The longest night

If you've done any reading in early church history......
or if you've heard the nay-sayers of this world tell the story
you will know that the date for the celebration of the incarnation, the birth of Jesus, was arbitrarily set by the early church.

We speak of December 25th as the birthday of Jesus, but it is much like the birthday of the British monarch - celebrated on a particular day for the convenience of the populace.

In the case of the early church, the competition was from non-believers, especially those who celebrated/worshipped the spirits of nature (pagans).  As you know, December 21st is the winter solstice, the shortest day/ longest night of the year.  In olden days (and I suppose in many places today as well) this night was noted with large bonfires and (some say) wild dancing in the moonlight.  (OK, maybe I made that part up).

It is hard for us to understand why this was such an important turning point in the year for folks in a pre-electric world.  In a society dependent on log fires for heat and candles for light, the shortness of the day was much noted.  For people who did not have refrigeration, trucks to bring produce from far away places, etc., there was real concern about having sufficient food to last through the winter until new crops could be gathered.  In those times, food supplies were under lock and key.  This was the first time of 'food insecurity' (the current term used for folks who are or might go hungry).

If you were worried about the sun returning to warm the earth and bring forth new food, you'd go out and dance in the moonlight too.  It was a form of worship to the gods who were responsible for bringing the new life of spring. 

The early Christian church, post 332AD, wanted to displace this pagan celebration and so established their own 'celebration of the Son' at a close date.  Thus Dec. 25th for Christ's birth.  The truth is, if the shepherds were out in the fields watching over their sheep, the sheep were giving birth (that's why they were with them) and that happens in the spring (like March).  Or so I'm told.

However, we might look at the Longest Night as that time of great darkness which befalls humanity when we turn from God, give in to evil and make this world almost inhabitable.  Somewhere in this world at this moment, it is the Longest Night, when people wonder if life and light and grace will ever return to their lives.

So we all look to Christ's birth......whether it happened on Dec. 25th or not.
Peace to all