BELIEVE IT OR NOT

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

This is a collection of facts that I have gathered about Christmas. They are all true, read and enjoy.

Montgomery Wards gave us Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer.

Coca-Cola helped popularize smiling Santa’s.

Massachusetts Bay Colony leaders in 1659 passed a law prohibiting any celebration of the holidays, it was repealed 25 years later, but prejudice remained strong against it.

One of the most misinterpreted words in Christmas vocabulary is XMAS. Many Christians contend X in place of Christ is how atheists take Christ out of Christmas. The truth, X has been used by theologians for hundreds of years to denote chi, the first letter in the Greek spelling of the word Christ. It is meant to represent Christ and to be a reminder of the cross on which He was hung.

Constantino, the first Christian Roman emperor in 325 AD officiated December 25th as the day of the birth of Christ.

Christmas cakes came about as a way to break a fast on Christmas Eve with porridge. The people then added dried fruits and spices to make it special for Christmas. Over the years flour replaced oatmeal and eggs and butter were added.

ADDITONAL FACTS: The Christmas Story

There is no record of Joseph speaking in the Christmas story.

The number of wise men is not mentioned in the Bible, they were not kings.

There is no drummer boy in the Bible.

The star appeared above the house were Joseph’s family was living. Matthew 2: 9-11

Jesus ancestors include a prostitute, an adulterer, a woman who committed incest, and a non-Israelite. Rehab was a prostitute; David and Uriah’s wife were adulterers; Tamar and Judah committed incest; Ruth was from Moab, Matthew 1:3,5,6

Matthew 1:20 Tells us the angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph, Mary was first to be visited by an angel but we were not told his name.

We do not know how Mary got to Bethlehem from Nazareth, there is nothing recorded about her riding on a donkey.

The wise men did not arrive on the night of Jesus’ birth, they arrived sometime after Jesus was born Matthew 2:1 Jesus is called a child, rather then a baby Matthew 2:11.

God sent a choir of chubby angels is not true, God sent an army of warrior angels. Luke 2:13 tells us a company which is a military term.

Shepherds were not in a noble occupation. Shepherds were unable to remain ritually pure according to Pharisaic laws and were considered unclean. Yet God chose them for His birth announcement.

Both Mary and Joseph were told the baby was to be named Jesus Matthew 1:21, Luke 1:31. In Judaism babies were always named by their father. Here we see God the father [not Joseph] giving Jesus His name. By the way Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, the successor of Moses. Joshua means Yahweh saves.

CANDY CANES There is no truth to the story of a confectioner coming up with a candy cane with red and whites stripes for the blood of Jesus and purity. In 1670 the Choirmaster of Cologne came up with the idea of giving the children candy to keep them quite in church. By twisting the straight candy into a hooked one it became a shepherds crook, which was more acceptable then plain candy. In the 1920’s Bob McCormick added the stripe.

GOD BLESS
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