Two Christmas Celebrations
()
Read more from Theodore Parker
The Christmas Library: 250+ Essential Christmas Novels, Poems, Carols, Short Stories...by 100+ Authors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Greatest Christmas Stories: 120+ Authors, 250+ Magical Christmas Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic Christmas Stories: A Collection of Timeless Holiday Tales Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Ultimate Christmas Library: 100+ Authors, 200 Novels, Novellas, Stories, Poems and Carols Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Classic Christmas Stories Vol. 1 (Golden Deer Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDiscourse of Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 2 (of 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHo! Ho! Ho! Santa Claus' Reading List: 250+ Vintage Christmas Stories, Carols, Novellas, Poems by 120+ Authors Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 3 (of 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSpeeches, Addresses, and Occasional Sermons, Volume 1 (of 3) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Collected Works - Theodore Parker's Prayers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Two Christmas Celebrations
Related ebooks
The Complete Works of Theodore Parker Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wentworth Letter Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStory of the Life of St. Paul, the Apostle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Voice of Warning: Or, an introduction to the faith and doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Faith of our Pioneer Fathers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJesus Was A Billionaire: Breaking The Curse of Being Broke | Unlocking Financial Freedom Through Ancient Wisdom Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbout the Holy Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Chosen People: A Compendium of Sacred and Church History for School-Children Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBible Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSketches of Jewish Social Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSketches from the Life of Paul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Sketches of Jewish Social Life in the Days of Christ, revised and illustrated Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWilliam Black The Apostle of Methodism in the Maritime Provinces of Canada Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost Ten Tribes, and 1882 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Bible for the Liberal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYoung Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading: The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCaleb's Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 400 Silent Years: from Malachi to Matthew (Illustrated) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbout The Holy Bible A Lecture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Minyan: A Small Cadre of Men Who Turned the World Upside-Down Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Voice from Jerusalem: Or, A Sketch of the Travels and Ministry of Elder Orson Hyde Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Four Hundred Years: From Malachi to Matthew Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Persecution: From the Patriarchal Age to the Reign of George II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Inevitable Crimes of Celibacy: The Vices of Convents and Monasteries, Priests and Nuns Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGospels for the 21st Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe History of Persecution: All 4 Books - From the Patriarchal Age to the Reign of George II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHistory of the Christian Church in the First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Two Christmas Celebrations
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Two Christmas Celebrations - Theodore Parker
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Two Christmas Celebrations, by Theodore Parker
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Two Christmas Celebrations
Author: Theodore Parker
Release Date: November 5, 2005 [EBook #17006]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TWO CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS ***
Produced by Jared Fuller
THE TWO CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS,
A.D. I. and MDCCCLV.
A Christmas Story for MDCCCLVI.
By Theodore Parker,
Minister of the 28th Congregational Society of Boston.
Two Christmas Celebrations.
A great many years ago, Augustus Caesar, then Emperor of Rome, ordered his mighty realm to be taxed; and so, in Judea, it is said, men went to the towns where their families belonged, to be registered for assessment. From Nazareth, a little town in the north of Judea, to Bethlehem, another little but more famous town in the south, there went one Joseph, the carpenter, and his wife Mary,—obscure and poor people, both of them, as the story goes. At Bethlehem they lodged in a stable; for there were many persons in the town, and the tavern was full. Then and there a little boy was born, the son of this Joseph and Mary; they named him JEHOSHUA, a common Hebrew name, which we commonly call Joshua; but, in his case, we pronounce it JESUS. They laid him in the crib of the cattle, which was his first cradle. That was the first Christmas, kept thus in a barn, 1856 years ago. Nobody knows the day or the month; nay, the year itself is not certain.
After a while the parents went home to Nazareth, where they had other sons,—James, Joses, Simon, and Judas,—and daughters also; nobody knows how many. There the boy JESUS grew up, and it seems followed the calling of his father; it is said, in special, that he made yokes, ploughs, and other farm-tools. Little is known about his early life and means of education. His outside advantages were, no doubt, small and poor; but he learned to read and write, and it seems became familiar with the chief religious books of his nation, which are still preserved in the Old Testament.
At that time there were three languages used in Judea, beside the Latin, which was confined to a few officials: 1. The Syro-Chaldaic,—the language of business and daily life, the spoken language of the common people. 2. The Greek,—the language of the courts of justice and official documents; the spoken and written language of the foreign traders, the aristocracy, and most of the more cultivated people in the great towns. 3. The old Hebrew,—the written and spoken language of the learned, of theological schools, of the priests; the language of the Old Testament. It seems Jesus understood all three.
At that time the thinking people had outgrown the old forms of religion, inherited from their fathers, just as a little girl becomes too stout and tall for the clothes which once fitted her babyhood; or as the people of New England have now become too rich and refined to live in the rough log-cabins, and to wear the coarse, uncomfortable clothes, which were the best that could be got two hundred years ago. For mankind continually grows wiser