早期的聖誕節

關於早期的聖誕節的描述,我們特別翻譯外國網站的原文供大家參考。

以下翻譯自:http://didyouknow.org/christmas/

The early Christians

To avoid persecution during the Roman pagan festival, early Christians decked their homes with Saturnalia holly. As Christian numbers increased and their customs prevailed, the celebrations took on a Christian observance. But the early church actually did not celebrate the birth of Christ in December until Telesphorus, who was the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared that Church services should be held during this time to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour.” However, since no-one was quite sure in which month Christ was born, Nativity was often held in September, which was during the Jewish Feast of Trumpets (modern-day Rosh Hashanah). In fact, for more than 300 years, people observed the birth of Jesus on various dates.

In the year 274 AD, solstice fell on 25th December. Roman Emperor Aurelian proclaimed the date as “Natalis Solis Invicti,” the festival of the birth of the invincible sun. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I specified the 25th of December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.

AD is short for Anno Domini, or “Year of our Lord,” as proclaimed by the Roman Catholic Church. Some non-Christians prefer the alternative designation “CE” for “Common Era.”

為了躲避羅馬異教徒慶典期間的迫害,早期基督徒只在家裡擺設冬青樹來慶祝農神節。由於基督徒成員漸漸增加而他們的習俗也日漸普遍,基督徒的慶典便取而代之。但早期的教堂並沒有慶祝耶穌的誕生,直到德肋斯福祿-西元125到136年間羅馬的第二位主教,聲稱教堂服務應該在這時候來慶祝”我們上帝以及救世主的誕生”。然而,既然沒有人知道基督真正出生的月份,耶穌誕生通常是在九月舉行,也就是猶太的吹角節(現代猶太的新年)。事實上,300多年來,人們遵從的耶穌生辰都不同天。

在西元274年,冬至點剛好是12月25號。羅馬皇帝Aurelian宣布這天為” Natalis Solis Invicti”所向無敵太陽神的生日。在西元320年,教皇朱利斯一世明確指出12月25號是耶穌基督正式誕辰日。

AD是 Anno Domini的縮寫,或者(我們上帝之年),由羅馬天主教堂所定。有一些非天主教徒傾向用替代稱號”CE”代表”通用年代。