I'm going to refer to the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere at the time of our celebrations for the simple reason that the Holy Land is in the Northern Hemisphere.
When we look more deeply into the Christmas story and consider that Mary and Joesph had a distance to travel on foot before Jesus could be born does it make any sense that they would do it in the dead of winter? Or in the middle of summer for that matter? Surely a time of year when the nights are warm enough to sleep out, and the days comfortable for walking - not too hot but not too cold - would be a more likely time for the birth of our Saviour? Remember too that there were shepherds out in the fields watching their flocks. Is it possible that Christ was born in Spring and not winter as is traditionally celebrated?
Some research that I've done suggests that Jesus was born April 1 and that this is the origin of "April Fools' Day" - a custom that seems to be clouded in mystery. When Jesus' disciples - which would have included His brother James - and the early Christians celebrated His birthday (after the time of His ascension into Heaven) they were consider "fools" by the rest of the world. Hence the name, "April Fools". I don't think this can be proven but it certainly makes for an interesting theory. April is also the time of year that the passover lambs were born - and Jesus came to be the ultimate passover lamb.
Easter is celebrated at the beginning of Spring, not as is so often thought because Spring means new life, but because it is the time of the Passover in the Jewish calendar. Furthermore, our tradition of remembering Friday as the day of His crucifixion confuses us when we do the math. Three days He lay in the grave: Friday to Sunday is NOT three days. There are two thoughts on this that I want to share.
Firstly, the Jews counted days differently to the way many of us do today. When we say three days we mean three lots of 24 hour periods, but apparently for the Jews, the fact that His body was in the grave before evening Friday counted as one day, then there was Saturday the second day, and finally Sunday the third day. So according to this way of measuring time, it was three days.
Secondly, we know that Jesus' body had to be removed from the cross before the Sabbath but those familiar with Jewish customs suggest that the first and last day of the Feast of the Passover were considered special Sabbaths. Therefore, according to this way of reasoning, Jesus was crucified earlier in the week and lay in the tomb Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
As I said, I'm no Bible scholar and I simply share these thoughts to make you think. I don't know which one is correct. I believe that He was in the grave three days as the Scriptures say - but how those three days were calculated I'm not sure. Either interpretation I believe is consistent with Scripture.
And as for the time of year we celebrate, what matters more is that we put our hope and faith in the one that we celebrate - Jesus Christ - and not in the celebrations themselves.
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