Solstice, Christmas, and Advent

Luke, one of the writers in the Bible, tells a familiar story of Shepherds who are out in the field, tending their flock, when an angel appears to them, revealing that Jesus has been born in the nearby town of Bethlehem. While this story has become well-known because it serves as the first announcement of the arrival of Jesus in the world, it is also widely-regarded as proof that Jesus was not born in December.

Winters in Palestine were harsh, and it is very unlikely that shepherds would tend their flocks in the fields between October and March.

How, then, did Christians come to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25? The answer, it seems, has everything to do with the one symbol that – aside from the Nativity itself – has come to characterize the Christmas celebration: light.

Every year, around June 21, the Northern Hemisphere experiences its longest day of the year. More light shines on this day than any other day. After June 21, however, things begin to change. The days begin to grow shorter, darker, and – eventually – much colder. Eventually, the days become darkest, and the need for light becomes the greatest in late December.

In our time (again, in the Northern Hemisphere), the darkest day of the year – Winter Solstice – falls on December 21. However, because of discrepancies between the number of days on our calendar and the actual amount of time it takes the Earth to circle the Sun each year, the date for Winter Solstice during the times of the early Church was – you could probably guess it! – December 25.

Why pick the darkest day of the year to celebrate Jesus’ birth? The answer to this question has two parts.

The first part is more pragmatic than anything else. During the fifth century, when Christmas was first observed, Christianity was emerging out of a largely pagan culture. The pagans loved their festivals, including the mid-winter festival of Saturnalia. For Christian leaders, it probably made sense to give Christians something that seemed more, well, Jesus-y, to do when the time came for the customary pagan celebrations.

The second part, however, has nothing to do with what the pagans were up to. Instead, it has to do with the season on the Christian calendar that immediately precedes Christmas: the season of Advent. 

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.

This liturgy, familiar to Lutherans, Anglicans, and Methodists, among others, declares the mystery of the Christian faith – Christ has come but is also coming again. These two “arrivals” of Christ within creation, called the First Advent and Second Advent, form the foundation of this seasonal observance, in which Christians reflect on and anticipate the Second Advent while simultaneously recognizing that the First Advent will soon be celebrated on December 25.

By its very nature, Advent is an observance that always occurs on the very darkest days of the year. It is characterized by lighting candles – and it fits perfectly within the same season where other festivals of lights, today found on houses, buildings, and even vehicles, are being celebrated. It reminds Christians that the world is a dark and cold place, in need of the light that Jesus brings – revealing God to us in his teachings, his example, and – ultimately – his death and resurrection.

At the conclusion of Advent, on December 25, the trend of darkness is reversed. The sun begins to linger more and more each day. Eventually, warmth and light will return to the Earth. Having observed the date on which Jesus was born, the lengthening days remind now remind Christians of the way that Jesus himself is bringing much-needed enlightenment into the world.

At many Churches, Christians will light candles in the sanctuary at the conclusion of a Christmas Eve observance. Then, each member exits the church into the night, carrying a lit candle. This, to me, is one of the most beautiful acts of symbolism in the Christian liturgy.

Darkness engulfs us, but light is emerging.