No doubt early Christians knew it and chose to leave well alone. Considerable interpretive latitude was thus already present in the narrative. Governor Quirinius carried out his census of Judæa in AD 6. Luke, by contrast, times Christ’s birth to coincide with a Roman census.

In fact, when you celebrate Christmas by eating too much, drinking too much, misbehaving at the office party, and lavishing a fortune on entirely inappropriate presents, you come rather closer to the real spirit of Christmas.įurther reading Why Christmas is coloured with Saturnalia However, while it is true (as many Glaswegians pointed out) that the original decision was Grinch-like and petty, claims from the Church of Scotland about the “true meaning of Christmas” inhering in a nativity display are also off the mark.Ĭhristmas is related to Christianity in the same limited way as Caesar’s wife is to history: only by marriage. “War on Christmas” stories of this type are an annual staple - even in secular Britain - providing an opportunity for humourless humanists and pious Christians to engage in a seasonal outrage dance. Having first opted out, stating that “Thistles prides itself on being religiously and politically neutral”, it had to concede the following week: “we’ve listened carefully to everyone who contacted us about the installation and have decided to reverse our original decision.” The other day, a shopping centre up in Glasgow had to back away from its plan not to host a nativity display. Good people speak these things, earnestly and frequently. “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” they keep saying. “Put the Christ back in Christmas”, we’re told.

Happy saturnalia images