聖誕節是以最冷靜的態度來看待人生的方式Christmasis the most unsentimental way of looking at life

作者：Timothy Keller  譯者：駱鴻銘

http://nypost.com/2016/12/24/christmas-is-the-most-unsentimental-way-of-looking-at-life/

http://www.crtsbooks.net/blog/post/2016/12/26/Christmas_is_the_most_unsentimental_way_of_looking_at_life.aspx

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105106813742373627205/posts/TUztBT7Uaga

在基督教節日當中，聖誕節是唯一一個和世俗社會主要節日重疊的日子。這對雙方來說，都有些許的尷尬。許多基督徒不得不注意到，美國越來越多圍繞著聖誕節的公眾慶祝活動，會故意避免提到其基督信仰的起源。商店裡的背景音樂正在從「普世歡騰」（Joy to the World）轉換到「歡度聖誕」（Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas）。Christmas is the only Christian holy day that is also a major secular holiday. This brings some discomfort on both sides. Many Christians can’t help but notice that more and more of the public festivities surrounding Christmas studiously avoid any references to its Christian origins. The background music in stores is moving from “Joy to the World” to “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas.”

另一方面，不信教的人也忍不住會發現，聖誕節的古老意義一再入侵，即使不受人歡迎。比如說，藉著傳統的聖誕頌歌。要回答小孩的問題，「降生使人得重生」（譯按，這是「聽啊，天使高聲唱HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING」其中一句歌詞）是什麼意思，的確有點惱人。On the other hand, nonreligious people can’t help but find that the older meaning of Christmas keeps intruding uninvited, for instance, through the music of traditional Christmas carols. It can be irritating to have to answer their child’s question, “What does that music mean —‘born to give them second birth’?”

身為基督徒，我樂意和整個社會分享這個節日的價值。但是我擔心的是，對大部分的人來說，聖誕節真正的根源會越來越不為人知。As a Christian believer, I am glad to share the virtues of that day with the entirety of society. My fear is, however, that its true roots will become more and more hidden to most of the population.

世俗的聖誕節是一個充滿燈光的喜慶，是家庭團聚的日子，也是慷慨送禮物給親人朋友、給那些亟需救助的人的季節。這些行動和這個基督教節日的起源，是真正一致的。強調黑暗中的光來自基督徒的信念，即這個世界的盼望來自世界之外。贈送禮物是對耶穌捨己行動的自然回應——祂將祂的榮耀擱置一旁，降生為人。對窮人的關心使人聯想到神的兒子不是生在王公貴族之家，而是生在一個卑微貧寒的人家。宇宙的主宰與人類最卑微的、最被歧視的人認同。The secular Christmas is a festival of lights, a time for family gatherings, and a season to generously give to those closest to us and to those in greatest need. These practices are genuinely congruent with the Christian origins of the celebration. The emphasis on light in darkness comes from the Christian belief that the world’s hope comes from outside of it. The giving of gifts is a natural response to Jesus’ act of self-­giving, when he laid aside his glory and was born into the human race. The concern for the needy recalls that the Son of God was born not into an aristocratic family but into a poor one. The Lord of the universe identified with the least and the most excluded of the human race.

然而事實上，聖誕節如同上帝，既是奇妙的，也比多數人所了解的更具有威脅性。But the truth is that Christmas, like God himself, is both more wondrous and more threatening than most understand.

聖誕節的意義不是得到許多禮物，但是請思想，得到某些禮物會帶來什麼衝擊。有些禮物，就其本質而言，會讓你吞下你的驕傲。想像一下在聖誕節清晨打開一個朋友送的禮物——一本教人如何節食的書。然後你拆開另外一個朋友送的、一本包裝精美的書，書名是：「克服自私」。如果你跟他們說：「多謝」，在某種程度來說，你是在承認，「我的確是個肥胖而討人厭的人。」Christmas is about receiving presents, but consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. Some gifts by their very nature make you swallow your pride. Imagine opening a present on Christmas morning from a friend — and it’s a dieting book. Then you take off another ribbon and wrapper and you find it is another book from another friend, “Overcoming Selfishness.” If you say to them, “Thank you so much,” you are in a sense admitting, “For indeed, I am fat and obnoxious.”

換句話說，有些禮物像燙手山芋，接也不是，不接也不是。因為接了禮物，就是承認自己有缺點和軟弱，承認你需要幫助。也許在某個時候，你有個朋友知道你在經濟上有點拮据，他來拜訪你，給了你一大筆錢，讓你可以脫離困境。如果這件事曾經發生在你身上，你大概就會明白，接受這個禮物意味著要吞下你的驕傲是什麼意思。In other words, some gifts are hard to receive, because to do so is to admit you have flaws and weaknesses and you need help. Perhaps on some occasion you had a friend who figured out you were in financial trouble and came to you and offered a large sum of money to get you out of your predicament. If that has ever happened to you, you probably found that to receive the gift meant swallowing your pride.

沒有一個禮物像耶穌基督的禮物一樣，會那麼深刻地要求我們吞下自己的驕傲。聖誕節的意思是，我們如此迷失、如此失喪，無法拯救我們自己，以至於只有神的兒子自己，親自為我們死，才能拯救我們。這意味著你不是那個靠自己就能過一個高尚、美好人生的人。There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, that nothing less than the death of the Son of God himself could save us. That means you are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life.

因此，聖誕節是最冷靜的、最實際的看待人生的方式。它不是說，「振作起來！如果我們齊心協力，就能讓這個世界變得更好。」聖經從來沒有要我們對黑暗勢力漠不關心，而是要我們極力抵擋，但是聖經沒有給我們這樣的幻想，以為我們可以靠自己打敗這些勢力。基督信仰並不同意一些樂觀主義者的說法，他們說：「我們如果夠努力、夠認真，我們就可以把事情做好。」聖經也不同意悲觀主義者的說法，他們只看到一個反烏托邦的未來。Christmas, therefore, is the most unsentimental, realistic way of looking at life. It does not say, “Cheer up! If we all pull together we can make the world a better place.” The Bible never counsels indifference to the forces of darkness, only resistance, but it supports no illusions that we can defeat them ourselves. Christianity does not agree with the optimistic thinkers who say, “We can fix things if we try hard enough.” Nor does it agree with the pessimists who see only a dystopian future.

基督信仰的信息是：「情況險惡，我們無法醫治自己，拯救自己。前途一片黑暗——然而，還是有盼望。」聖誕節的信息是：「住在死亡幽暗之地的人民，有光照亮他們」。The message of Christianity is, instead, “Things really are this bad, and we can’t heal or save ourselves. Things really are this dark — nevertheless, there is hope.” The Christmas message is that “on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

請注意這節經文不是說，有光從這個世界透射出來，而是說，有一道光芒已經在照亮這世界。這道光芒來自世界之外。這個世界外有一道光芒，而耶穌已經帶來這光，要拯救我們；的確，祂就是那光。Notice that it doesn’t say from the world a light has sprung, but upon the world a light has dawned. It has come from outside. There is light outside of this world, and Jesus has brought that light to save us; indeed, he is the Light.

摘自提姆·凱勒著：

“Hidden Christmas: The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ”

重訪馬槽 Revisiting the Manger

作者： Michael LeFebvre     譯者：駱鴻銘

（Dr. Michael LeFebvre是印第安納州，Brownsburg 改革宗長老會基督教會[Christ Church Reformed Presbyterian Church]牧師）

http://gentlereformation.com/2015/12/24/revisiting-the-manger/

https://www.facebook.com/peddrluo/posts/10154990360969653?pnref=story

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105106813742373627205/posts/MQnXu2ZBRah

就生了頭胎的兒子，用布包起來，放在馬槽裡，因為客店裡沒有地方。 (Luk 2:7)

這個禮拜是社會大眾紀念耶穌降生的時節，耶穌降生的場景到處可見。耶穌的父母馬利亞和約瑟找到一家旅店，最後落腳在一個馬厩裡的傳統場景，完全是根據對上面經節裡一個詞的解讀——這個詞很有可能在這個客店-馬厩的故事版本裡，被人誤解了。在路加福音二章7節裡，這個通常被人翻譯作「客店」的詞，真正的意思是「住處」（a lodging space；或譯為住房）。這個詞的確可以指一個公眾旅店（例如路加福音十章34節），但是它經常是指一個普通人家的住房（例如路加福音廿二11）。路加在寫這節經文時，心裡在想什麼呢？是一個公眾旅舍，還是一個普通房子裡的住房呢？幾乎可以肯定是後者。This week is the time when society remembers the birth of Jesus, with nativity scenes popping up everywhere. The traditional scene of Mary and Joseph checking motels and finally bunking in a stable, is all based on the interpretation of one word in the above verse—a word which has probably been misunderstood in the motel-and-stable version of the story. The word in Luke 2:7 that is normally translated “inn” actually means “a lodging space.” This word can indeed refer to a public inn (as in Luke 10:34), but it often refers to the lodging room within a common house (as in Luke 22:11). Which does Luke have in mind in this verse: a public inn or the lodging space of a common house? Almost certainly the latter.

馬利亞和約瑟到伯利恆的原因是因為那是約瑟的出生地。意思是約瑟在伯利恆有許多親戚——還有很多親族和他一樣，為了羅馬政府的人口審查而回到伯利恆。馬利亞和約瑟當然是住在親戚家裡，而不是想在一個旅舍裡租一個房間。當我們讀路加福音二章7節時，聖經學者John Nolland（World Bible Commentary 35a）解釋說，「我們最好是想到巴勒斯坦一個農夫家裡，到處擠滿了人：一個只有一個房間的家，在同一個屋頂下，有一個圈養動物的圍欄……」而不是有一個給動物住的獨立房（一個馬房）（參：士師記十一31）。蓋兩棟房子會花太多錢。考古學家挖掘出許多古代的房子，一頭是人睡的地方，地板比較凸起；另一頭地面低凹，是圈養動物的地方，有一道分隔的矮牆把這棟建築分隔成兩半；在這座矮牆上，通常會有一個馬槽。路加很有可能是在描寫這樣的場景。當耶穌降生時，這個房子（而不是當地的旅館）裡到處擠滿了人。由於過於擁擠，因此「住房沒有地方（給他們放置嬰兒」，他們只好靠在牆邊，把祂放在馬槽裡。事實上，當牧羊人後來在當夜來到那裡，告訴他們有一個天使到訪的故事時，路加在18節報導說，有其他人和馬利亞和約瑟在一起，同時聽到了這個宣告。他們似乎不像一般人想像的，獨自在馬房裡。傳統耶穌降生的場景是私下的、安詳寧靜的，但實際上很可能更擁擠，沒那麼舒適。The reason Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem was because that was where Joseph’s family was from. That means Joseph had lots of relatives in Bethlehem—and lots more relatives traveling back, like he was, for the Roman census. Mary and Joseph were certainly staying at the house of relatives, and were not trying to rent quarters in a hotel. When reading Luke 2:7, “It is better to think,” Bible scholar John Nolland (World Bible Commentary 35a) explains, “of an overcrowded Palestinian peasant home: a single-roomed home with an animal stall under the same roof…” Rather than having a separate structure (a stable) for the animals, poor households frequently kept their animals in the same lodging structure as the family (cf., Judges 11:31). Building two structures was too expensive. Archaeologists have uncovered ancient houses with a raised floor on one side where the people slept and a lowered floor on the other where the animals were kept. A divider was formed by a low wall between the two halves of the building, often with a manger in that wall for the animals. Luke is probably describing such a setting. When Jesus was born, the room (not the local inn) was overcrowded. Since the floor was so crowded and “there was no place for them [to lay the baby] in the lodging-space,” they leaned over and placed him in a manger. In fact, when the shepherds arrived later that night telling their story of an angel visitation, Luke reports in verse 18 that there were others present in the room with Mary and Joseph listening to the announcement. It does not seem they were alone in a stable as often imagined. The traditional nativity scene is private and serene, but reality would have been much more crowded and uncomfortable.

耶穌是以這個世界的王和救主的身份降生的，但是祂卻生在羞辱中，生在骯髒的環境裡。如果我們把祂的降生想像成一個有舒適的稻草和一旁安靜低鳴的牛羊的田園場景，我們就誤解了這段經文的重點。事實和我們的想像有很大的不同：祂降生在一個親戚家，在一個人擠人的房間裡，擁擠到一個程度，祂的母親只能把祂放在一旁動物住的房間、餵食動物的飼料槽裡。通過祂降生的景況，耶穌與我們的貧窮認同——既是屬靈的貧窮，也是物質的貧窮。Jesus was born as the King and Savior of the world, but he was born in shame and squalor. We miss this point when we transform our visions of his nativity into an idyllic setting of soft straw and quietly lowing cows. The reality was probably very different: he was born in the crowded lodging room of a relative’s house, so crowded his mother could only lay him down by setting him in the feeding trough on the animal’s side of the space. From the conditions of his birth, Jesus identified with our poverty—spiritually and physically.

聖誕節（Xmas）中的X是什麽意思?WhatDoes the X in Xmas Mean?

 作者: R.C. Sproul    翻譯:  Maria Marta  

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/why-is-x-used-when-it-replaces-christ-in-christmas/

https://plus.google.com/u/2/106695469993489516884/posts/bTb2JnynTdY

聖誕節（Xmas）這個名稱中的X就象R.C.中的R。盡管我出生時的名字是羅伯特查爾斯（Robert Charles），但甚至在我父母從醫院抱我回家之前, 他們就叫我名字的首字母R.C.，似乎沒有人對此表現出太大的驚訝。

Χ有很多不同的意思。例如，當我們要表示一個未知數，我們用符號X。 X也可以指電影的淫穢級別, 其中有X-rated級別 (禁止十六歲以下兒童觀看) 。看見基督的名字被抽出, 被代表未知數的X符號取代,  人們似乎感到很懊惱。每一年你看到海報和保險杠貼紙上寫著「把基督再放回聖誕節裏頭」, 作為基督的名字被字母X取代的回應。

聖誕節這詞裡沒有X字母

首先，你必須明白不是字母X被放進聖誕節這字裡。我們看到這詞裡有英文字母X，但實際上它涉及基督的希臘名字的第一個字母。基督（Christ）在新約希臘文中是基督（Christos）。這個希臘字Christos的第一個字母的音譯是我們的字母表中的X。X成為教會歷史上基督這名字的一個速記符號。

我們沒有看到人們抗議使用希臘字母theta，這字母代表一條橫跨在圓圈的中間線。我們把它用作上帝這詞的速記縮寫詞，因為它是Theos這詞, 上帝的希臘文的第一個字母。

X有著悠久的神聖歷史

X作為基督名字的縮寫的概念進入我們的文化當中，並沒有任何對上帝不敬的意圖。教會歷史上用魚符號,  因為它是一個首字母縮略詞。魚的希臘語（ichthus）涉及希臘片語「耶穌基督, 上帝的兒子，救世主」裡的單詞的第一個字母的使用。所以，早期的基督徒把這片語中的單詞的第一個字母抽出，放在一起拼成魚這希臘字。這就是魚符號成為基督教世界之普遍象徵的經過了。X用作基督名字的象征有著有悠久而神聖的歷史，從其起源來說，它並沒有不尊敬的意思。

在我們的【問題回答】部分可找到更多的問題。

http://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/

https://plus.google.com/u/1/115488134366281415806/posts/TougL8AVZYK

What Does the X in Xmas Mean?

FROM R.C. Sproul

The X in Christmas is used like the R in R.C. My given name at birth was Robert Charles, although before I was even taken home from the hospital my parents called me by my initials, R.C., and nobody seems to be too scandalized by that.

X can mean so many things. For example, when we want to denote an unknown quantity, we use the symbol X. It can refer to an obscene level of films, something that is X-rated. People seem to express chagrin about seeing Christ’s name dropped and replaced by this symbol for an unknown quantity X. Every year you see the signs and the bumper stickers saying, “Put Christ back into Christmas” as a response to this substitution of the letter X for the name of Christ.

There’s no X in Christmas

First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ. Christos is the New Testament Greek for Christ. The first letter of the Greek word Christos is transliterated into our alphabet as an X. That X has come through church history to be a shorthand symbol for the name of Christ.

We don’t see people protesting the use of the Greek letter theta, which is an O with a line across the middle. We use that as a shorthand abbreviation for God because it is the first letter of the word Theos, the Greek word for God.

X has a long and sacred history

The idea of X as an abbreviation for the name of Christ came into use in our culture with no intent to show any disrespect for Jesus. The church has used the symbol of the fish historically because it is an acronym. Fish in Greek (ichthus) involved the use of the first letters for the Greek phrase “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” So the early Christians would take the first letter of those words and put those letters together to spell the Greek word for fish. That’s how the symbol of the fish became the universal symbol of Christendom. There’s a long and sacred history of the use of X to symbolize the name of Christ, and from its origin, it has meant no disrespect.

Find other questions in our Questions Answered section.

 聖尼古拉斯和聖誕老人的由來SaintNicholas and the Origins of Santa Claus

 作者: Stephen Nichols  翻譯: Maria Marta  

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/saint-nicholas-origins-santa-claus/

https://plus.google.com/u/0/106695469993489516884/posts/QaSzqw3hgLL

今天發現聖誕老人（Saint Nicholas）（劇透提醒）竟然是一個真實的人,   可能會令許多人詫異。聖誕老人不是留著白色胡子，身穿紅色棉衣，頭戴紅色聖誕帽子，坐著雪橇上的人嗎？

不完全是的，但他可能真的留著胡子，頭戴帽子，出們遠行時坐著馬拉車,   而不是駕著馴鹿拉的雪橇。聖尼古拉斯是聖誕老人傳說背後的真人,  是第四世紀米拉城（Myra）的主教。他帶的帽子是主教的主教冠。

尼古拉斯出生在今天土耳其境內一個頗富裕的家庭。尼古拉斯自幼失去雙親，他把自己的一生和財富都奉獻給基督教教堂。他很早就被任命為米拉城的主教，米拉城位於今天土耳其的南部海岸。

當時正是基督徒受迫害的時期。羅馬皇帝戴克裏先（Diocletian），於284年至305年在位,   他憎恨基督徒,   把他們抓進，塞滿羅馬的監獄。主教尼古拉斯在監獄中度過了第四世紀開頭的幾年，飽受常規的毆打。隨後的十年，君士坦丁立令使基督教成為羅馬帝國的合法宗教，尼古拉斯被釋放。

325年在尼西亞,  主教尼古拉斯出席在君士坦丁夏宮舉行的第一次基督教大公會議。參加會議數的百名主教,  駁斥阿裏烏斯（Arius）,  亞歷山大長老的錯誤觀點。阿裏烏斯否認基督的神性。跟據尼古拉斯的一些傳記作者描述，當時阿裏烏斯正在會議上發言，尼古拉斯怒火沖冠,  不能自制,   他站起來，穿過地板沖向阿裏烏斯，迅雷不及掩耳一拳打在阿裏烏斯的臉上。

因為毆打罪，尼古拉斯重回監獄。主教們慎重考慮他的命運。尼古拉斯心裏悔恨, 懇求寬恕。大公會議之後，君士坦丁寬大赦免,  恢覆尼古拉斯的主教職位。

尼古拉斯在他的職位上勤勤懇懇，努力事奉。縱觀尼古拉斯的畢生歷程，他以慷慨大方而著稱。尤其在對待孩子方面，他定期慷贈禮物給他們。米拉城是一個繁忙的港口城市，來往進出的船舶和海員絡繹不絕。船舶駛出米拉港口,   滿載需求的禮品和貨物,  全部都是尼古拉斯提供和包裝的。尼古拉斯的禮物運往地中海世界各地。水手們帶著尼古拉斯主教的慷慨故事,  前往世界各地。

主教尼古拉斯的死亡年份不確定，但月份被確認為十二月份。因為他慷慨贈送故事的流傳，他的生平故事越傳越廣。他成為一個家喻戶曉的人物。在第六世紀，君士坦丁堡的一間教堂以他的名字命名, 專門紀念他。在中世紀，除了基督和馬利亞之外,  描繪尼古拉斯形象的畫作比任何人都多。尼古拉斯不再是主教尼古拉斯，現在他變成聖誕老人，紀念他的節日是12月6日。

圍繞尼古拉斯有許多傳說,  其中一個是關於他贈送嫁妝給年輕的窮女孩，使她們能結成婚。為了反映這個傳說，他背著裝滿金幣的袋子的形像開始出現。

當他的傳說向北方流傳時，故事甚至發生了更有趣的轉變。在德國，出現以聖尼古拉斯名義彼此互贈禮物的傳統。在荷蘭是也是如此。尼古拉斯的荷蘭語演變成聖誕老人（Sinterklass）。尼古拉斯的德語最後演變成聖誕老人（Santa Claus）。禮物贈送的慶祝活動在12月6日,   尼古拉斯的逝世周年紀念日舉行。一金幣的禮物極其珍貴，顯示出天大的恩惠。

甚至路得亦在傳說裡面扮演著一個角色。路得希望另一種新教選擇,取代羅馬天主教慶祝聖誕老人（Santa Claus）盛宴的慣例。路得創立在聖誕前夕以嬰孩基督（Christkindl，德文）名義送禮物的傳統, 取代了以聖誕老人名義送禮物的慣例。也許在這一點上，我們有理由解釋, 為什麽各地的新教孩子被允許在聖誕前夜至少可以打開一份禮物。

路得喜愛聖誕節。他希望聖誕節成為圍繞伯利恒童女馬利亞生子這份最高禮物而展開的送禮物慶祝活動。正如他在1530年的講道中說，「躺在馬利亞膝上的是我們的救主，感謝上帝，祂愛你，賜給你一位救主。」

聖誕節從基督彌撒（Christ Mass）一詞演變而來，傳統上基督道成肉身的慶祝固定在12月25日。路得杜撰的「嬰孩基督」（Christkindl）一字也發展了好幾個世紀。它變成聖誕老人（Santa Claus）的另一個名字，聖誕老人（Kris Kringle）。路得脫離聖誕老人傳統的努力不經意間扭轉方向,  使這傳統朝著正確的方向發展。

因此我們有了聖誕老人的故事。有趣的是，聖尼古拉斯和他的傳奇開始於早期教會。在中世紀根據各地的喜好,  被編織成故事，這些故事甚至出現在宗教改革時期。直到今天這些故事仍然是我們生活的一部份。

尼克勞斯（Stephen J. Nichols）博士是Reformation Bible College的校長，也是Ligonier Ministries的教務主任，並主播5 Minutes in Church History節目。

Saint Nicholas and the Origins of Santa Claus

FROM Stephen Nichols

It might surprise many today to find out that Saint Nicholas (spoiler alert) is a real person after all. Is he the white-bearded man with a red suit, a cap, and a sleigh?

Not quite, but he probably was bearded, did wear a hat, and did travel in horse-drawn, not reindeer-drawn, transportation. The legend behind Santa Claus is Saint Nicholas, the fourth-century bishop of Myra. His hat was the bishop’s mitre.

Nicholas was born in modern day Turkey to a rather wealthy family. Losing his parents at a young age, Nicholas dedicated both his fortune and his life to the Christian church. Very quickly he was appointed the bishop of Myra, on the southern coast of modern day Turkey.

These were days of persecution for Christians. Roman Emperor Diocletian, who reigned from 284–305, hated Christians and stuffed Roman jails full of them. Bishop Nicholas spent the first few years of the fourth century in jail and faced routine beatings. In the next decade, Constantine legalized Christianity and Nicholas was set free.

As the legend goes, Bishop Nicholas was present at the Church’s First Ecumenical Council at Constantine’s summer palace in Nicea in 325. Hundreds of Bishops gathered there to refute the false views of Arius, a presbyter from Alexandria. Arius denied Christ’s deity. At one point while Arius was addressing the council, Nicholas’s rage got the better of him. According to some of his biographers, Nicholas stood up, crossed the floor to Arius, and promptly punched him in the face.

For the assault, Nicholas found himself back in jail again. The bishops deliberated his fate. Nicholas was repentant and sought forgiveness. After the Council, Constantine granted clemency and restored Bishop Nicholas to his post.

And at his post Bishop Nicholas diligently served. Over the course of his entire life he was known for being extremely generous. He was especially generous to children, regularly giving them gifts. Myra was a busy port city with ships and sailors coming and going. The ships went out of Myra’s port loaded with gifts and goods for the needy, all provided and packed on by Bishop Nicholas. His gifts went all around the Mediterranean world. As sailors went around the world, they took with them the stories of the generosity of Bishop Nicholas.

The year of Bishop Nicholas’s death is uncertain, but the month is firmly believed to be December. As the story of his generosity spread, the stories of his life grew and grew. He was becoming legendary. In the sixth century, a church was dedicated to him and named for him in Constantinople. His image was depicted more in the Middle Ages than any other except those of Christ and of Mary. No longer Bishop Nicholas, now he became Saint Nicholas, and his Feast Day would be December 6.

One of the legends around Nicholas concerned his giving dowries to young poor girls so they would be able to marry. To reflect that legend, images of him carrying bags bulging with gold coins began to appear.

As his legend moved northward, the story takes an even more interesting turn. In Germany, the tradition arose of giving gifts to each other in the name of Saint Nicholas. So, too, in the Netherlands. The Dutch word for him became Sinterklaas. The German word eventually became Santa Claus. These celebrations of gift-giving occurred on December 6, the anniversary of his death. The gift of a gold coin was highly prized and showed great favor.

Even Martin Luther would come to play a role in the legend. Luther wanted a Protestant alternative to the Roman Catholic practice of celebrating the Feast of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus). Instead of giving gifts in the name of Santa Claus on December 6, Luther started the tradition of giving gifts in the name of the Christ child, Christkindl, on Christmas Eve. Perhaps in this we have an argument for Protestant kids everywhere as to why they should be allowed to open at least one present on Christmas Eve.

Luther loved Christmas. He wanted it to be a celebration of giving around the supreme gift of the babe born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. As he preached in 1530, “He who lies in the virgin’s lap is our Savior … give thanks to God, who so loved you that he gave you a Savior.”

Christmas evolved from the word Christ Mass, the celebration of the incarnation of Christ, fixed by tradition as being on December 25. The word Luther coined, Christkindl, also evolved over the centuries. It would become Santa Claus’ other name, Kris Kringle. This effort of Luther’s to move away from the Santa Claus tradition inadvertently veered right toward it.

So we have the story of Santa Claus. Interestingly enough, Saint Nicholas and his legend began in the early church. The stories wove their way through the Middle Ages, and they even made an appearance at the Reformation. Those stories still live with us today.

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols is president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer for Ligonier Ministries, and teaches on the podcast 5 Minutes in Church History.

聖誕節是異教徒節日嗎？IsChristmas a Pagan Holiday?

 作者: R.C. Sproul  譯者: Maria Marta

http://www.ligonier.org/blog/celebration-christmas-pagan-ritual/

https://plus.google.com/u/1/106695469993489516884/posts/BXErZbyVaS5

 每年的聖誕節都會出現這個問題。首先，聖經沒有直接的誡命，要在十二月二十五日慶祝耶穌的誕生。聖經甚至沒有表明，耶穌誕生在十二月二十五日。事實上，新約聖經有很多敘述表明，耶穌的誕生並沒有發生在一年中的那個時刻。不過，在十二月二十五，在羅馬帝國剛好有一個異教徒的節日，它與一個神秘宗教有關聯；異教徒在十二月二十五日慶祝他們的節日。基督徒不想參與其中，故此他們說，「當其他人都在慶祝這個異教徒節日時，我們也要有自己的慶祝。我們要慶祝我們生命中最重要的事情：上帝的道成肉身,  耶穌基督的降生。所以這將是一個歡樂慶典的節日，慶祝和敬拜我們的上帝和君王。」

 我想不起有任何事情,  要比教會每年慶祝基督的生日,  更加討基督的喜悅。請記住，每一年的節日与慶祝這一總原則，深植于古老的猶太傳統。例如，在舊約，有时候上帝嚴厲命令祂的百姓,  要以每年的慶祝活動來記住某些事件。新約並不没有要求我們，每一年都要慶祝聖誕節，但教會進入歡樂的時光，慶祝道成肉身，这个人類历史的轉折點，我當然認爲這是無可厚非的。更何况最初慶祝的目的，并非爲了尊榮密特拉（Mithras）或任何其他神秘宗教的神明，而是爲了尊榮我們的君王的降生。

 順便一提，復活節可以追溯到遠古世界的伊師塔（Ishtar）。我認為,  基督教教會聚集慶祝耶穌復活的慶祝活動，絲毫不會觸怒上帝。我希望, 每年我們有更多的節日。例如，羅馬天主教每年都懷著極大的喜樂，慶祝耶穌升天節（Ascension Day）。一些新教肢體也慶祝這一節日，但大多數的新教肢體並不慶祝。我希望我們能慶祝基督生命中的重大事件：祂升到天上,  加冕爲萬主之主、萬王之王。我們慶祝基督的誕生；我們慶祝基督的死亡。我也希望我們能慶祝祂的加冕。

在我們的問題回答部分，可找到〈慶祝聖誕節是異教徒的儀式嗎？〉和其他更多問題。

Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

FROM R.C. Sproul

That question comes up every year at Christmastime. In the first place, there’s no direct biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25. There’s nothing in the Bible that would even indicate that Jesus was born on December 25. In fact, there’s much in the New Testament narratives that would indicate that it didn’t occur during that time of year. It just so happens that on the twenty-fifth of December in the Roman Empire there was a pagan holiday that was linked to mystery religions; the pagans celebrated their festival on December 25. The Christians didn’t want to participate in that, and so they said, “While everybody else is celebrating this pagan thing, we’re going to have our own celebration. We’re going to celebrate the thing that’s most important in our lives, the incarnation of God, the birth of Jesus Christ. So this is going to be a time of joyous festivities, of celebration and worship of our God and King.”

I can’t think of anything more pleasing to Christ than the church celebrating His birthday every year. Keep in mind that the whole principle of annual festival and celebration is deeply rooted in ancient Jewish tradition. In the Old Testament, for example, there were times when God emphatically commanded the people to remember certain events with annual celebrations. While the New Testament doesn’t require that we celebrate Christmas every year, I certainly see nothing wrong with the church’s entering into this joyous time of celebrating the Incarnation, which is the dividing point of all human history. Originally, it was intended to honor, not Mithras or any of the other mystery religion cults, but the birth of our King.

Incidentally, Easter can be traced to Ishtar in the ancient world. But the Christian church coming together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is hardly something I think would provoke the wrath of God. I wish we had more annual festivals. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, celebrates with great joy the Feast of the Ascension every year. Some Protestant bodies do, but most do not. I wish we would celebrate that great event in the life of Christ when He was raised up into heaven to be crowned King of kings and Lord of lords. We celebrate His birth; we celebrate His death. I wish we would also celebrate His coronation.

“Is the celebration of Christmas a pagan ritual?” and other questions can be found in our Questions Answered section.