Tidbits for Life with First Lady Darlene: Christmas Myths

It's that time of the year again when people are so excited to give and receive gifts from family and friends. Many children are looking forward to "Santa" leaving them gifts under the tree. However, we, as Christians, know and recognize that this is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the beautiful story of the Birth of Christ has been twisted into different myths that even believers nowadays think are true. I ran across an article called "9 Common Myths Christians Believe at Christmas" by Shane Pruitt of ChristianToday.com that shed some light on some of the myths that are out there. The following are a few excerpts from that article that I thought may be interesting and hopefully help clear up a few things.

Here are a few common myths some Christians believe at Christmas:

*THE BIBLE SAYS THAT JESUS WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 25TH

It’s the age-old question, “Is December 25th Jesus’ birthday?” The answer is that we really don’t know when His actual birthday was. The Bible doesn’t tell us an exact date. So, it begs the question, “How did Christmas land on December 25th”? Some historians believe that it was a Christian reaction to a Roman pagan holiday, while others believe the date is a response to the traditional date of Jesus’ crucifixion in March. Honestly, we don’t really know when Jesus was born, however, two things are certain – Jesus was born of a virgin, and the Bible doesn’t give us an exact date. This statement may be an attempt at being “politically correct”. However, holiday literally means, “holy day”. Celebrating the birth of Jesus definitely makes it a holy day. Thankfully, because of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus; everyday can be a happy holy-day. To the believer, Christmas shouldn’t be a one-day celebration, but rather, a lifestyle of celebrating the truth that Jesus is Immanuel – God with us.

*THE BIBLE SAYS MARY RODE INTO BETHLEHEM ON A DONKEY

An extremely pregnant Mary riding into town on a donkey is definitely a common myth most Christians believe is in the Bible. Now, she very well could have made the 65-mile trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey. Nevertheless, the account of this story, in Luke 2:1 – 6, does not specifically teach this. Nevertheless, we all should consider how tough Mary was to make this trip while being pregnant.

*THE BIBLE SAYS THERE WERE 3 WISEMEN

One of the most popular Christmas carols, “We Three Kings,” shows the commonality of this particular myth. The Gospel of Matthew describes these men as magi or wise men. People commonly think there were three in number, because the Bible details the fact that they brought three gifts – gold, frankincense and myrrh. But, this doesn’t mean there were three magi; there could just as easily have been four, eight, or 10.

*”SAYING MERRY X-MAS IS “TAKING CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS”

Over the last decade or so, many Christians have felt like there is a “War on Christmas”. Some believers see the phrase, “Merry Xmas”, as an attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. Although, some people may be deliberate in their attempts, the statement by itself is not offensive. The first letter in the Greek word for “Christ” is chi. In the Roman alphabet; chi is represented by the symbol – X. Therefore, Xians don’t have to be flustered by hearing or seeing, “Merry Xmas!”

“THE BIBLE SAYS JESUS WAS BORN IN A BARN OR STABLE”

Just about every nativity set places the baby Jesus in a barn, surrounded by animals. Once again, this is an assumption because the Bible does not specify this. The Scriptures actually say, “And she gave birth… and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn (Luke 2:7).” It’s easy to assume that Jesus was born in a barn or stable, because of the manger mention. A manger is a feeding trough for animals. However, these feeding troughs were also commonly used inside homes, because families would sleep upstairs while small animals were kept downstairs on cold nights.

We know that Jesus was beaten, torched and hung on a cross and left to die. We also know that on the third day he rose "Raised on the third day" is derived from Hosea 6:1–2: Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. If the bible said it, it is truth not myth.

May God bless you and I hope I’ve said something to help you a tad bit!