The Myths of Christmas

Jesus coming down to earth from Heaven in the form of a helpless baby is a wondrous event to celebrate each Christmas. With this familiar (and inspiring) story are several fallacies I hope to debunk in this article so the light of truth will be completely evident this holiday season (and all year round). The true answers are always in The Bible, God’s word.

The wise men (magi) and the shepherds did not arrive at the stable to see the baby Jesus at the same time. In Matthew 2:9-12, the magi followed a star to a home where the Christ child was with his mother only. (There is no mention of Joseph as is often depicted in many church Christmas musicals.) Religious scholars’ best estimate of Jesus age is around two years of age. Two years is also the amount of time it took the wise men to get to Jesus. To combine both of these groups of people together at the manger, makes for a nice contrast as well as a concise package that doesn’t drag the Christmas story on forever.

The beloved Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are, is biblically incorrect. No where in the story of the magi is a number given of men that appear in front of the Christ child. There were three gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh). It is assumed that each gift corresponds to just one wise men. What if each gift was massive in size and several magi brought it? What if the scripture did not mention all wise men in attendance or all the gifts given?  The Bible could be silent here. We just don’t know if we have all the facts, or just the ones God wanted us to have.

No where in scripture are Christians (or anyone else) commanded to celebrate Christmas in The Bible.  Does tradition tell the obedient Christian they should do this? Jesus was born December 25^th. This is the date His birth is commemorated. Shepherds would have been outside with their flocks of sheep in the hills of Bethlehem in summer to early fall when the weather was warmer.

Christmas was originally a pagan holiday that the religious community decided to make their Christian version of. Hopefully, this article has served to give you the real facts behind the story we all love so much, but are still learning more about all the time. The infant is now a man. He loves everything about you. Trust me.