During the month of December, sunset in Northern Virginia occurs before 5:00 p.m. The school bus drops off grade school kids in our neighborhood in the twilight hour. Those afflicted with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) suffer the adverse effects of added darkness. The Winter Solstice will occur later this month on December 21st. It has longed intrigued me why Christmas is celebrated juxtaposed to the Winter Solstice. The Bible doesn’t reveal the date on which Jesus was born. Some conjecture Jesus’ birth was in the spring since shepherds wouldn’t likely be keeping watch over their flocks by night in open fields during winter. Why Christians settled on December 25 is a mystery to historians. It seems odd to have placed Christmas so close to pagan rituals associated with darkness.
Perhaps early Christians deliberately celebrated the coming of Christ when the world was darkest. What better time to declare Jesus as the light of the world. The Romans celebrated the Winter Solstice with a festival called Sol Invictus, the birthday of the “Unconquered Sun.” Could Christians have co-opted it as the birthday of the Unconquered Son? Zechariah rejoiced at Jesus’ birth as One who will “shine on those living in darkness” (Luke 1.79).
The origin of today’s prayer is obscure, likely an eleventh century Latin hymn. It begins, “Lord of light, shine on us” and recalls the benediction Moses gave Aaron to bestow on God’s people, “May the Lord bless and keep you, the Lord make his face shine on you, and be gracious to you, the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Num. 6.24). We join in praying for Christ’s light in dark times: