Augustus and Christmas

Not everyone knows that the gospel of St. Luke does not mention Jesus, or Mary, or anybody directly involved in the most important Christian story. Instead, it mentions the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus, who died long before the crucifixion of Jesus. However, his role in the story is undeniable, although he himself never found out about it.

Who Was Augustus?

This Roman Emperor conquered Egypt and got Cleopatra to commit suicide. He was an adopted heir of Julius Caesar and the person who gave the month of August its name. That is, however, not the whole story. Firstly, he worked on strengthening the Roman state religion – the faith in gods like Jupiter, Venus, Mars etc. In his time, the interest in this religion among people was decreasing.

The philosophical skepticism was on the rise, as well as other religions, such as Mithraism, which came from the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, and was influenced by the religion of the rival Persian Empire. In order to protect the Roman religion, he made himself the Pontifex Maximus (the highest priest) of Rome. All later Roman Emperors had this title, which is why they saw all other religions as threats to their power. This resulted in the persecution of Christians.

How Is He Related to Christmas?

Besides defending religion, Augustus also attempted to increase the birth rate. He did it by giving more rights to married people and parents. In order to find out who was married and who was not, he ordered a population census. Therefore, people had to return to their birthplaces to be listed, which is why Marry and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem. In this way, August helped the Old Testament Prophecy about the Messiah to happen.

Read another interesting Christmas story here: St. Lucy and Celebration of Christmas

Google Play Store
iTunes Store
Facebook Fanpage

Hidden Objects Christmas Trees
Find the Difference Christmas
Hidden Objects Christmas
Hidden Objects Christmas Gifts