Christians with fuller tradition celebrate March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation (when Mary conceived of the Holy Ghost after she agreed to become the mother of God), and nine months later (December 25) as the Feast of the birth of Jesus. On the one, we commemorate when "the Word became flesh" (the Incarnation), and on the other, we commemorate when the Word "dwelt amongst us".

Although Christians are in no doubt that these events occurred, no one knows the actual dates when they took place. Worship is about making time and space holy, and a religious year was constructed around the two greatest events in Christendom - the Incarnation and the Christian Passover - using the natural phenomenon of light. Theologically, the world was seen to be in darkness since the primordial 'Fall', and the coming of the Messiah was to bring light into a world gripped in "the shadow of death". How best to celebrate the birth of Jesus and get across the theological message of 'light'?

Oversubtle

Maybe the Church has been oversubtle, even now many do not get it. December 21 is the shortest day of the year, ie it has the longest night; in other words, it is the darkest day of the year. Thereafter, the days get longer, ie the light begins to conquer the darkness. Since we don't know the actual day, what better time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus than just after the darkest day - say, December 25?

And, of course, Easter takes place around the time of the Jewish Passover - just after the Vernal Equinox. At an equinox, the day and the night are of equal length; thereafter, the days are longer than the nights; ie the light has vanquished the darkness, which is now lesser. What better time to celebrate our redemption, our liberation from slavery to sin, the beginning of the new creation, the establishment of the new covenant than when the light has actually conquered the darkness?

Just as in Jesus' time the Pharisees accused him of not following 'the law', modern-day Pharisees attack Jesus' true followers for not following 'the law': for not keeping the old covenant Sabbath, for not celebrating the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles and for not following the Old Covenant dietary laws.

The old covenant

We practise freedom of religion in this country. People are free to believe what they choose, and to criticise whom they wish, but it is not correct use of language to call something which is hot cold, or to call the darkness inside a cave light. It is not correct to call the practice of following the old covenant by the name of the religion which follows the new covenant. Follow the old covenant if you must, but call it something else. St Paul in his letters spent a lot of time arguing against those who wanted to reintroduce the old law into Christianity. It would seem that, in these days, we desperately need Paul again!

At this time of year, we celebrate God becoming man - the Incar-nation. What a wonderful, mind-boggling event! The Godhead stooped down from heaven and lifted fallen humanity when the second person of the Trinity became human like us. God is all-good, and if Jesus was truly human - like us - then human nature can't be as bad and wicked and carnal as some would have us believe. Christmas is as much about the lifting up of humanity as about Jesus emptying himself of His divinity. And, that is Good News! Proclaim it from the treetops!

So, don't get carried away with the punch and the tree and the presents; these are window dressing. And, don't listen to the Pharisees telling you rubbish that Christmas is a pagan celebration. The real message of Christmas is that the light has conquered darkness, and the Word has come to dwell among us. And, humanity has never been the same since.

Peter Espeut is a sociologist and a Roman Catholic deacon.