Evangelist Luis Palau tells of a wealthy European family that decided to have their newborn baby baptized. Dozens of guests were invited to the elaborate affair, and they all arrived at the mansion dressed like royalty. After depositing their elegant wraps on a bed in an upstairs room, the guests were entertained royally. Soon the time came for the main event — the infant’s baptism. But where was the baby? No one seemed to know. The child’s governess ran upstairs and returned with a desperate look on her face. Everyone searched around frantically. Finally, someone recalled having seen him asleep on one of the beds.
The baby was buried beneath a pile of coats, jackets, and furs. The object of that day’s celebration had been forgotten, neglected, and nearly smothered.
The baby whose birthday we celebrate at Christmas may also be hidden beneath the piles of stuff we load up during the season. We need to enter every Advent asking, “Where’s the baby?”
So we ask this question sa atin pong mga December episodes dito sa Kaliwanagan: Where’s the Baby? Obviously, a reference to Jesus Christ, a question trying to recuperate o pagbabawi ng kahulugan nito pabalik sa tamang Christian na katuruan.
Ang mga simbulo ay may pinapatungkulan na realidad. Halimbawa, ang simbolo ng peace ay yung dalawang daliring letter naka letter V. When you raise those two fingers people may generally understand that to be a sign of peace. Maraming mga symbolisms ang Christmas - Christmas tree, parol, gift giving, etc. However, it is quite possible that for many these symbols are already an end in themselves at wala nang pinapatungkulang iba, much less the birth anniversary of Christ. So here we babawiin natin ang meaning ng mga symbolisms na ito at mag relocate tayo ng meaning papunta sa festivity ng birth anniversary ni Kristo.
When we talk of festivities, we talk of celebrating something. Iba po siya sa commemoration na malimit ay patungkol sa namatay at trahedya. Although it may be characterized by honoring somebody, it is oftentimes somber and minsan may mga iyakan pa ng pag alala. Ang Christmas ay isang festivity and as such it should be characterized by celebration, decorative designs or even feasting.
How do I know it is a festivity and not a commemoration? May explanation from (1) history of the traditions around this cold weather or season at may explanation from the (2) story of Jesus in the Bible.
I hope that our approach will help us answer the argument, "Dapat daw ba tayong mag celebrate ng Christmas kasi pagan ang origin niya?"
A Festivity Based on the Winter Solstice
Ang ancestry ng festivities around this cold season or weather ay hindi pagan, but natural.
When we say “pagan” na tao we mean “a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.” So religious pa rin siya pero hindi mainstream na religion. The interesting thing about the root of Christmas festivity is that it is related sa winter solstice. Marami sa mga nakausap ko ang buong akala nila ay ang word na solstice is a non-Christian liturgy of sorts. Hindi po. Ang solstice po is a natural phenomenon that pertains to two different days sa isang taon na pinakamalayo ang araw sa equator. Usually this is a time of cold weather. “Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.”
Sa Scandinavian region sa Europe, para ma-celebrate nila ang pagbalik ng haring araw ang mga mag-ama ay nag-uuwi ng malaking putol ng troso sa kanilang mga bahay para ito’y pagliyabin. Ang tawag nila dito ay “Yule” kung saan natin nakuha nga yung “yuletide” sa Christmas season. Naniniwala ang mga Norse na kapag may pagputok sa kanilang mga pinapaliyab na torso, nangangahulugan ito ng isang biik o baka ang ipagbubuntis ng kanilang mga alaga ng taon na iyon.
Tamang tama din naman para sa inuman ang panahon na ito bago mag bagong taon kasi by this time yung mga na ferment nilang inumin nung tag-init ay ready na para sa happy happy. Dito rin sila nagkakatay ng mga hayop na ginagawa nilang pulutan at salo salo. So maiimagine po ninyo na panahon ito ng katuwaan na sa tingin ko mahirap alisin ng isang community. Later on nagkaroon ito ng pagan flavor. For example, sa Germany ito ang panahon na kanilang pinaparangalan ang pagan god na si Oden by staying home sa kani-kanilang mga bahay.
Ang mga ancient na celebration na took to its new heights nung sakupin ng Roman Empire ang mga bansang nakapalibot sa Mediterranean Sea. Ang winter solstice, kung saan nga malamig at wala masyadong gawain sa parang ang mga tao, they celebrate the pagan god Saturn which they call Saturnalia.
Ang panahon na ito ay punung puno ng inuman, katuwaan, sayawan at walang tigil na inuman. Dagdag pa sa imperial wide event na ito,
Also around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year.
However, sana po ay mapansin natin ang point ko kanina na ang mga festivities around the solstice ay celebratory -- usually related sa harvest, o sa anticipation or hope at marami pang iba.
Kaya ko po nga po nabanggit ang mga iyan ay para lagyan ng celebrative na genealogy ang pinanggalingan ng panahon na ito. Altough may decision ang church later on nung early medieval period, it was just a time of the year when celebration was just natural. These were people who just want to have fun with a lot of time in their hand.
Sa early centuries ng Christianity, hindi naman sini-celebrate ang Christmas kasi what the early Church did was commemorative – yung Easter o yung pag resurrect ni Kristo.
Nang ma Christianize ang Roman Empire nung 4th century at nagkaroon na siya ng socio-political clout, pinaniniwalaan na the “church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.” Dagdag pa dito “First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.”
By the early medieval period practically all of the once mighty empire have been Christianized. Halos lahat din ng mga pagan festal at commemorative events have been Christianized. Kaso dahil nga sa festal itong event na ito, “believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere” na pareho sa mga pyesta. Na corrupt masyado ang event na ito kaya naman nang nagkaroon ng Protestant Reformation, at papausbong na empire ang Ingglatera, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed so much so na alam niyo ba nang mag settle ang mga English sa America, walang Christmas noon. Sa kawalan nay an ng Christmas festivity nagkaroon tayo ng secular connection sa America, kasi ang America ay sumakop sa atin. Before the Americans came, ang day of nativity was religious, celebrated ng mga Spaniards with the solemn novena mass ng Simbang Gabi. Nang dumating ang kano, dala dala nila ang mga baggage ng kanilang rediscovery ng Christmas na secular nung mid-19th century. Nagkaroon ngayon ng pag merge yung religious novena ng mga Spaniards sa secular na Christmas ng mga Amerikano. Sabi nga ng matatanda, nagkasala-salabat na.
A Festivity As Seen in the Story of the Bible
Ang richness ng ating Christmas festivities ay ay lalong nauunawaan sa ating mga symbolisms around this time that carry with them the atmosphere ng festivities. These symbolisms point to a reality na nagbigay ng kahulugan sa Christmas season -- and that is, ang sanggol sa manger ay ang Diyos na nagkatawang tao para tubusin ang Kaniyang mga anak sa kanilang pagka-alipin sa kasalanan at sa paraang ito Kaniyang maluluwalhati ang Ama na nasa Langit.
Ito ang Diyos na ang sabi sa Colossians 1:15-20 ay
He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. For. . . all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
Do we celebrate the birth anniversary of Christ? If we begin with the idea of a festivity and the symbols na nakapaloob sa kapaskuhan ay to celebrate the gracious act of God, why not?
However, may kaunti lang akong bilin kung mamarapatin ninyo.
I have frequently relegated this issue as an issue of personal conviction in the presence of differing views sa mga kapatiran. For people who agree with the early Protestants at ayaw mag celebrate nito, we should respect their conviction kasi wala naman talagang direct command to do celebrate. Moreover, nung panahon kasi ng pag usbong ng Protestants, ang degree ng corruption ng festivity around this time ay napaka sama that it warranted a magisterial prohibition. If people today see this still as an issue and I think they have warrant for this kasi marami rin naman talagang pag aabuso dito at kung sabihin nila na may personal activism sila against this, then we should respect that. Ang payo ko lang sana ay huwag sanang maging dogmatic at mag cause ng division sa kapatiran, condemning them along the way.
Para naman sa ating naisin na ipagdiwang ito, wag nating kalimutang ang celebratory feast na ito ay maraming symbolisms that point to a reality -- at yan ang reality ng Diyos na andudun mismo sa sabsaban para sa maluwalhating pagtutubos sa mga hinirang ng Diyos para sa kaluwalhatian ng Diyos.
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