CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTMAS

CHRISTIANITY AND CHRISTMAS

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY Christianity is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings and miracles of Jesus of Nazareth, as presented in the New Testament, which is the second part of the Bible, the sacred book of Christians. Nowadays, with millions followers all over the world, making it the largest religion in the world. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God, as well as the Messiah (or Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament. The main idea of his death is related with the redemption of humans sins. The four most important branches of Christianity are Catholicism, Protestantism, the Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches.

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY Christianity emerged from Judaism in the middle of the 1st century AD in the Roman province of Judea. The first leaders of the Christian communities were the apostles and their successors the apostolic fathers. This primitive Christianity spread, despite being a minority religion and persecuted, by Judea, Syria, Europe, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, Transcaucasia, Egypt and Ethiopia. One of the Oldest Testament papyri.

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire by the Edict of Milan, in the year 313. Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and convened* the Council of Nicaea (325), in which the Nicene Creed* was formulated. Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the year 380, under Emperor Theodosius I the Great, with the Tesalonica Edict. During these early centuries, the Fathers of the Church gradually consolidated the doctrines of Christianity and oversaw the development of the canon of the New Testament. *Convene: Convocar *Creed: Creencia Constantino I

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY As you can remember, the Orthodox Church was separated from the Catholic Church in 1054. This fact is known as East-West Schism. The main reason of this break was because of differences about the authority of the pope. Many differences happened through Christianity History such as Protestantism, which first appears during the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century They criticized what they perceived as important theological and ecclesiological deviations on the part of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church promoted the Counter-Reformation in response to the Protestant Reformation, through the Council of Trent (1545-1563). You are going to study the last two points of this slide in 3º ESO.

EAST-WEST SCHISM 1054

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY Once converted into the major religion of the Empire, Christianity spread throughout Europe.

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY GERMANIC PEOPLE ISLAMIC POWERS Were progressively Christianized between the 4th and 9th centuries. Christianity had reached the British Isles in the fifth century when Patrick of Ireland was active in the region. From the seventh century the Christian powers of Europe rivaled the Islamic powers. In southern and central Europe, with the exception of areas under Muslim administration.

THE BEGINNING OF CHRISTIANITY Christianity was the main religion from before the ninth century until today. The expansion to the north of Europe and Eastern Europe was later, but also in those regions for centuries Christianity has historically been the majority religion. With the European expansion in America, there was a deliberate effort to impose either peacefully, either through coercion, Christianity on populations of American origin. From the sixteenth century the Portuguese also made efforts to bring Christianity to certain areas of Africa and Asia, which were under their control. The rise of European colonialism in Africa, Asia and Oceania increased the number of Christians throughout the world.

CHRISTMAS Although Christmas is currently time to give gifts, celebrations and family gatherings, the truth of its origin responds, also to historical factors which involve the powerful Roman Empire, pagan rites and the teachings of Jesus. We all know that on December 25 the birth of Jesus of Nazareth is commemorated, but the truth is that the exact date of this historical fact is unknown. Some historians make different hypotheses about the birth of Jesus Christ: some of them speak of April or May, while others conclude that it was in September or October.

THE PAGAN ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS The origin of Christmas is pagan: The first time we can hear about the Christmas celebrated on December 25 (as we know it today) came almost two centuries after the birth of Christ so, even after the birth of the baby Jesus, Christmas was still celebrated in around the figure of Saturn that the Romans implanted The Romans celebrated the Roman Saturnalia, which was nothing more than a festival that represented the winter solstice and honored the god Saturn. During this party, the Romans were upset and therefore, the few Christians who existed at that time, were opposed to these celebrations so uncontrolled. In this way it is said that Christmas arose to replace the celebration of Saturn, king of the Sun, which in English is "sun", so it was taken as the birth of the son of God, which in English is "are". Later, when the Christian religion was imposed throughout the Roman Empire, King Justinian declared Christmas as a civic festivities, although this composure lasted little, because in the Middle Ages the holidays became days to drink and be partying from morning to night.

Saturnalia. Antoine Callet. 19th century

ART

EARLY CHRISTIAN ART During the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire, Christian art was necessarily and deliberately furtive and ambiguous, using images that were shared with pagan culture but had a special meaning for Christians. The earliest surviving Christian art comes from the late 2nd to early 4th centuries on the walls of Christian tombs in the catacombs of Rome. Domitila catacomb

EARLY CHRISTIAN ART THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS Initially Jesus was represented indirectly by pictogram symbols such as: The Ichthys (fish), peacock (Pavo Real), Lamb of God. or an anchor (ancla). Later personified symbols were used, including Jonah whose three days in the belly of the whale prefigured the interval between the death and resurrection of Jesus, Daniel in the lion's den, or Orpheus charming the animals. The Ichthys (fish)

THE ICHTHYS (Fish) It is symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to resemble the profile of a fish. The symbol was adopted by early Christians as a secret symbol. The word comes from the Greek language and means fish. Catacomb of Santa Domitilla. Rome.

PEACOCK It is a symbol of the eternal life. It s associated to the Resurrection of Christ due to its sheds. Its old feathers every year fall and grow newer, brighter ones each year. If the peacock is portrayed drinking from a vase it symbolizes a christian drinking the waters of eternal life. In addition the " multitude of eyes" upon its stunningly beautiful fan tail, suggested the all seeing eye of God.

LAMB OF GOD It is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. It appears at John 1:29 where John the Baptist sees Jesus and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." Also, the meaning is related with the sacrificed lamb who gives its life to save the faithful. *Gospel: Evangelio

This topic is going to be really common in all art history, mainly in religious works. Agnus Dei. Zurbarán (A baroque spanish painter). XVII century.

ANCHOR The anchor symbolizes faith and hope in the resurrection. The anchor (hope), together with the fish (which represents Christ) indicate hope in Christ. This symbolism is found in the catacombs of San Sebastián, San Calixto and Priscilla, and in other places during the first four centuries of the Christian era.

We have more examples such as: the deer or the palm tree DEER Related with the resurrection of Christ as the horns of deers: they could be regenerated. PALM TREE The faith of the christian prayer goes directly and straight to heaven, where God resides.

THE GOOD SHEPHERD The image of The Good Shepherd a beardless youth in pastoral scenes collecting sheep was the most common of these images, and was probably not understood as a portrait of the historical Jesus. These images bear some resemblance to depictions of kouros figures in Greco-Roman art. The "almost total absence from Christian monuments of the period of persecutions of the plain, unadorned cross" except in the disguised form of the anchor, is notable. This figure symbolizes the shepherd who lead his sheeps as Christ leads to his prayers.

THE DOVE The dove is a symbol of peace and purity. It can be found with a halo or celestial light. The dove represents the Spirit.

THE CHI-RHO MONOGRAM. XP. The Chi-Rho monogram, XP, apparently first used by Constantine I (IV century), consists on the first two characters of the name 'Christos' in Greek: ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. In this monogram the alpha and omega letters, that is to say, the first and the last word of the greek alphabet, are really important. The meaning of this idea is that Christ is the beginning and the end of everything.

All of these themes are still used today in many Catholic churches and cathedrals and they are used also in contemporary art. All the images that we tend to associated to Christianity come from the early Christian art and many of them are very popular in Christmas nowadays.