hing_. It is the old Yule-feast which was held
by all the northern nations, from time immemorial, handed down to, and
observed at the present day. In the greenery with which Christians deck
their houses and temples of worship, and in the Christmas-trees laden
with gifts, we unquestionably see a relic of the symbols by which our
heathen forefathers signified their faith in the powers of the returning
sun to clothe the earth again with green, and hang new fruit on the
trees. Foliage, such as the laurel, myrtle, ivy, or oak, and in general,
_all evergreens_, were _Dionysiac plants_, that is, symbols of the
generative power, signifying perpetuity of youth and vigor.[366:5]

Among the causes, then, that co-operated in fixing this period--December
25th--as the birthday of Christ Jesus, was, as we have seen, that almost
every ancient nation of the earth held a festival on this day in
commemoration of the birth of _their_ virgin-born god.

On this account the Christians _adopted it_ as the time of the birth of
_their_ God. Mr. Gibbon, speaking of this in his "Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire," says:

"The Roman Christians, ignorant of the real date of his
(Christ's) birth, fixed the solemn festival to the 25th of
December, the _Brumalia_, or Winter Solstice, when the Pagans
annually celebrated the birth of _Sol_."[367:1]

And Mr. King, in his "Gnostics and their Remains," says:

"The ancient festival held on the 25th of December in honor of
the 'Birthday of the Invincible One,' and celebrated by the
'great games' at the circus, was afterwards transferred to the
commemoration of the birth of Christ, the precise day of which
many of the Fathers confess was then unknown."[367:2]

St. Chrysostom, who flourished about A. D. 390, referring to this Pagan
festival, says:

"_On this day, also, the birth of Christ was lately fixed at
Rome_, in order that whilst the heathen were busy with their
_profane_ ceremonies, the Christians might perform their _holy
rites_ undisturbed."[367:3]

Add to this the fact that St. Gregory, a Christian Father of the third
century, was instrumental in, and commended by other Fathers for,
changing _Pagan festivals_ into Christian _holidays_, for the purpose,
as they said, of drawing the heathen to the religion of Christ.[367:4]

As Dr. Hooykaas remarks, the church was always anxious to meet the
heathen _half way_, by allowing them