FIVE THINGS YOU PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT CHRISTMAS

By Shiku Ngigi

1. We all know of the three wise men from the East. Well, guess what? Not once has it been mentioned in the Bible that the wise men or the Magi were three in number. People came up with it all on their own, through traditions, probably because there were three gifts presented to the baby Jesus. Check Matthew 2 if you are still sceptical. For all we know, there is a possibility they were more than three. Maybe they were two. Hmmmm…
2. Christmas has been deemed by many as a holiday with pagan beginnings. Apparently, Christmas borrowed heavily from the original celebrations of Saturnalia among Roman pagans. This festival was marked by every manner of lawlessness and the Christians sought a solution to it, Christmas. Therefore Christmas was not a pagan festival, contrary to popular belief that has been fuelled by folk who peddle the story. It was a festival to attract the pagans to Christianity by trying to convince them that they would still have celebrations even when converted. While that is still controversial, that is how we end up with the holiday today. 
3. Xmas. Wish a staunch Christian a ‘Merry Xmas’ and they will probably get offended. They will tell you that it is wrong to take Christ out of the word; after all, it is His birthday we are celebrating. Well, I am one of those people but I recently found out that X is from the Greek letter Chi, which translated is "Christ" according to Wikipedia. Lecturers may tell us not to cite Wikipedia, but we all know that assignments would be quite the task without it. Having said that, the claim is pretty legit. So if you can shorten every other word in a text to your friend, I assume shortening Christmas to Xmas may not be so bad. But come to think about it, it falls in the same class with the xaxas and xemas that have maimed the English language. In the end, it all boils down to your belief.
4. This one we may all know. Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. Calendars changed and calculations here and there placed the day as one falling in the spring and voila! December 25 became the official date. Many years down the line, we all know that Jesus is the reason for the season and that is all that matters.
5. Christmas traditions mostly practised in the West have evolved over the years. Most of us do not practise, say, kissing under the mistletoe but we do have Christmas trees and Santa Claus. Needless to say, I did not know he was called Santa Claus in my childhood, I only knew of Father Christmas. Controversy surrounds him too. He has been said to be evil, even branded “Satan’s Clause” or “Satan’s claws” by some religious leaders. Well, he is supposed to signify giving which we should all be focused on doing. 

I will tell you one thing though, whatever the story, Christmas is a special time. It is a time to be with loved ones, to give, to make merry, to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I will not forget the eating.

Have a Merry Christmas people, and a Happy New 2013!