Why I DON'T celebrate xmas (WARNING: MAY OFFEND!)

Every time I see someone post “Jesus is the reason for the season” I cringe. I always want to write back to them… “Check up on your history…MITHRA is the reason for the season.”

            If you don’t want to know anything farther or don’t want to get offended, I suggest you stop reading. Right now. Do it.

           

            Wow you’re still reading? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

            Google “origin of christmas”.  You will soon realize that December 25^th is NOT the day Yeshua was born. According to the scriptures, he would have been born around September\October (Sukkot anyone?) Palestine is cold in December, and, because of that shepherds probably aren’t going to be freezing their tushes off in the fields. Yeshua is thought to have been 33.5 years old when he died. Since, also, the “last supper” was a PASSOVER sedar (this takes place during the spring…usually in March\April) and Yeshua died shortly after, he obviously couldn’t have been born in December. Trace that half of a year back…you’ll get September\October!

            Many Christians themselves agree with this. Quoted from allaboutjesus.com:

            “John the Baptist also helps us determine that December 25 is not the birth of Jesus. Elizabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary. John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, A.D. 14, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 B.C., his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, A.D. 29, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date, and, since John was 5 months older, this also confirms an autumn birth date for Jesus. 

Another interesting fact comes from Elizabeth herself. She hid herself for 5 months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elizabeth's condition and that Mary would also bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went "with haste" to visit Elizabeth, who was then in the first week of her 6th month, or the 4th week of Dec., 3 B.C. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place his birth on Sept. 29, 2 B.C. Some scholars interpret the 6 months to be in line with the Hebrew calendar or the August-September time frame. Since Mary's pregnancy commenced a little before the sixth month around July, Jesus would be born somewhere around March-June. But does it matter if Jesus was born on the spring, the fall, or on December 25? Does it matter, theologically, when Jesus was born? What do you think, does it matter what day we celebrate His birth?”

    

     Of course, to that last question, I answer…DUH! Would you want someone suddenly deciding to celebrate your birthday on, oh say, May 22^nd (my birthday) when that is NOT the day you were born? I wouldn’t like that though. I doubt very much that you would either.

            So where on earth did the church get the December 25^th date when the evidence is CLEAR that Yeshua was NOT born that day?

            That’s where good old paganism comes in! You see, the Catholic Church needed more money and…well how do you get more money? More people! In order for the church to get more members, they allowed the coming pagans to keep their December 25^th celebration practices – which included drunkenness, sexual immortality, and, even, human sacrifices. Look it up!

            Christmas began to the Romans as “Saturnalia” which was a week long period where laws were not enforced. People could damage things or others without fear of getting into trouble. It is even said that each community chose a person in which they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures for the week, then sacrificed that person at the end of the festival to “destroy the forces of darkness”. This person (man or woman) was BRUTALLY murdered.

            Some of the customs were revived in 1466 when Pope Paul II – to amuse the Roman citizens, forced Jews to run naked through the city streets. An eyewitness account states that:

“Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for spectators.  They ran… amid Rome’s taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.”

            Rabbis in the ghettos of Rome were forced to wear clown outfits and made to march in the streets, pelted by whatever the onlookers could find. December 25, 1881, Christian leaders whipped the Polish people into frenzies that led to riots. In Warsaw, 12 Jews were BRUTALLY MURDERED, many more injured, and many Jewish women were raped.

            Makes you want to continue the tradition doesn’t it?

            So…you’re still reading. I’m very surprised. So where do those modern “christmas” things come from? Well I’ll tell you!

            The Christmas Tree came from pagan practices. If you look at it, guess what fertility symbol you see? That's right...a big ol' penis. But did you know that Scriptures warn AGAINST this practice? Check out this passage:

            “Jeremiah 10:2-4: "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (KJV)

            Pretty obvious if you ask me.

            Caroling was also done during Saturnalia and it came from singing naked in the streets. Yikes!

            

            Holly – gueess what guys…there are dozens of different types of holly…most of them have male and female types. Female holly plants cannot have berries unless pollinated by the male types. Mmmm…can you guess what this was a symbol of in paganism? That’s right! Fertility! Oh boy! The berries were also thought to be sacred to the SUN GOD!

            

              Now the beloved mistletoe! “Kissing under the mistletoe” came from the drunken orgies that used to be done during Saturnalia. Mistletoe was thought to have special powers of healing and…guess what…fertility…for those that “kissed” and did other things underneath it. The Celtics used to give mistletoe as a remedy to barren animals to make them fertile.

           

              So where does Mithra fit into all of this?

           

             Well, Emperor Aurelian prescribed December 25^th as the birthday of Mithra. It wouldn’t be until 313 A.D. that Emperor Constantine declared it to be "Jesus’" birthday. The celebration of Sabbath on Sunday (Sabbath Day literally is Saturday) because it was the DAY of the SUN (Sun-day? Get it?) This was another element of Mithra Worship. Check out the similarities between the Christian “Jesus” and Mithra. You’ll be very VERY surprised. (It’s the reason I differentiate between the Christian “Jesus” and the Savior, Yeshua!)

            G-d warns us various times to not mix the holy and the profane. So, honestly, do you think that He’s okay with people doing this sort of “worship” to Him?

            I can hear you guys now. “Well that’s not the way I see it…” My question is….does it MATTER what way YOU see it, or does it matter what way HE sees it? G-d sees all…not just what’s going on currently, but in the past and in the future. He still sees the pagan practices of sexual immortality, drunkenness, murders, and sacrifices done to pagan gods. Why would He approve of people doing this and calling it His birthday???

            After all…remember that the Israelites were not worshipping the golden calf…they were “worshipping” G-d in their own way…through the golden calf!

Abba, my Father

I have been a Messianic believer in Messiah Yeshua for, oh probably about 8 years now. When I first came into the faith, I was excited! I was getting in touch with my Hebrew roots and learning things I never knew. Even for a 13\14 year old, I knew what I was hearing was finally the RIGHT thing.

Then, as I went off to college, things started to change. I still believed with all my heart, but I began to lose that zeal for Adonai and his Word. It saddened me but for some reason that still didn't motivate me much to do something about it. My first Sukkot with B'nai Shalom Messianic Congregation down in Oklahoma sparked some interest, but for some reason it was squelched. 

But a great thing happened. I approached my Father as the King He is in my prayers after learning about the Amidah from Rico Cortez. After my breakup I asked Him that if I were to have someone, it would have to be someone of His choosing - someone who had an idea of what I believed and knew that I was not insane. My Abba knows me well and knew that I needed someone to push me back to Him. Because I approached him withe respect and reverence, my Abba gave me what I needed.

Now, three weeks or so after I have come back from my second Sukkot, I find that the zeal I felt in the camp of righteousness isn't gone. I'm still hungry for His Word and that delights me and my soul. I may not listen to a teaching a day, but I still listen more than ever. I desire to know my Father's Word and to hear His voice. I want to know him intimately. I am feeling complete and whole again. Its a marvelous feeling! 

I had my Mikvah while at Sukkot where I publicly announced my faith before my teachers, the congregation, and more importantly, my Messiah. I still get butterflies thinking about it. I am glad that my first submerging was my Mikvah (I have never been baptized). I felt the Living Waters rush all over me as I fell face first into them, cleansing me and instilling the thirst for Him into my body. And I am still thirsting for him! I delight in his Word when I learn something new (and since He is the Living Word, there is always something new to learn!) 

My Abba, I delight in Your Torah! I will forever trust in You and praise Your holy name! For you are Holy in all the earth! Your voice comforts me and teaches me. You are my Abba, and I love You!

Mommy

As a first time blogger, I am unsure of exactly what I'm doing and why. All I know is that writing is a passion of mine - a passion that's been around ever since I was little. I have always loved words...I guess its because my mother instilled this love in me ever since I was little. She loves words as well, but never to write. I've never seen her write fiction, nor non-fiction stories for that matter. But she loves to read.

Perhaps that's why I gained an interest in this blogging thing. Will I stick with it? Who knows. I'll try though. And as for my first entry, I don't know how interesting it will be. Heck, I highly doubt my blog will bring about the philosophical "interesting" moments that the famous ones seem to hold. All I know is that I love to write and that's that.

I've been wrestling for hours about what to write in this blog. I thought about love, about relationships, about God, about writing...but about 2 minutes ago I knew what I had to write about.

My mommy.

It may seem strange for a 22 year old college student to refer to her mother as "mommy" but I do. Why? I have no idea. I just like to do it for some reason. Perhaps its because deep down we still have a childlike quality among us. All I know is that the woman I call my "mommy" is probably the most important person in my life.

If you know me, then you know what tragedy my family has suffered from. If you don't, then I'll tell you. At 12 years old, I had to endure something that no child that age should have to: the sudden, unexpected death of my father. It was such a difficult time and I made a lot of stupid choices in the years that followed because of the anger and frustration that I felt. High school quickly became hell in my mind. I am sad to say that I wasted those years of my life.

But no matter what was going on in me or my younger sister, or even my mom's life, she stayed strong for us. She protected us and somehow managed to give us everything we needed despite the fact that she worked about 50 hours a week and, for a few years, took night classes through a local community college (of which now I am currently attending).

I know what the ultimate sacrifice is because of my mother. She slaved away as a waitress, on a waitress salary, working with customers that were jerks, and working long hours doing incredibly exhausting physical tasks...just so that my sister and I had a home to come to and dinner on the table.

My mom always has been a strong, independent woman. I guess that's where I get it from. And I am glad. In school, I cannot tell you how many times I had to write a paper about my hero. I would write about my mom. I know, to the teachers it was probably just "oh what a suck-up". What they probably didn't realize though is that I truly meant it. My mom is my hero. She is strong and courageous...not many mom's can tell their 11 and 12 year old daughters that daddy died and comfort her children without going hysterical (even if she felt like it). Not many would sacrifice everything to work at a job she didn't like just so that her kids could figure skate or play soccer.

But now I want my mommy to do something for herself. Every night for the past week I've prayed to my Heavenly Father to give her the strength to go back to college and get a certificate. Nothing would make me happier than to see my mom walk across that stage in a cap and gown, getting her college certificate (and to be even cooler, get it the same year I get my second Associates degree though unfortunately that will not happen)....to see her finish what she has already started. It would make me proud to see that she would finally get what she needed.

Of course, I am already proud of her as it is. I could not have ever asked for a better mother. She is strong, witty, funny, kind, sacrificing, and always willing to help out those in need even though she is not well off herself. My mom is always donating clothing or money or canned goods to someone somewhere. I only wish I could be as generous as she is.

I pray that G-d protects her and helps her. I know that He finds favor with His obedient and kind daughter. I know that He will bless her and hold her in high regard. She is a wonderful human being and I love her so much. I am proud to call her my "mommy".