There are two basic types of information about the calendar of the
Roman Republic: actual calendars themselves, called fasti; and
literary references to calendar events. This article covers all available pre-Julian sources which mention Bruma or should mention it if it were a festival in the old Roman Republic.
This article is a posting of all available occurrences of the word "bruma" and its variants in the extant ancient Latin literature available from Packard Humanities Institute Classic Latin Text.
The information is posted here as a research tool and reference for those interested in the question of bruma/Brumalia the winter solstice and its relationship to the origins of Christmas.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Latin Text:
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
expectratio gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos,
Domines, Deus noster.
English Translation:
O Emmanuel, Our King and Lawgiver,
The Desire of the nations, and their Savior:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1046:
O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord,
the anointed for the nations and
their | Savior: *
Come and save us, O | Lord our God.
Emmanuel is the Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל “God With Us.” This title
for Christ refers Him as the Restoration of fallen sinful humanity to
the presence of God. Drawing on Isaiah 7:14
this title is explicitly incarnational, that is, it refers to the fact
of God taking upon Himself human flesh. This final antiphon summarizes
the
One
of the many points falsely claimed in Christ Myth Theory about the
supposed dependence of Christ upon the legends of Egypt is the claim
that Horus was born of a virgin.
The claim is utterly false.
Egyptian mythology is not a single, monolithic source. The legends
differed from time to time and region to region. But there is a very
consistent treatment of this particular point in Egyptian mythology.
This post contains graphic language and visually graphic Egyptian
artwork about this particular claim. Both the language and the artwork
are necessary to demonstrate the claim as invalid. However some readers
may not wish to go further in this post.
O Come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Latin Text:
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
English Translation:
O King of the Gentiles, and their Desire,
The Corner-stone, Who madest both one:
Come and save man,
Whom You have formed out of the dust of the earth.
LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1042:
O King of the nations, the ruler
they long for, the cornerstone
uniting all | people: *
Come and save us all,
whom You formed | out of clay.
Rex Gentium means King of Nations, based primarily on Isaiah 10:11,
though the title for Christ is used in many other passages. This
antiphon is a confession that the Christ is the Savior of all nations.
The petition is based on the fact that all humanity is descended from
Adam, whom God formed out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7).
Their fall into sin was the fall of all nations from God. The Promise
of in the curse on Satan is the Promise to all nations. All nations were
O Come, Thou Dayspring from on high,
and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight.
Latin Text:
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae,
et sol justitiae:
veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris,
et umbra mortis.
English Translation:
O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.
LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1039:
O Dayspring, splendor of light
ever- | lasting: *
Come and enlighten those who
sit in darkness and in the shad- | ow
of death.
Oriens means “Dayspring” or “Morning Star” or “Sunrise.”
This title for Christ is found throughout Scripture. The purpose of this
title is point out that Christ is the light of the world, that His gift
of salvation is like the dawn of a new day after a dark night of
terror. The theme of the O Antiphons builds again. Here in Oriens the
Creator of light on the first day. He is the Creator of the Sun, Moon,
and Stars on the fourth day (Wednesday); which He appointed not only to
give light to the world, but to be for signs and to mark seasons. He is
the Greater Light that has come into this world.
The theme builds from creation, to the Promise to Abraham, to the
Incarnation, to Transfiguration, to the Resurrection of Christ, and to
the Throne of Christ in His Kingdom of Glory.
Study on O Oriens
In the beginning the world was shapeless and empty. It could do
nothing for itself. “Darkness was on the face of the deep.” The Word of
God declared “Let
O Come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav’nly home,
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Latin Text:
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel,
qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperuit:
veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
English Translation
O Key of David, O royal Power of Israel,
controlling at your will the gate of heaven:
Come, break down the prison walls of death
for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;
and lead your captive people into freedom.
LSB “O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1035:
O Key of David and scepter of theHouse of Israel, You open and no one
can close, You close and no one
can | open: *
Come and rescue the prisoners who
are in darkness and the shad- | ow
of death.
Clavis means Key. This title for Christ is from Revelation 3:7 and is drawn from God’s commission of Eliakim son of Hilkiah in Isaiah 22:22.
The title Key of
Did Christianity Steal the Date of Pagan Winter Solstice Celebrations? The Roman celebration discussed in this article is the multi-day festival of Saturnalia.
The Mis-Use of Roman Sources: Saturnalia
In these articles we have seen the texts from the early Christians that
show their reasons why they calculated particular dates for the
Incarnation and Birth of Christ. These dates were based on the Passover
texts. Even their calculation for the dates of the Creation of the
universe centered on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ at the
Passover.
O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust Thy mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Latin Text:
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
English Translation:
O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
Before You kings will shut their mouths,
To You the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1032:
O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign
before the peoples, before whom all
kings are mute, to whom the nations
will do | homage: *
Come quickly to de- | liver us.
Radix is the Latin word “Root.” The reference is to Isaiah 11:1 and 10:
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse,
Who shall stand as a banner to the people;
For the Gentiles shall seek Him,
And His resting place shall be glorious.”
This title for Christ focuses on the fact that He is the legitimate
Heir to the throne of David. He fulfills the promise made to Abraham and
renewed in David. The genealogy of Christ in Matthew chapter 1
emphasizes that Jesus is the legal Inheritor of the title “Son of David”
the son of Abraham. The prophecy in Isaiah and elsewhere paints the
parallel that the Son of God is the Root of Jesse and ALSO the branch
that grows from the stem of Jesse. The Tree and its branches represent
the inheritance of the Davidic Throne according to God’s Promise. The
tree symbolism also calls to remembrance Christ as the Tree of Life in
Genesis 2-3, in Proverbs, and in Revelation 2:7 and 22:2.
The fact that God, the Creator of Jesse and David would choose to
become the human Son of David, humbling Himself to offer His life in the
place of sinners for
Did Christianity Steal the Date of Pagan Winter Solstice Celebrations? Juvenalia is one of those Roman festivals that is claimed as a winter solstice celebration that was borrowed or baptized by Christians for Christmas. But was it even a winter solstice celebration?
The Mis-Use of Roman Records-Juvenalia
When modern critics of Christian Christmas make claims that Christians
stole the solstice celebrations they usually mix together their ideas of
Roman, Germanic, Nordic, and Celtic winter celebrations into an
anachronistic mash of impossibly conflicting claims. The method is to
overwhelm people with their supposed "information." There is just too
much data for the average person to absorb. Viewers and readers assume
that the people that put the books or programs together must know what
they are talking about since they seem to know so much.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Latin Text:
O Adonai, et dux domus Israel,
qui Moyse in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
English Translation:
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
Who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
And gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
LSB ”O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1029:
O Adonai and ruler of the house of
Israel, who appeared to Moses in
the burning bush and have him the
Law on | Sinai: *
Come with an outstretched arm and re- | deem us.
Adonai is the Hebrew word “Lord.” The word Adonai/Lord
is used in place of the name of God in the reading of the text and in
most English translations of the Bible. This antiphon is a confession
that Jesus is the same Lord Who revealed Himself by name to Moses in the
burning bush (Exodus 3). He is the same Lord who descended upon Mt.
Sinai and declared the Ten Commandments in the hearing of all Israel
(Exodus 19-20). He is the Angel of the Lord who protected
O Wisdom, who proceeds from the mouth of the Most High,
Who reaches from one end to the other,
Who mightily and sweetly orders all things;
Come to teach us the way of prudence.
LSB “O Antiphons” under Hymn 357 and in Treasury of Daily Prayer p. 1025:
O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth
of the Most High, pervading and
permeating all creation, mightily
ordering | all things*
Come and teach us the way
of | prudence.
The Antiphon focuses us on Wisdom as both a title and an attribute of
Christ, that He is the Word of God who speaks for God, that He is with
God as creator of all things, and ruler of all things through his
Wisdom. The petition we bring to Divine Wisdom is that He come and teach
us His way of prudence; to teach us to govern ourselves and guard
ourselves wisely in this world avoiding danger and evil.
A Study for O Sapienta
Sapienta or Wisdom is the title given to the Messiah in the
prophecy of Isaiah 11. Here we have both the Spirit of Wisdom as equated
with the Spirit of the Lord, and the fact that He works through the
judgements of His mouth and the
The hymn “O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel” (TLH 62; LW 31; CW 32; ; ELH 110; LSB 357) is a rendition of the medieval “O Antiphons” also called the “Greater Antiphons.”
An Antiphon
is a selection of Scripture and prayer chanted responsively by the
officiant and assembly. The purpose of the Antiphon is to set the focus
for the reading selected for that particular day of the Church year.
The O Antiphons were to be sung during Vespers one on each
day seven days before the feast of the Nativity of Christ: that is, from
December 17th through the 23rd. Each Antiphon focuses on a Scriptural
title for Christ as He is named in Biblical prophecy and a petition to
Christ to come fulfilling the promise made through that title and
prophecy.
The Messianic prophecies in Isaiah form the heart of the seven antiphons, which draw particularly on Isaiah 11.
The traditional order of the seven antiphons is
(1) Sapientia: “O Wisdom” Isaiah 11:2-3,
(2) Adonai: “O Lord of Might” Isaiah 11:4-5,
(3) Radix Jesse: “O Root/Branch/Rod of Jesse” Isaiah 11:1 and 10,
(4) Clavis David: “O Key of David” Isaiah 22:22,
(5) Oriens: “O Dayspring” Isaiah 9:2,
(6) Rex Gentium: “O Desire of Nations/King of Gentiles” Isaiah 2:4; 9:6; 11:10-12,
(7) Emmanuel: “O Emmanuel” Isaiah 7:14.
When one takes first letters of the titles for Christ in the
antiphons and reads them from right to left they form a Latin acrostic
“Ero Cras” which means “I will
This particular claim toward pagan sources for Christianity and Christian Holy Days goes under various names: Jesus Myth Theory, Jesus Mythicism, Mythicism, Copy-cat Theory, and probably other terms.
The basic claim is that Christ is a fake: an unoriginal copy-cat of some other supposedly more ancient pagan god or gods.
These claims are bunk. Both historians and Biblical theologians have been very thorough in debunking these claims since their earliest times.
A common example that circulates on the web, Twitter, and Facebook is the following graphic:
Most people who share this kind of post do not have the intellectual integrity to bother checking up on these claims. And having a reputation as an Atheist thinker doesn't seem to keep even famous "thinkers" from falling for this fictional bunk.
But the fact is that this falsehood is widely and popularly promoted by people who claim to be objective. Yet they couldn't be bothered to actually do the research.
A short list of recent so-called documentaries that have promoted this falsehood:
But Hitchens, Dawkins, Maher, Atwill, Dan Brown and others are merely repeating the creative fiction of anti-Christian zealots from the 18th century and after. Back then it was hard for people to check up on the scholarship of a published work. Some of these original thinkers were:
Charles-François Dupuis (1742–1809) both argued that Christianity derived from a mixing of various pagan religions. [The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century: 1900-1950 By Walter P. Weaver, 1999, pp. 45, 69] [see also here]
Robert Taylor (1784-1844) began study to become an Anglican clergyman and turned radically against the Church. He claimed that Christianity was a mish-mash of solar myths in his The Diegesis (1829) and began a society to undermine the Church and challenge lectures and debates.
Richard Carlile (1790-1843) joined up with Robert Taylor in 1829 to form the "Infidel Home Missionary Tour", influencing a young student named Charles Darwin. Taylor was dubbed "The Devil's Chaplin" and they began circulating a publication called "The Devil's Pamphlet." Carlile helped form one of the first Atheist groups in England. [A publication of sermons from The Devil's Pulpit with a short biography of Taylor and his work with Carlile]
Bruno Bauer (1809-82)--Student of Hegel, associate of Nietzsche, and inspiration for Albert Schweitzer's The Quest for the Historical Jesus [ praise on p. 159 in Chapter 11 describing Bauer here]. Always anti-Christian and antisemitic in his writings, in 1840 his work turned toward described Jesus as a fusion of Roman, Greek, and Jewish theology. [see also here]
Gerald Massey (1828–1907) an English poet and Spiritualist author, affected by the Romantic movement, became interested in Egyptology and creatively asserted that Christ and Christianity was borrowed from Egyptian mythology, particularly Horus. The initial work was The Natural Genesis in 1883 (v. 1, v. 2), which was adopted by Madam Blavatsky and her new religion of Theosophy.
There are many other contributers to this stream of creative fiction. It is apparent by looking at their life and work that they had all their own vested interests in discrediting Christianity. The Wikipedia article on Christ Myth Theory is actually very helpful at gaining source information. It does contain some chronological inaccuracies about the movement. But a bit of careful reading can clear up the matter of who invented which idea when.
For many who pass this falsehood on there is an excellent and short video by Pr. Hans Fiene's video commentary from Lutheran Satire titled "Horus Ruins Christmas" may be enough to help. The video is focused on the Horus variant, but includes Mithra and others.
But there is a lot more background to this series of attacks against Christ, Christianity, and Christian Worship.
The following is a list of supposed originals that they claim formed the basis for Jesus. The list is mainly from James Holding's very helpful website. Documentation for sources and rebuttals can be found at that website.
Adonis -- The Greek deity. Alcides (Or Hercules) --The Greek strongman/demigod. Alexander of Abonuteichos -- A charismatic figure who started a quasi-religious movement; this is more of a claim of a social parallel. Apollonius of Tyana -- Pagan performer of miracles and traveller. Attis -- Phrygian and later Greco-Roman demigod. Baal -- Ancient Near Eastern deity. Balder -- Norse deity. Beddru of Japan -- a non-existent entity. Buddha Chu Chulainn -- Celtic hero. Crite -- non-existent figure. Dazhdbog -- Russian heroic figure. Deva Tat -- Heroic figure from Siam. Dionysus [Bacchus] -- Greek god of wine. The Flavian Dynasty --- Caesars of Rome that supposedly invented Christ. Hesus -- Deity associated with druids. Horus -- Egyptian deity. Also covers Osiris. Krishna -- Hindu deity. Mithra -- Persian deity. Osiris -- Egyptian deity. Prometheus -- Greek demigod. Quetzalcoatl -- Mesoamerican deity. Romulus -- co-founder of Rome. Salivahana -- Indian teacher. Serapis -- Mediterranean deity. Tammuz -- Sumerian shepherd-god. Zamloxis -- Thracian hero. Zoar -- Unknown figure. Zoroaster -- Religious founder.
James Holding also published a book dealing specifically with this attack against Christianity.
What we should note is how academic or scholarly it pretends to be. Consider just for example this point in William's post:
7. Reverend Charles Biggs stated: "The disciples of Mithra formed an organized church, with a developed hierarchy. They possessed the ideas of Mediation, Atonement, and a Savior, who is human and yet divine, and not only the idea, but a doctrine of the future life. They had a Eucharist, and a Baptism, and other curious analogies might be pointed out between their system and the church of Christ (The Christian Platonists, p. 240).
What the text actually says in context is the following:
The disciples of Mithra formed an organized church
with a developed hierarchy. They possessed the ideas
of Mediation, Atonement, and a Saviour, who is human
and yet divine, and not only the idea, but a doctrine of
the Future Life. They had a Eucharist, and a Baptism,
and other curious analogies might be pointed out be
tween their system and the Church of Christ. Most
of these conceptions, no doubt, are integral parts of
a religion much older than Christianity. But when we
consider how strange they are to the older polytheism
of Greece and Rome, and when we observe further that
Mithraism did not come into full vogue till the time of
Hadrian, that is to say till the age of Gnosticism, we
shall hardly be wrong in judging that resemblances
were pushed forward, exaggerated, modified, with a
special view to the necessities of the conflict with the
new faith, and that differences, such as the barbarous
superstitions of the Avesia, were kept sedulously in
the background with the same object. Paganism was
copying Christianity, and by that very act was lowering
her arms. [emphasis mine]
Yes, simply looking up the references used as evidence in support for their arguments usually undercuts what they claim.
There are two websites I'd suggest for rebutals specific to the Mithra claim. But take these with a grain of salt. Tekton, for instance, doesn't accurately deal with the Dec. 25th date in two ways.
First, the establishing of this date for the celebration of Christ's birth is very early in the Church [by the end of the 2nd century].
Second, there is no birth date for Mithra given in the ancient sources. The association of Dec. 25 with Mithra was a conjecture by a scholar named Cumont.
The study of Mithraism is itself very useful. And, in fact, you can in less than a day learn all there is to know about the actual textual evidence left to us about this religion. The iconography and art would take a bit longer, but those are left to wide and wild interpretations.
A valuable website with all you would ever need to know about what is really known about Mithraism has been put together by Roger Pearse.
In
this final part of our Catechism series with Pr. Joe Abrahamson, we
discuss the “Christian Questions with their Answers.” Did Luther really
compose them? Why are they not in some editions of the Catechism? How do
these questions and answers help us prepare for partaking of Christ’s
Body and Blood? Pr. Abrahamson also wraps up our series by saying the
Catechism is not just for confirmation, but for all of life.
A working bibliography of resources relevant to the issue of whether or not Christmas gift giving is borrowed from the Roman old pagan practice of giving Strenae [New Years gift] at Roman New Year.
Graevius, Johannes Georgius. “Thesaurus
Antiquitatum Romanarum : in quo continentur lectissimi quique
scriptores, qui superiori aut nostro seculo Romanae reipublicae
rationem, disciplinam, leges, instituta, sacra, artesque togatas ac
sagatas explicarunt & illustrarunt, / congestus a Joanne Georgio
Graeuio. ; Accesserunt variae & accuratae tabulae aeneae.”
Academic Library. Bayerische StaatsBibliothek digital, 1699 1694. http://reader.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/fs1/object/display/bsb11054927_00005.html.
In part 13 of our Catechism Series with Pr. Joe Abrahamson, we take a brief look at the “Table of Duties” in Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. How does this section of the Catechism
instruct us in the “holy orders” to which God calls us? What are the
“two kingdoms” and the “three estates” that this compilation of Bible
passages present to us for daily living as Christians?
New York University Conference Recordings
-
The video recordings of the New York University public conference "Dead Sea
Scrolls in Recent Scholarship" (May 17-20, 2020) are now online here. Among
m...
4QGenk: A Normalized Manuscript
-
4QGenk (4Q10) is a poorly preserved manuscript that contains 70 partial
words. Among these partial words, there exist three variants (I am not
counting dif...
Academic dress in the Oxford University Archives
-
Of the many Oxford University traditions that have survived to the present
day, one of the most visually distinctive and recognisable is the ‘academic
cost...
Goettingen: Day 10
-
My time in Goettingen has been very profitable thus far. I have scanned or
photographed most of the necessary manuscripts (mss) for my project (of
course o...
One
of the many points falsely claimed in Christ Myth Theory about the
supposed dependence of Christ upon the legends of Egypt is the claim
that Horus was born of a virgin.
Come, Desire Of Nations
O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem,
The Hymn:
The hymn “O, Come, O, Come, Emmanuel” (TLH 62; LW 31; CW 32; ; ELH 110; LSB 357) is a rendition of the medieval “O Antiphons” also called the “Greater Antiphons.”
Holding, James Patrick. Shattering the Christ Myth. s.l.: Xulon Press, 2008.
