Human Chimp DNA Similarity

 

Human And Chimp DNA Similarity—Not What We’ve Been Led To Believe

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 18, 2024

You’ve probably heard that humans and chimps are somewhere around 98% similar in our genetic makeup. There is a huge problem with this though. The claim that humans and chimpanzees share 98% of their DNA is an oversimplification of a comparison of “cherry-picked” segments of DNA and thus a misrepresentation of the actual genetic evidence. The amount of similarity, after further research is much, much larger than 2%.

Is Similarity A Good Or Bad Find?

There is similarity though, but not 98%. That number that keeps getting thrown out there. What might surprise you though is that creationists expect a significant amount of similarity.

The fact that God created man with a physiology similar to mammals should automatically clue anyone off that there is going to be similarity. Of course, man is not an animal; and even though our bodies are made from dust with a physiology similar to certain animals, man is made in a more unique way—in the image of an eternal, ruling, logical, knowledgeable, wise, and loving God.

The fact that we discovered similarity in our DNA (with hosts of other animals and plants too!) is an amazing confirmation of what we expect to find in light of Scripture. God is the brilliant designer—the greatest of engineers!

The test of a great engineer is to be able to reuse ideas, designs, materials, and parts in multiple applications—sometimes with slight modifications to the specific use. Seeing how God did this across the board with plants as well as with animal life—dwarfs anything that man could do. This excites me as a creationist. 

Apes like chimpanzees, gorillas, and others are not related to man.

Nevertheless, we need to be honest with the genetic data about similarity—there is some, but definitely not 98%. So, what is it? We’ll get to that but first, you need to understand where the 98% number came from, then you’ll be able to see why the new, more thorough, data is so powerful!

Where Did The 98% Number Come From?

By 1990, the claim of 98% similarity between humans and chimps was engrained in society. According to J. Cohen, it began with A. Wilson and M. King in the mid-1970s.[1] Other built on this.[2]

The 98% claim further took the world by storm when the human and chimp DNA was mapped and researchers were arguing genetically that it was 96-99%.[3]

However, the 98% similarity statistic arises from a flawed methodology that assumes the religion of secular humanism to be true from the outset (which holds to evolution). As a result, when secular scientists compare human and chimp genomes, they align sequences based on similarity and neglect the rest. Yes, you read that right!

Follow me here, significant portions of the genomes do not align well and are often excluded from the comparisons. This cherry-picking of data creates an inflated measure of similarity.

For example:

• Only the most comparable DNA sections (exons or protein-coding regions) were often compared.
• “Non-alignable” regions, which can differ significantly, were excluded, leading to an incomplete picture.

Thus, the comparison isn't a direct measurement of the entire genomes. In other words, if you ignore sections that aren’t similar and just look at sections that are, then you are not being true to the % similarity. Let me do an analogy to give you an idea of what is going on.

Let’s say you are in a grocery shop and you are going to compare two different cartons of eggs. When you look at the first dozen, all the eggs look good and none are cracked. Then you look at the second dozen and 5 are cracked and messy.

Now, if the grocer came up and said they are basically the same and offers to show you by closely comparing 6 good eggs from both containers to convince you that they are basically the same and then tries to sell you the dozen that contains the 5 broken eggs. Would you buy that argument (and that dozen eggs with 5 broken)? The grocer did an oversimplification and misrepresentation of the entire carton of eggs.

In the same way, the claim that humans and chimpanzees share 98% of their entire genome is an oversimplification and misrepresentation of genetic evidence.

The Entire Genome Comparisons

When the entire genomes of humans and chimpanzees were finally examined, the differences became far more than the often-cited 1–2%. There are major differences in structure such gene order, chromosome structure, indels, and genome length but are ignored in these early percentage-based similarity claims.

The 2005 analysis of the chimpanzee genome also pointed out that when considering the things that were initially not analyzed (e.g., insertions, deletions, and duplications), the differences between humans and chimps add up to be closer to 15% or more.[4]

Stop for a moment and ponder this—this is not a 3% difference or even a 4% difference, but a massive 15% difference! The initial claims of 98% similar were off by at least 13% by the evolutionists own reckoning. Yes, breathe this in for a moment and notice how the secular worldview influenced an entire generation to believe that humans and chimps were 98% when it wasn’t even close. By this study, 85% similar (could be more!). That is huge.

One should also highlight the importance of considering functional differences in the genome. Even small genetic differences can lead to major distinctions in traits, behavior, and biology. For example, regulatory DNA regions, which control how genes are expressed, show major differences between humans and chimps. Also, the expression and timing of genes involved in brain development, speech, and locomotion vary a lot.

To put this into perspective, even if there were a “superficial similarity” of 98% in sequences, the function of that DNA is what matters. Humans and chimps are fundamentally distinct creatures in terms of biological complexity, cognition, and design.

Anatomically, human and chimp feet have many differences.

One area where differences are especially dramatic is the Y chromosome—obviously talking males here. Researchers have shown in their studies that the human Y chromosome and chimp Y chromosome differ considerably—by up to 30–50% in sequence and structure.[5] This utterly destroys the idea of near-total genetic similarity. We are now talking about 50-70% differences in the y chromosomes. X chromosomes don’t fare much better when compared. Geneticist Jeffry Tompkins writes:

“Only 69% of the chimpanzee X chromosome was similar to human and only 43% of the Y chromosome. Genome-wide, only 70% of the chimpanzee DNA was similar to human under the most optimal sequence-slice conditions.”[6]

After the latest round of research, the overall average DNA similarity between humans and chimps is sitting at about 70%.[7] That 30% dissimilar is like an avalanche on the evolutionary claims of close similarity. This is massive dissimilarity throws a monkey wrench into the evolutionary claim of a close human-chimp ancestor.

Concluding Remarks

The oft-cited 98% similarity between human and chimpanzee DNA is a result of selective comparisons, “leaving-out” large genomic differences, and “incorrect-method-based” assumptions that favor evolutionary conclusions.

When the entire genome is considered, humans and chimps are far less similar, both genetically and functionally (only 70% similar). These findings actually more in line with what we expect with the biblical view that humans are uniquely created in God's image, distinct from animals.

To better understand the details of this discussion, I highly recommend that you read:

1. D. DeWitt What About the Similarity Between Human and Chimp DNA?, The New Answers Book 3 (Ham and Hodge gen. eds.), January 14, 2014.

2. J. Bergman and J. Tomkins Is the human genome nearly identical to chimpanzee?—a reassessment of the literature, Journal of Creation 26(1):54–60, April, 2012

3. J. Tompkins Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%, Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 63–69, February 20, 2013.

---

[1] J. Cohen, Relative differences: the myth of 1%, Science Magazine 316:1836, June, 29, 2007.

[2] Hoyer et al., Examination of hominid evolution by DNA sequence homology, Journal of Human Evolution 1:645–649, 1972; C. Sibley and J. Ahlquist, The phylogeny of the hominoid primates, as indicated by DNA-DNA hybridization, Journal of Molecular Evolution 20:2–15, 1984; C. Sibley, DNA hybridization evidence of hominoid phylogeny: a reanalysis of the data, Journal of Molecular Evolution 30:202–236, 1990. 

[3] Broad Institute Communications, Comparison of human and chimpanzee genomes reveals striking similarities and differences, Broad Institute, August 31, 2005, https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/comparison-human-and-chimpanzee-genomes-reveals-striking-similarities-and-differences; The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome. Nature. 437:69-87. DOI:10.1038/nature04072.

[4] The Chimpanzee Sequencing and Analysis Consortium. Initial sequence of the chimpanzee genome and comparison with the human genome. Nature. 437:69-87. DOI:10.1038/nature04072.

[5] J. Tompkins Comprehensive Analysis of Chimpanzee and Human Chromosomes Reveals Average DNA Similarity of 70%, Answers Research Journal 6 (2013): 63–69, February 20, 2013.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

Religion in State Schools

 

How to Sneak Religion Into Government Schools?

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 10, 2024

 

Teaching Religion in Schools: A Six-Step Procedure to Get Religion in State Schools

Teaching religion in schools can get a teacher or administration in trouble, especially in our current culture. “Religion” is seen as a bad word in state or government-run schools. Yet, religion gets inserted into school classrooms all the time in clever and hidden ways. Precious few are trained to spot it nowadays, and they just let it go.

Do you want to see how to sneak religion into state-sponsored schools? Let me show you.

A Six-Step Procedure to Get Religion in State Schools

Step 1: Don’t try to put religion in all at once. Instead, introduce it with little bits and pieces here and there. In some cases, do it slowly and subtly so that people don’t notice at first. Once these small points are taught, it becomes easier because you have already convinced unsuspecting people of certain tenets of your religion, and they don’t even realize it.

Step 2: Understand what your endgame really is. You are not merely inserting a few small pieces of religion into a local school or a particular classroom to influence a few students. Your goal should be to convert the entire system to your religious belief. This is a big goal but doable. By intertwining religion into the entire state school system, sweeping changes must occur, and it takes time. Religion still needs to be inserted slowly and subtly, not just in the classroom but in textbooks. You also need willing teachers to defend these small bits and pieces of your religion.

Step 3: This step is crucial. You need to actively convince people that what you are inserting into schools' textbooks and educational materials isn’t religious but another “respectable” subject. In fact, don’t even call it a “religion” to your colleagues so as not to draw attention to these religious beliefs and tenets. Instead, call these religious bits and pieces something else—like “history,” “science,” “models,” or “what the experts are saying.” Just never equate these religious tidbits with a religious position. If you do, chances are you’ll be caught quickly.

Step 4: Whenever someone challenges these religious positions, you need to turn it around on them. Point out that they are actually the ones promoting a religion and exclaim, “How dare they!” Draw attention away from your religious positions that you are inserting into the classroom and attack their position as religious.

Don’t hesitate to call out current beliefs that are already in the school and label them as religious positions, demanding their removal so the kids can have an “unbiased” education. Use phrases like “science vs. religion” or “real history vs. faith.”

Threaten lawsuits and even go to court offensively if necessary. In doing so, you deflect the attack on your religious position and put the onus on the school system to show how their views aren’t religious; otherwise, these opposing positions need to be removed from the curriculum. Few administrations have ever wanted to take up that fight, and they usually cave quickly. It’s a clever way to make your religion the standard while removing others’ beliefs without them even realizing it. Essentially, you are eliminating the competition.

Step 5: Once you have a strong foothold in the education system, you need to mobilize to defend it. Try to get elected officials who support your religion (in subtle ways, of course) onto school boards as leaders, teachers’ unions, and writers in textbook companies, and elect local and state officials who back your view. Even try to get people who you would think were on the opposite side of the fence from you to compromise what they believe and syncretize their beliefs with tenets of your religion. This causes confusion on their front and only helps you.

At the same time, remove any classes, edit textbooks, and courses that may go against your religion. Sanitize all other subjects as well to only have your religious belief presented in the school system. Again, remember to never reveal that what you are teaching is religion. Sometimes, this means to stop teaching people how to think and replacing that philosophy by telling students what to think. Then you are subtly discipling students to follow your religious view without question.

Now that you have the schools supporting you, continue getting teachers [who hold to your religion] into the unions and push more and more teachers who support your religion in the local classrooms, starving out those who have openly professed other beliefs.

Try to get people in positions that only give out grants and educational funding to schools, professors, and research projects that align with your religion, while continuing to attack any other belief system that doesn’t support your religion that may be entertained in the school system. But again, never call your religion a “religion.” This is very important.

Step 6: Once you have your religion firmly embedded in the culture of the school system, you can openly state what your goal has been all along. You can reveal that you have a faith, but by now it is so embedded that few have the resources and power to oppose you. It would be like your opposition fighting on every stairway up a tall building.

Does this really work?

Yes. This formula is exactly the tactic that evolutionists used to get their secular humanistic religion permeated into the school curriculum, textbooks, and overall education at all levels of state education. Let’s look at this historically.

Step 1: Evolutionary adherents never tried to insert their religion into the government school system all at once. It was done with little bits and pieces over long periods of time. They inserted tenets like geological evolution first (long ages—which began in the early 1800s in classrooms), then animal evolution (by the 1870s, this permeated universities), and then human evolution (by the 1920s, long ages, animal evolution, and now human evolution were being taught).

Step 2: The goal of the evolutionary religious camp was never to simply tell a few students about evolution. They wanted to take over the entire school system to teach their religion. By getting your tax dollars to support their religion, they made out well.

You need to understand that modern education was largely a Christian endeavor, being a Christian concept in the first place, going back to Robert Raikes’ Sunday School movement that then transformed in the public school system—an outreach of the church to teach and train. The results transformed society with so much good that the government began funding it.

As the government seized more control of the school systems it was easier for the secularists to gain access and control of it because it was no longer an outreach of the church. As they did, the focus shifted for their purposeless religion that teaches that everything came from nothing and that nothing matters. Teachers purposed themselves to openly teach and defend this purposeless religion in schools. Textbooks added these religious tidbits like millions of years and evolution. It was all going to plan.

Step 3: Did the evolutionists tell people they were being religious? Not at all! In fact, this was done so cleverly that people, for over century, didn’t realize this was a religious attack being imposed on the students. Some noticed, but largely, their sparks were snuffed out.

Cosmological evolution (the alleged evolutionary origin of the heavens, matter, space, etc.) and chemical evolution (life allegedly coming from non-life, which violated the Law of Biogenesis) now joined geological (alleged millions of years of geological rock layers slowly forming) and biological evolution (alleged changes from a single-celled organism to what we have today) as tenets openly taught in the classroom. Repeatedly, teachers and textbooks constantly called the religious tenets of evolution “history” or “science.”

This may sound strange to modern observers, but no ancient historians ever said or recorded any of the alleged evolutionary history that evolutionists say is history! For instance, the “Out of Africa” evolutionary religious position that Darwin taught originated with him; it doesn’t come from ancient historians, by the way. It’s just a modern religious belief imposed on people today who have been deceived into believing it.

The Big Bang (the most common form of cosmological evolution), millions of years, chemical evolution, and “changing of a single-celled organism into a human” cannot be observed and have never been observed or repeated. Thus, it is not science because science is observable and repeatable! And yet these evolutionary religious perspectives are commonly, yet erroneously, called “science” to this very day.

Step 4: A common tactic from evolutionists of the past (and even the present) is when evolution is questioned, they immediately turn it around and say that those questioning it are being religious and trying to insert or push religion. So, thinking logically about their false religion is somehow being “religious” from their perspective. It’s just a distraction to the fact that secular humanism is a religion—and many teachers were being convinced that secular humanism wasn’t a religion which made this so much easier.

But notice how few people point out the logical fallacies in the evolutionary religion.[1] Did you ever wonder why? In the 1950s, when evolution was being taught to students, those students would go into logic class and immediately see the fallacies of an evolutionary worldview. So, what happened? The evolutionary camp effectively removed logic from the curriculum and it only exists as a rare elective in some places to this day. Remember the tactic: "Remove that which opposes your religion.” Kids were now taught what to think, not how to think.

Evolutionists even went to court to defend their religion with the famous Scopes Trial in 1925. Though they lost the case, they cleverly set a precedent to remove God and the Bible from the classroom (education is a Christian concept, by the way) and slyly deceived people into believing their view wasn’t religious.

People didn’t realize that both views were religious—while Christianity is logical and sound (and the basis for education in the first place), the evolutionary position is illogical and unsound. For instance, in the evolutionary religion, which is based on naturalism and materialism, then logic—which isn’t material—can’t exist; but neither can knowledge, intelligence, truth, love, or science because none of these are material either!

Nevertheless, Christianity was slowly removed to the point that by the 1960s, the Bible, prayer, and hosts of Christian principles were removed from the classroom. However, not all of Christianity was removed—educational institutions still exist (again, education is a Christian concept), students and faculty still adhere to the Christian doctrine of clothing, and they regularly close for Christian holidays like Saturday (Sabbath) and Sunday (The Lord’s Day).

Interestingly, schools tend to like Christian morality—like not lying, cheating, raping, stealing, or murdering—but with the kids being taught contradictory secular morality at these institutions, there are immense problems in state classrooms all the time (school shootings, lack of effort, sexual attacks, child murder, etc.). State schools are almost an embarrassment in the Western world, where students struggle to discern basics like if they are male or female today.

Step 5: After the evolutionists took control of the education system in America (and elsewhere), they convinced textbook companies, politicians, teachers’ unions, and teachers to embrace this religion wholeheartedly. They have forced out Christian teachers one after another. They have been getting compromised Christians to sign off on evolutionary views—even Darwin did this in the late 1800s with Asa Gray, a Christian who he convinced to follow the evolutionary religion and just add God to it.

Today, hosts of evolutionary believers simply tack God onto their belief system. There are organizations that exist today that mix evolution and the Bible (i.e., syncretism), thinking this a good idea (e.g., mixing Christianity with tenets of the religion of secular humanism like evolution, big bang, etc.).

Government funding is almost exclusively given to evolutionary researchers, and tax dollars are regularly given to evolution-based schools. The evolutionary religion (various forms of secular humanism) has free rein at each level of education funded by the government as the state-established religion. And yet, few have any clue that it is a religion—even those who were taught it. They were convinced of this religion without ever being taught it was a religion. Maybe you have been as well.

Step 6: By the 1980s, the religion of humanism was dominant in education all across the Western world (and remains to this day). Popular evolutionists, like John Dunphy (an atheistic evolutionist), were bold enough to reveal the goal all along. The evolutionists had control of the classroom, education, textbooks, and government support, so now nothing could seemingly stop them from revealing their hand. Here is what evolutionist John Dunphy said in the 1980s:

“I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being. These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level—preschool, day care, or large state university. The classroom must and will become an arena of conflict between the old and the new—the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of humanism.”[2]  

Yes, he just put it right out there—the secular humanistic evolutionists were trying to remove the religion of Christianity and replace it with the faith and religion of humanism, and they cleverly did it. How many people reading this were influenced by the religion of humanism with tenets like millions of years, the Big Bang, and evolution? I was. I bet many of you were too.

Notice that the evolutionists cleverly convinced people that it was their view vs. religion—Yet it was religion vs. religion the whole time. The real question is which one is the true religion? Since materialistic religions can’t consistently (within their professed religion) explain immaterial concepts like truth, then it is false.

Conclusion

What we need to do, first and foremost, is to recognize that secular humanism (e.g., atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, evolutionism) is a religion with a lot of money and adherents permeated throughout the school system. Why is it that this religion gets free tax dollars and free rein in the government classroom that says they don’t promote religion?

The reason is simply that most people have been deceived into thinking it is not a religion. I feel sorry for people who were deceived in this way. Perhaps this short article (yeah, I could have written a whole book on this! 😊) will wake people up a little to “recognize” this religion in government schools.

If I can be bold, in many places around the USA, education today has become a bit of a joke. If you, your kids, and grandkids are in the secular education system, perhaps you need to reconsider that. It is failing because the religious tenets being taught in these secular institutions lead to hopelessness. If everything came from nothing (e.g., the Big Bang) and nothing matters, why do you think kids don’t care about their education?

Education is a biblical concept from the pages of Scripture (e.g., Exodus 18:20, Proverbs 22:6, etc.). Obviously, other religions can benefit by borrowing education, but it won’t do very well without God and His Word. It’s time to question the religion of evolutionary secular humanism and its many tenets that permeate our society. Now for the really big question—what can you do to help remove this religion that parasites your tax dollars to permeate the school system?

Images: Bodie Hodge, Presentation Library 1.2 

---

[1] See Jason Lisle’s book Discerning Truth (Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2010) for a meticulous look at evolutionary fallacies.

[2] J. Dunphy, “A Religion for a New Age,” The Humanist, Jan.–Feb. 1983, 23, 26.

Happy Holidays!

“What holidays are there anyway?”

Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI

Biblical Authority Ministries, December 1, 2024 (originally published in 2019 in booklet form)

Introduction

‘Tis the season for “Happy Holidays”. We hear it in the stores as we are doing our “holiday” shopping. From November to January, we often hear this phrase and others like it, including “Happy New Year”, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Christmas”, and have nativity scenes (Christ in a manger scene) and Christkind/Christkindl (meaning Christ child)[1] celebrations, and so on.

But in today’s Western Culture, people are pressured to stray away from “Merry Christmas”, and gravitate toward “Happy Holidays”. Christian elements associated with Christmas are disappearing and so is the terminology.

We’re often told that it is safer to say “Happy Holidays” or write “X-mas” instead of “Merry Christmas” so you don’t offend those who oppose Christ and Christmas. In other words, the society is now quickly catering to an anti-Christ position—“so what!” if it offends Christians.

But does Happy Holidays really help the anti-Christian position? How should Christians react? Let’s evaluate these questions in more detail.

What Holidays Are in Reference When We Say “Happy Holidays”?

I’m often surprised how many people fail to name even a few of the holidays that are part of the Christmas season (which runs from the fourth Sunday’s before Christmas until January 6^th—more on this in a moment). Would you have answered Boxing Day, St. Nicholas’s Day, Feast of Epiphany, or Advent Sundays? Some do, some say…“Whaaaat?”

These days are just some of the holidays within the Christmas season. The Christmas season is broken into three parts:

1.      Advent Season

2.      Christmas

3.      The Twelve Days of Christmas

Advent Season of Christmas

The first part is the anticipation and preparation of Christmas and is sometimes called Penitential Season of Christmas but normally the Advent Season. Advent means “arrival” or “dawning” of an event. For instance, when Jesus Christ became a man and stepped into history, this is called the “first advent”. When Jesus comes again, as He promised He would, that is called the “second advent” or the Second Coming.   

The Advent Season celebrates Jesus’ first advent and begins with the first Advent Sunday and continues for the next three Sundays prior to Christmas. Because it is always four weeks prior to Christmas, it moves around on our modern Gregorian calendar (the calendar most of us use today). But it typically begins in late November or very early December. It tends to be near the USA holiday that always falls on the fourth Thursday of November called “Thanksgiving”.[2]

Each Sunday leading up to Christmas is respectively the First Advent Sunday, Second Advent Sunday, Third Advent Sunday, and Fourth or Final Advent Sunday. The Advent or Penitential Season of Christmas draws to a close on Christmas Eve—the evening before Christmas.

Commonly, we tend to mark the beginning of the Christmas season with the close of Thanksgiving in the USA and businesses mark it with an incredible shopping day that has morphed into Black Friday[3] (in some cases stores start the evening before and call it Black Thursday).[4]

The Advent Season is also close to St. Andrew’s Day which is always celebrated on November 30^th. So, this holiday is sometimes part of the Advent Season and sometimes immediately precedes it. Traditionally, St. Andrew’s Day (not at the conclusion of Thanksgiving) had been used as the marker to indicate the Advent Season was upon us.  

Falling on December 6^th is St. Nicholas’s Day. St. Nicholas of Myra was a bishop (minister/pastor) in the AD 300s. He died on December 6^th, hence the day that is used to celebrate his life. He was an orphan who became a wealthy man living in a nation we call Turkey today traditionally known as Asia Minor (the town of Myra was later called Kale and is now called Demre).

St. Nicholas used his wealth to help the less fortunate (for example, he kept some poor young girls out of forced prostitution by paying their debt). He was said to have hung stockings of coins for the poor on windowsills and so on. For his faith in Christianity, he was persecuted by Roman Emperor Diocletian and put in jail for a time. He was released by Emperor Constantine about AD 325.

Because St. Nicholas’s Day always falls in the Christmas season, it makes sense why Christmas today has a corrupted version of him during the Christmas season. Saint Nickolas is corrupted into Santa Claus (think Sainta niclaus).

Sadly, attributes of God are applied to St. Nicholas. This paganized version of St. Nicholas sees all, judges between naughty and nice, blessings (gifts) comes from him, can be everywhere at the same time, etc. It’s better to leave St. Nicholas, as St. Nicholas—and as a result, many Christians avoid using Santa Claus as a deceptive tool on children.

Christmas Day

The second part of the Christmas season is of course Christmas Day (also called The Nativity of Our Lord), celebrated on December 25^th. Christmas has been widely celebrated by underground Christians and documented by Christians since about AD 200. Christmas became very popular when Christianity was allowed to be out in the open after the Edicts of Toleration and Milan in AD 311 and 313 respectively.

Popular early church father Sextus Julius Africanus wrote the Chronographiai around AD 221 which put the conception of Christ at March 25—9 months prior to December 25^th the date being used for Christmas. For context, this is about 125 years since the last of Jesus’s apostles died. Some Christians still celebrate an ancient feast on March 25^th called the Feast of Annunciation (also called Conceptio Christi, Solemnity of the Annuciation, Lady Day, or Feast of the Incarnation) celebrating the immaculate conception of Christ.[5]

Is December 25^th the actual day of Christ’s birth? That is a great question with mixed reviews, but what we know is that widespread use of celebrating December 25^th in churches across the Roman Empire as the birth and first nativity of Christ was very early.

In the AD 300s, Ephraim the Syrian writing about the first nativity or Christmas points out that, “All men honour the day of Thy birth. Thou righteous One, keep Thou the glory of Thy birth; for even Herod honoured the day of His Birth!”[6] John Cassian points out the connection between Christ’s birth and its connection to Epiphany (the Twelfth Day of Christmas) in the late AD 300s and early AD 400s said:  

“In the country of Egypt this custom is by ancient tradition observed that—when Epiphany is past, which the priests of that province regard as the time, both of our Lord's baptism and also of His birth in the flesh, and so celebrate the commemoration of either mystery not separately as in the Western provinces but on the single festival of this day…”[7]

December 25^th was defended by Sulpitius Severus in consultation with Sabinus and Rufinus in Sacred History (Historia Sacra) chapter 27 in AD 403. The point is that Christmas, the birth of Christ, was recognized and celebrated from the early days of the church.

X-mas

Christmas is also denoted as X-mas/X’mas/Xmas. The letter Chi (X) in Greek was used as the short hand notation of Christ, being the first letter of the name Christ or more specifically Christos (Χριστός).

Today, a few people unwittingly think if they use “X-mas”, they are deleting the name Christ from this holiday because of anti-Christian sentiment. However, X-mas is an ancient Christian usage for Christmas whether they realize it or not.

Pagan Holiday Copycat?

Some modern claims about Christmas is that it is born out of pagan celebrations such as:

1.      Sol Invictus

2.      Saturnalia

Sol Invictus means unconquered sun. “Sol” means sun and is where we get the name “solar” for instance. Sol Invictus [or more properly Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birth of the Unconquered Sun)] was the celebration of the Roman sun “god” in the latter stages of the Roman Empire and also the patron of Roman soldiers.

Sol Invictus, however, came into existence well after we have recorded history that Christmas was widely celebrated. Sol Invictus was first started by Roman emperor Lucius Aurelian in AD 274. If anything, the pagans took Christmas and wanted a pagan alternative.

Whether Sol Invictus is related to the Winter Solstice is uncertain. If it were meant to be, then they missed it by a couple of days! The shortest day of the year is the Winter Solstice between December 20-23, where Sol Invictus falls on December 25^th. Solstices mark the changing of the seasons and the godly, since Adam’s creation in Genesis 1, have utilized the sun, moon, and stars to mark these events (e.g., Genesis 1:14).

Saturnalia, is obviously the popular festival to the “god” Saturn (“god” of the harvest and time) in the Roman pantheon. It was celebrated on December 17^th. Later it was expanded into a three-day and then seven-day festival marking the winter sowing season. It is the equivalent festival of the Greek Kronia with the Greek equivalent “god” called Chronos/Chronus/Kronos/Cronus, who is the “god” of harvest and time (the name reflects time, think of chronology, chronometer, etc.).  

Regardless, this festival was always finished before Christmas anyway. So, if Christians were taking this pagan day and making a Christian alternative, they failed miserably! They missed it by about a week!

Interestingly, the Roman Saturn (where we get the name Saturday and the planet Saturn) and the Greek equivalent Chronos, is a corruption of Noah. An ancient historian Eupolemus (as preserved by Eusebius of Caesarea in the early to mid-AD 300s) writes,

“the Babylonians say, that the first was Belus, called Cronus or Saturn (that is, Noah), and of him was begotten another Belus and Chanaan (it should be read Cham), and he (i.e. Ham) begat Chanaan, the father of the Phoenicians; and of him another son, Chus, was begotten, whom the Greeks call Asbolos, the father of the Ethiopians, and the brother of Mestraim, the father of the Egyptians.”[8]

For the reader, you should be able to recognize Chanaan/Canaan in this list, whom the God judged and gave their land to the Israelites lead by Joshua Also, Belus is a title passed from Noah and to his son Ham/Cham and so forth. Although not mentioned here, this title ultimately passes as far down as Nimrod, the son of Cush (Chus), and was corrupted in Bel and Baal, which is where the pagan Baal worship in the Old Testament came from—merely a form of ancestor worship.

But of significant note, Chronos or Saturn is Noah. It is a corruption of Noah to a godlike status.  Sadly, this makes sense. Noah and his early progeny lived longer lifespans (Noah lived 350 years after the Flood, Shem lived 500 years after the Flood, and so forth).

As the ages subsequently drop, these patriarchs outlived great, great, great grandchildren. Noah, for instance, outlived his great, great, great, grandson Peleg![9] So many of these patriarchs in cultures were looked at as though they were “immortals” or “gods”. These “gods” still died, but they just outlived everyone else.

Another thing that happens is that some of these patriarchs and their descendants get mixed up in their oral passed-down accounts. And the accounts themselves get warped, paganized, and embellished.[10]

Fascinatingly, Noah, the oldest patriarch after the Flood who became the first farmer and trainer of farmers (Genesis 9), is corrupted into the “god” of the harvest and time. The point is that Saturn/Chronos, which is where Saturnalia and Kronia come from, is actually based on a biblical person—Noah. So that day really shouldn’t belong to pagans in the first place.

Twelve Days of Christmas

For the third and final part of the Christmas season, we have the Twelve Days of Christmas also known as Twelfthtide, which is the celebration of Christ’s significance and His work. Usually, when I mention the Twelve Days of Christmas, people immediately begin thinking of the popular Christmas song. In fact, many in today’s culture have forgotten about the Twelve Days of Christmas and just think it is a popular song everyone sings at Christmas! Interestingly, the song is based on the real Twelve Days of Christmas!    

The Twelve Days of Christmas begin the day after Christmas which is called Boxing Day. No—it has nothing to do with the sport, boxing. The Twelfth or Final Day of Christmas is the Feast of the Epiphany or simply, Epiphany. The Feast of Epiphany goes back to celebrations recorded in the AD 200s as well with the Homilies (The Fourth Homily) between AD 213 and 270.[11]

I’ve noticed that many of the Twelve Days of Christmas are shared commonly across the board of Christians around the world. However, a few of the days are specific or celebrated on different days to various denominations or church splits. For those who are not familiar with basic Church history there have been three major splits in the church. They are:

1.      Oriental Church Split occurred about AD 450, when churches from Africa to India separated.

2.      The Great Schism which happened about AD 1000 was a split between the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western Church (Rome).

3.      The Reformation was when Protestant churches split from Rome to return to scriptural authority.

We are currently living in the midst of another (fourth) split I’ve dubbed the Creation Reformation. This is where some churches are mixing their religion with secular humanism (naturalism/millions of years/evolution) and then there are those churches who stand on Scripture as the truth in all areas. The latter are churches that adhere to biblical authority.

As a note, many Christians coming out of the Reformation retained the Christmas season—Twelvetide and all—however, some Christians later became opposed due to the pagan infiltration occurring during the festivities during the Christmas season. One group was the Puritans who went so far as to legally ban Christmas in New England, but this was not to last. Christmas regained its importance in the churches and Christmas even became a national holiday in 1870 in the United States.   

As mentioned, a few of the holidays of the Twelve Days of Christmas tend to vary based on denomination and splits—so bear with me here. As an example, many in the Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7^th and the Twelve Days end on January 19^th (so their days would have to be adjusted calendrically).

Also, some count the twelve days beginning with Christmas, where others begin the day after Christmas (the latter is the more common method). The point is there are plenty of variations and liberties taken on the specifics of these twelve days of celebration. 

With those liberties in mind, here are the Twelve Days of Christmas geared toward those generically in the Protestant Reformation with a just few of the many deviations listed in brackets[12]:

Day 1: December 26^th Boxing Day or Stephen’s Day [Synaxis/Celebration of Mary—Orthodox Church (OC), Wren’s Day—Ireland and a few others]

The First Day of Christmas is known as Stephen’s Day or  Boxing Day—the first Martyr of the Church after the resurrection and he gave his all as a testimony to Jesus Christ. It consists of the Feast of Stephen. This is a day dedicated to giving to the poor. It is also called “Boxing Day”, in remembrance of giving boxes of food to the poor. Read Acts 6:8-8:2.

Day 2: December 27^th Apostles Day [Stephen’s Day—OC, Feast of St. John—Anglican]  

The Second Day of Christmas (Apostles Day) remembers the apostles beginning with John the Apostle, “whom our Lord loved” and was present at the Crucifixion. It is customary to light candles on this day because John spoke of light versus darkness in a spiritual sense. Traditionally, the second day of Christmas was also a day to bless wine and toast it (in moderation of course)—but that can be left up local church discretions. Read Psalm 104:15, Amos 9:13-14, John 2:3-11, and 1 John 1:1-2:3.

Apostles

1. John son of Zebedee and brother of James
2. Andrew (Peter’s brother)
3. James the son of Zebedee
4. Simon Peter (Cephas)
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew
7. Thomas
8. Matthew the tax collector
9. James the son of Alphaeus
10. Lebbaeus Thaddaeus
11. Simon the Canaanite
12. Judas Iscariot, who forfeited his right as an Apostle
13. Matthias (Acts 1:20-26) Replaced Judas

14. Paul (2 Corinthians 11:5, 2 Corinthians 12:11, etc.)
15. Barnabas (Acts 14:14)
16. James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19)
17. Jesus is THE Apostle (Hebrews 3:1)

 

Apostle Paul as depicted in an early model at the Creation Museum

Day 3: December 28^th Ember Day or Holy Innocents Day

The Third Day of Christmas is Ember Day where we recall the martyrs, particularly the Holy Innocents (those killed by Herod seeking to kill Jesus). It is a day to pray and fast for orphans and children; and to teach people why the modern form of child sacrifice, abortion, is wrong. Read Exodus 1:8-2 and Matthew 3:12-21.

Day 4: December 29^th Martyrs and Sacrifice Day [Holy Innocents Day—OC]

The Fourth Day of Christmas remembers all who have been exiled, murdered, and persecuted for defending the faith against all opposition (Martyrs and Sacrifice Day). It is a time to remember pastors/ministers/bishops, missionaries, Christian leaders (i.e., deacons and elders), apologists, and even previous reformers and Christians leaders and all that they sacrifice(d) to follow Christ. It is a time to encourage current leaders to defend the authority of God and His Word above all others. Gifts can be given to current leaders to show support and encouragement. Read Isaiah 52:7, Romans 10:13-17, and Ephesians 4:11-16.

Day 5: December 30^th Holy Family Day [Thomas Becket Day—Anglican]

The Fifth Day of Christmas, we celebrate Holy Family Day. This consists of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as well as the rest of the Holy Family including Jesus’ earthly half-siblings (i.e., James, Jude/Judas, Joses, Simon and His sisters, e.g., Matthew 13:55). This is a time to bless our immediate and extended families and pray for them and dedicate them to the Lord. Read Matthew 1:18-25 and Mark 6:3.

Day 6: December 31^st Hogmanay Day or New Year’s Eve [Feast of St. Silvester—Roman Catholic Church (RCC), St. Egwin Day, Three Kings Day—Hispanic and Latin America]

New Year’s Eve is the Sixth Day of Christmas, also known as Hogmanay/Hogmane Day (others have Hoggo-nott or Hoog Min Dag, meaning great love day or holy month or holy morning—for the looking forward to the first day of the year). This is the day for traditional games like shooting a bow (archery), javelin toss, and in our modern vernacular, shooting contests. Granted this is on our modern Gregorian calendar while different days were the first and last day of the year depending on calendar. To see significant events that occurred on the first day of the first month in Scripture, see: Genesis 8:13, Exodus 40:2, Exodus 40:17, 2 Chronicles 29:17, Ezra 7:9, Ezra 10:17, and Ezekiel 29:17-20.

Day 7: January 1^st New Year’s Day [Circumcision of Christ or Feast of St. Basil and St. Gregory—OC/RCC, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God Day—RCC, The Holy Name Day—Anglican]

The Seventh Day of Christmas celebrates the new year and a new beginning, for Christians to celebrate passing from death to life as a new creation in Christ (e.g., John 5:24, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 3:14). It is a time to share your testimony to your family and friends of how the Lord saved you. Then, communion should follow it. Read Psalm 119:88, 1 Corinthians 1:4-7, 2 Timothy 1:8, 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, and 1 Corinthians 11:20-29.

Day 8: January 2^nd Church Father’s Day [Forefeast of the Theophany—OC]

The Eighth Day of Christmas is the day to call to mind the church fathers (Church Father’s Day) and how they stayed the course to which Jesus Christ and the apostles laid the groundwork. It remembers their steadfast proclamation of teaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Try to call to mind certain early church fathers that the Apostles taught and delivered the faith that was to be once for all, [e.g., Timothy (to whom Paul wrote and traveled), Jude (author of Jude and brother of Christ), Clement (Philippians 4:3), Ignatius and Polycarp (disciples of John), Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:6)]. Read Ephesians 2:19-22 and 2 Peter 3:2.

Day 9: January 3^rd Holy Name of Jesus Day or Triune Day [Malachi Day—OC]

The Ninth Day of Christmas is the day we celebrate the naming of “Jesus.” This is a day to recall the names of Jesus and the names of God (Mighty God, Elohim, Jehovah, Prince of Peace, I Am, Messiah, Son of God, The Word, Christ, etc.) and their significance it could be called Triune Day, as names of all three persons of one triune Godhead[13] is to be discussed and the Athanasius Creed[14] is to be read after the names of Jesus have been discussed.[15] All of the footnoted items here can be used on this holy day celebration. Read Philippians 2:10-11.

Day 10: January 4^th Presentation Day or Simeon and Anna’s Day [Apostles Day—OC, some denote this day as the Holy Name of Jesus Day]

The Tenth Day of Christmas is Presentation Day or Simeon and Anna’s Day, when Jesus was presented at the Temple on the 40^th day and the turtledoves/pigeons were sacrificed (customary for the those who were poor). Both Simeon and Anna saw the blessed Christ child. It is a day to present ourselves and our children and grandchildren to Lord and ask for forgiveness of our sin (repentance). This 40^th day was prior to the reception of precious gifts of the wise men, which included gold, to offer such a humble sacrifice. Read Leviticus 12:1-4 and Luke 2:22-39.

Day 11: January 5^th Angel and Shepherds Day or Epiphany Eve [Feast of St. Simeon Stylites—RCC, St. Elizabeth Seton Day—American RCC]

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas it is a time to remember the shepherds and angels (Angel and Shepherds Day or Epiphany Eve).[16] The angels announced the coming of the advent of the Lord to Mary, Joseph, Zacharias, and the shepherds who were the first to worship Jesus. It is wise to read the entire account of Jesus birth in both Matthew and Luke. It is also a time to plan for the feast of the Epiphany, which occurs the next day. Read Matthew 1:20-24, Matthew 2:13-19, Luke 1:13-21, Luke 1:26-38, and Luke 2:8-18.

Day 12: January 6^th Epiphany or Feast of Epiphany

The Twelfth Day of Christmas is the celebration of the Epiphany—when the magi visited the Christ-child and presented gifts to Him – gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Though this is honored on the 12^th day, it was not until after the 40^th day when Jesus was presented at the Temple that the magi arrived.[17]

The magi saw Jesus at a house, not the manger scene and the Holy Family immediately went to Egypt for some time after the magi to flee from Herod, the king ruling out of Jerusalem. This is the final day of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Traditionally, it was a time for great feasting and drinking wine (in moderation and under local church discretion) and presentation of the final gifts to your family. Read Matthew 2:1-12.

After this last day of Christmas, the Christmas season officially comes to a close, end-capping the traditional term “Happy Holidays”.  As a caveat, I’m not telling readers to celebrate or not to celebrate these holidays and involve themselves in the respective traditions. Instead, I’ll leave that to your family and church’s discretion. 

What Is a Holiday?

A holiday is literally a “holy day”, being derived from the Old English hāligdæg (hālig meaning holy and dæg meaning day). Naturally, it is predicated on holiness which is an attribute of the Holy God of the Bible.

Holy means sacred, spiritually perfect, hallowed, and godly. This is why we call the Bible the Holy Bible. Bible literally means the book or more properly, the collection of books from God. Furthermore, it is why Christians strive to live a godly and holy life as God patterned for man in the life of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:16).

The God of the Bible began instituting holy days in the Old Testament as types and shadows of God of Himself (Colossians 2:16-17). Some of these include:

1.      Weekly Sabbath (e.g., Exodus 16:23-29, Exodus 20:8-11)[18]

2.      Passover (e.g., Exodus 12:1-4; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:1-14; 28:16; Deuteronomy 16:1-3, 4-7; Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12-26; John 2:13; 11:55; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 11:28)

3.      Feast of Unleavened Bread (e.g., Exodus 12:15-20; 39; 13:3-10; 23:15; 34:18; Leviticus 23:6-8; Numbers 28:17-25; Deuteronomy 16:3, 4, 8; Mark 14:1,12; Act 12:3)

4.      Firstfruits (e.g., Exodus 23:19; 34:26; Leviticus 23:9-14; Deuteronomy 26:5,9-10.)

5.      Feast of Weeks (Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:15-21; Numbers 28:26-31; Deuteronomy 16:9-12)

6.      Feast of Trumpets (e.g., Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6; 2 Samuel 6:15)

7.      Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur, e.g., Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32; Numbers 29:7-11)

8.      Feast of Tabernacles/Booths (e.g., Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:33-38; 39-43; Numbers 29:12-34; Deuteronomy 16:13-15; 1 Kings 8:3; 2 Chronicles 7:1; Zechariah 14:16-19; John 7:2)

There was also a Jubilee year, after seven cycles of seven years (49 years), the fiftieth year was the Jubilee! The point is that God gave holidays to man. In a nutshell, holidays exist by being predicated on the existence of the Holy God of the Bible.

The New Testament continues in this tradition with the Lord’s Day, the first day of the week (e.g., Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Revelation 1:10)—which is when Christ resurrected. The Breaking of Bread, also called the Last Supper, Lord’s Supper, Communion, or The Elements is a New Testament regular observance of the Passover fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus, the Christ, is the final and perfect Passover lamb. He was sacrificed and resurrected as the ultimate victor once for all. The Lord’s Supper celebrates Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.

Celebrating new holidays to the Lord is a Christian freedom. As the Bible says:

“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.” (Romans 14:5-6, NKJV)

We see something like this in the intertestamental period. The Jews came up with a new festival—Hanukkah. 

Hanukkah

Just as man is made in the image of the God (Genesis 1:26-27) who instituted festivals, so man has honored God with new festivals. The godly Jews, for example, honored God with a holiday when they developed an 8-day winter festival called Hanukkah or Festival of Dedication (“Hanukkah” is derived from the word “dedication” in Hebrew). It was to rededicate the Second Temple and one tradition is to progressively light a special 9-branch candle holder called a menorah. This is why this holy day is sometimes called the Festival of Lights.

Jesus had no problem joining this celebration at the Second Temple of God in Jerusalem approximately 2,000 years ago (John 10:22-23). Jews often celebrate this, but so do many Christians as a way of honoring God.

There is nothing inherently wrong with a Christian celebrating this, as Christ did as well. And Christians are happy to include this as part of the phrase Happy Holidays. This is not a holiday prescribed in the Bible, and yet, Jesus shows us the freedom we can have make new holidays dedicated to the Lord.

Conclusion

“Happy Holidays” is a common Christian phrase that largely includes the entire Christmas season. It extends from the fourth Sunday prior to Christmas (First Advent Sunday) until January 6^th with the Feast of Epiphany. Clearly, there is a lot in between. But let’s not forget the reason for the season.

Jesus Christ, the eternal and uncreated Son of God, became a man (John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1)—remaining fully God and becoming fully man. Becoming a man—our relative—was a task all too easy for an all-powerful God. Christ stepped into history to ultimately die on a cross for sin.

The infinite Son of God took the full measure of wrath for our sin upon Himself. He had the power to lay down His life and take it up again (e.g., John 10:17-18). This shows He alone holds the power over life and death. The infinite punishment we deserve for sin against a perfect, infinite, just, and holy God, was satisfied in Jesus’ sacrifice. 

The Christmas season should be a time to reflect how God alone was the one who made salvation possible through the blood of Christ. It shows the love that God has for us by sending the Babe in a manger to rescue sinners.

To purchase copies of this article in booklet form for witnessing purposes please visit Answer in Genesis. 

---

[1] German for child or children is “kind, kinder”, which is also the root for our English kindergarten.

[2] Originally, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the last Thursday in November, but in 1939, it was adjusted to be the fourth Thursday of November.

[3] The name “Black Friday” comes from companies selling so much on that day that it gets them out of the red and into the black—in other words, it helps companies get from being in debt (in the red) to making a profit (in the black).

[4] In ancient times, the day often began at sunset—we still see this on the Babylonian/Jewish Calendar. This is a reflection of cultures as they retain the evening then morning cycle which is how God created successively during Creation Week (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

[5] The Feast of Annunciation was originally April 6^th in some churches but it represented more than just the conception then. It also collectively included things like Christ’s birth, circumcision, and baptism.

[6] Ephraim the Syrian, On the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh, Hymn III AD 306-373, https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/post-nicene/vol-13-gregory-ephraim-and-aphrahat/ephraim-syrus/hymn-iii.html.

[7] John Cassian, Conferences of John Cassian, Chapter 2, Of the custom which is kept up in the Province of Egypt for signifying the time of Easter, AD 360-435, https://www.ccel.org/ccel/cassian/conferences.ii.xi.ii.html.

[8] Eusebius of Caesarea, Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 17. p. 419.

[9] Bodie Hodge, Tower of Babel, Master Books, Green Forest, AR, 2013, pp. 199-204.

[10] This is why in some instances, we see the Saturn and Chronos figure convoluted into Japheth, Kittim, or Ham (some of Noah’s descendants in Genesis 10) in various accounts.

[11] The Fourth Homily, On the Holy Theophany, or on Christ’s Baptism, AD 213-270, https://www.biblestudytools.com/history/early-church-fathers/ante-nicene/vol-6-third-century/gregory-thaumaturgus/fourth-homily.html. 

[12] Taken from: B. Hodge, The Twelve Days of Christmas (for Protestants), Biblical Authority Ministries, December 16, 2015, https://biblicalauthorityministries.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/the-twelve-days-of-christmas/, Used by Permission.

[13] God is Triune from Scripture: https://answersingenesis.org/who-is-god/the-trinity/god-is-triune/.

[14] The Athanasius Creed can be found here: https://carm.org/christianity/creeds-and-confessions/athanasian-creed-500-ad.

[15] Some names can be found here: http://www.gotquestions.org/names-of-God.html and http://www.gotquestions.org/names-Jesus-Christ.html.

[16] January 5^th also happens to be my birthday!

[17] This is because they sacrificed doves (Luke 2:24), a sign of being poor, they clearly hadn’t received the expensive gifts from the magi. Those gifts likely help fund their trip to Egypt to avoid Herod. Was it one year and twelve days after the birth of Christ that the magi arrived? It’s possible. Nonetheless, Epiphany, which is the twelfth day after Christmas, is an ancient day set aside to honor this event.

[18] See Hosea 2:11, Colossians 2:16.