The First Christmas

Flavia walked from the bedroom into the common area of the house to find Cassius standing on a chair so that he could reach the lintel of the main doorway and hang a bull’s disembodied scrotum.

“Cassius,” Flavia said, “what are you doing?”

Cassius turned his head to face his wife, a broad grin on his face. “Io Saturnalia!” he said enthusiastically.

“Husband,” Flavia responded with concern, “do you not remember that we now worship the one true God? We should not participate in such wicked activities as Satunalia.”

Cassius climbed down from the chair he was standing on and walked over to his wife. “Dear Flavia,” he said, “I am a Christian, now and forever, but there is no harm in decorating for this holiday.” He reached out to embrace his wife, but she pulled away.

“I am troubled by your choice to put up decorations,” Flavia said walking to the window to closer examine the garlands that hung there. “This holiday is in celebration of the grace of Saturn, who is a false god. If we decorate as we have always done, are we not giving praise to a mere idol?”

Cassius moved the chair he had been standing on back to the table, sat down, and started eating some dried dates and figs from a bowl sitting there. After chewing in silence for some time, he responded. “I have no plans to attend any of the sacrifices that will be held during this or any other day of the celebration. I merely wish to participate in a few of the activities that I have enjoyed since my youth. I may wear my bright clothing and my hat of a freeman and decorate our home in the usual way, but that does not mean that my allegiance has reverted back to the false gods of this land.”

Flavia walked from the window and sat down at the table across from Cassius and began eating with him. “I am concerned that by participating in some parts of the celebration, our friends and neighbors will think that we are participating in them all. We took upon ourselves the name of Christ and promised to stand for Him and I worry that by trying to do some of these activities, we are not standing for Him.”

The couple sat in silence as they continued eating. After a few moments Cassius spoke up.

“Perhaps you are right. It just felt wrong to not decorate today, so I woke up early and collected some garlands and bought the bouquet of testicles from a traveling vendor. Even though we are now Christians, we are still living in Rome; it simply feels natural to be involved in Saturnalia, even if just superficially. However, I do not want to act against the will of the Lord. I will take down the decorations.”

As Cassius got up and walked back to the doorway, Flavia realized that she was happy that her husband had listened to her, but she was also saddened that he had to give up something that he enjoyed. If only there was a way to have it both ways. Suddenly, inspiration struck.

“Cassius, what if we were to adjust the celebration to be focused on Christ?”

Cassius paused in moving the chair to the door. He seemed skeptical. “Perhaps, but what would we change?”

“We could arrange a meeting during the same time as one of the sacrifices. Likely it would not be a standard meeting where we share the Lord’s Supper, but we could still sing and listen as the scriptures are read.”

Cassius smiled a little. “That sounds promising.”

Flavia continued. “And perhaps we can keep the garlands up, but let us take down the ox loins; we can replace them with some viscum album that I saw growing nearby. The white color of the fruit will represent the purity of the Lord.”

“What of the exchanging of gifts? Acts of charity cannot be unrighteous.”

“Agreed. We will keep the giving of gifts as well. The act of giving can represent the gift of eternal life that the Savior has made available to all who accept Him.”

Cassius was now grinning broadly once more. “This sounds like a most splendid plan. What will we call this new celebration?”

Flavia waved her hand dismissively. “That is unimportant. I am certain that we will devise a name with time. What is important is that we send the message to our brothers and sisters in Christ so that we may all celebrate and worship together as a mass of Christians.”

Cassius reached across the table and grabbed Flavia’s hand with his own, which she in turn squeezed tenderly. She was happy to have found the Church, but she was even happier to have a husband with whom she was able to share her faith. Truly, it was a Saturnalia, uh …new holiday miracle.