Our next door neighbors belong to a very small church called “The Church of the Separated Brethren, Twice Removed.”  They do not celebrate Christmas.  They insist that no one knows the exact date of Christmas.  They say December 25th is just a pagan feast, and proof that the Catholic Church is the anti-Christ.  Is this true?

Sincerely,

Ms. Imelda Walloon 

Your neighbors have one small point correct.  We do not know the exact date of Jesus’ birth.

Clement of Alexandria, Egypt, circa 200 AD, famous for his statement that “man is not by nature of an eater of sauces” ( He actually said this.) said he thought that Jesus was born on November 17th, and in the century after Jesus, most Christians in the East celebrated on January 6th.  So Jesus was probably born around the twenty fifth of December.

It is thought that the early Christian began to celebrate the birth on the twenty fifth because there was huge Roman feast at that time that was dragging believers back into paganism.  Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus at that date to refute the excess and hedonism of the Saturnalia.  Now don’t worry that it may not be the exact day. 

Do you celebrate George Washington’s birthday on the exact day?  I don’t think so.  We celebrate George Washington’s birthday observed.  So there.

Think about what we are celebrating and that will refute your neighbors second claim that we are the anti-Christ who took over a pagan feast.  Not so!  We are the family of the Messiah who use the feast of his birth to refute the claims of the pagans.  We celebrate the incarnation of the Son of God.

December 25th is the reminder to a pagan world that “the Messiah has come in the  flesh” to quote the first letter of St. John.  He says that the anti-Christ will deny that Christ came in the flesh.  Christmas is all about Christ coming in the flesh a real baby with a real birthday and a real mother.  Your neighbors, by failing to celebrate, Christmas are a darn sight closer to anti-Christ than we are.

Everyday at Mass we hear the words, “This IS My Body.”  People who fail to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Mass are certainly in greater danger of anti-Messiah than we are.

So eat your fruit cake and be of good cheer.  Everyday is Christmas for a Catholic, because we celebrate His incarnation every time we offer the Sacrifice of the Mass

Sincerely,

Rev. Know-It-All