Christmas/Havdalah

Havdalah (הַבְדָּלָה) is a Blessing, recited at the moment of time when Shabbat and holidays have ended. This blessing separates the holy events from the secular or normal days.

“Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech ha’olam she’asah nisim la’avoteinu bayamim haheim baz’man hazeh.”

“Blessed are You, our God, Creator of time and space, who performs miracles for our ancestors, in the days of long ago and in this time.”

The celebration of Chanukah:

While the story of the Maccabee was a historic fact, it was never accepted in the sacred writings.  The book was well-known and influential as part of earlier editions of the Bible, but it never esteemed to be anything more than ancient history.

According to the story, in 176 B.C. the Jews were under siege by the might of Antiochus IV. The Jews decided to stage their attempt at rebelling against Antiochus. The result of their defiance was that Antiochus banned every form of Jewish worship and passed laws to prevent further worship of the most sacred Jewish holidays. More importantly, without any chance of negotiation, Sabbath was also forbidden.  God’s instructions to the Jews of keeping the menorah flames burning continually was no longer possible.

Leviticus 24:2 “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually.” (Lev 24:2 NLT)

Unless God performed some type of divine intervention, there would be no way the Jews could maintain their Leviticus responsibilities.  To keep the Temple lamp burning was a priest’s sacred duty.  Amazingly, a divine intervention was exactly what the children of Israel received. This miracle represented the truth of God’s faithfulness and commitment to His people. God will never leave nor forsake His people.  

The ultimate insult to the Jews happened when a Greek officer attempting to slight the Jews with greater disrespect, insisted the Jews make a sacrifice to his pagan god. Although the Jews were in sin at the time, this act jolted them back into reality.  It was their remembrance that they were a covenant people. A people who served a Holy God, Who was always present.

The insult angered God’s people so much that as a result, they killed the Greek official, then defeated the armies of Antiochus in two different battles.

Christmas/Havdalah

The celebration of Christmas:

In contrast to Chanukah, according to the Oxford dictionary, “Santa” is defined as the father of Christmas.  He is also the chief character in the Christmas story.

Crīstesmæsse, meaning “Christ‘s Mass” is an annual religious and cultural holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ,[6][7] celebrated generally on December 25.

In addition, the feast of Saturnalia was a public holiday celebrated around December 25th in the family home.  It was a time for feasting, goodwill, generosity to the poor, the exchange of gifts and the decoration of trees, but it was not “Christmas”. This was Saturnalia, the pagan Roman winter solstice festival.  

 Question:  Was Christmas, Western Christianity’s most popular festival derived from the pagan’s Saturnalia?

The first-century A.D. poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus described Saturnalia as ‘the best of times’ –  dress codes were relaxed and small gifts such as dolls, candles and caged birds were exchanged.

Predating the use of Santa helpers and the use of reindeer, Bishop Nicholas, the revered Saint, understood the value of using slaves.

Art work taken from an old Dutch article on the subject of ancient feast of Saturnalia.   http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/sche039stni01_01/

Saturnalia saw the inversion of social roles. The wealthy were expected to pay the month’s rent for those who couldn’t afford it and masters and slaves were to swap clothes. Family households threw dice to determine who would become the temporary Saturnalian monarch.

The poet Lucian of Samosata (AD 120-180) has the god Cronos (Saturn) saying in his poem, Saturnalia:

‘During my week the serious is barred: no business allowed. Drinking and being drunk, noise and games of dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping … an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water – such are the functions over which I preside.’

 Rudolf’s name is from early Germany.  The name means Famed Wolf.

Christmas/Havdalah

 1Timothy 4:6-7 NLT ⁶ If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters, Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. ⁷ Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.

1Ti 6:3-4 NLT3 Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.

 ⁴ Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. (1Ti 6:3-4 NLT)