To Christmas or Not to Christmas, That is the Question
I am not an alarmist. I am not offended by others around me that celebrate this
holiday. However, after much study and prayer, I have decided that I will not. First, let
me state that this is not, I believe, an issue that will determine your eternal destiny.
You will not either go to heaven or hell depending on your answer to this question. I
do, however, believe that we should study out every important issue, as the Bereans
did (Acts 17:11). A quick Google search of the words, origin and Christmas or
December, 25, birth, and god will amaze you. In doing so, you find out pretty quickly
that December 25th was celebrated by pagans centuries before the birth of Christ.
The day was used to celebrate the birth of their sun god. You, as a Christian, should
want to worship God in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil (John 4:23-24).
This brief study will cover two issues. The origin of the Christmas holiday and the
biblical reasons I choose not to celebrate this holiday.
The Origin of Christmas
For climatic reasons, it is hardly possible, that Jesus was born the end of December.
Example: It is too cold in Bethlehem the end of December to find shepherds with their
flocks of sheep out in the country during nighttime. During winter months they would
keep their flocks in caves and come out to graze in daylight. Ancient records say that
December could be the month of conception (calculating by John the Baptists
conception after his father served his term in the temple). The perfect period of
human gestation is 280 days. That would make September the month of birth of the
Son of God, about the time of the feast of Tabernacle. The word was made flesh, and
dwelt (tabernacled) among us. (John 1:14) The feast of Tabernacles fittingly
symbolizes the dwelling of God among men. However, in 350, Pope Julius I declared
that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25. There is little doubt that he
was trying to make it as painless as possible for pagan Romans (who remained a
majority at that time) to convert to Christianity. The new religion went down a bit
easier, knowing that their feasts would not be taken away from them. When Martin
Luther and other reformers left the Roman church in the 16th century, they took the
holiday with them.
The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and
a study of this would reveal that Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and
practices taken from many cultures and nations. In ancient Babylon, the feast of the
son of Isis (goddess of Nature) was celebrated on December 25. Raucous partying,
gluttonous eating and drinking, and gift-giving were traditions of this feast. In Rome,
the winter solstice was celebrated many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans
called their winter holiday Saturnalia, honoring saturn, the god of agriculture. The
Mummers were groups of costumed singers and dancers who traveled from house to
house entertaining their neighbors. From this, the Christmas tradition of caroling was
born. The pagans of northern Europe celebrated the their own winter solstice, known
as yule. Yule was symbolic of the pagan sun god, mithras, being born, and was
observed on the shortest day of the year. Huge yule logs were burned in honor of
the sun. Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the
menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as diana. The holly wood was
also used by witches to make wands. The white berries of mistletoe were believed by
pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god. Both holly and mistletoe
were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those
who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter
them. The first decorating of an evergreen tree began with the heathen Greeks and
their worship of their god adonia, who allegedly was brought back to life by the
serpent aessulapius after having been slain. The ancient Pagan Romans decorated
their trees with bits of metal balls and replicas of their god, bacchus [a fertility god].
They also placed 12 candles on the tree in honor of their sun god. Some evidence
point to the fact that the Santa myth was not originally modeled after a saint named
Nicolaus but after the god molech, who had a large belly and a santa-styled hat.
They would fill his belly with coals and when red-hot they would sacrifice their children
by throwing them into his lap.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears
from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. II Timothy 4:3-4
Biblical Reason I Don’t Celebrate the Holiday
Firstly, as a disciple of Christ I seek to imitate Him (I Corinthians 4:16), and He never
celebrated in this way or told us to celebrate in this way. In fact, the only way He told
us to remember Him was through the act of communion (Luke 22:19, I Cor 11:24-25).
However, beyond that, God warns the Israelites through Moses to beware not to
worship like the other (Godless) nations. Yet, when we study out this holiday we see
the celebration is completely like the other nations. Isaiah 1:14 tells us that God
hates our feasts, they trouble Him, and He is weary of them. I certainly do not want to
weary God. God gave us a list of seven feasts (if you count Passover and
Unleavened Bread separately), plus every Sabbath that we should celebrate and
feast. God says these are His feasts FOREVER! Forever means, forever (go
figure!). Jesus said that He didn’t come to destroy the law and prophets but to fulfill it
(Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8). He
doesn’t change, the Father doesn’t change, His feasts don’t change. Jesus, God
incarnate, was a Jewish carpenter turned rabbi (Matthew 26:49, Mark 9:5, John 1:38,
John 3:2). Jews in biblical times did not celebrate birthdays. “Mishrah” was a pagan
ritual mentioned several times in the Bible concerning non-jewish royalty.
The most compelling reason that I feel no need or desire to celebrate this holiday is
this…… I celebrate the birth of Christ, His sinless life, His crucified death in sacrifice
for me, and His miraculous resurrection, EVERYDAY! 365 days of the year! People
talk about getting into the Christmas spirit; I am filled with the Holy Spirit. People say
things about how we should reach out to those less fortunate during this special time
of year; I believe we should do that all year long not for a month or two. People say
this time of year is supposed to be more joyful, which by the way is why there are
more suicide during this time than at any other time of the year; I say that my joy come
from the LORD 24/7 (Nehemiah 8:10, Ps 21:1, Ps 35:9) and we should rejoice in the
Lord always! (Philippians 4:4)
Christian apologists will admit to Christmas’ pagan beginnings but say that fourth
century Christians decided that during this period of lawlessness among their
neighbors, they chose to celebrate the most important time in their faith; the
incarnation of God in Christ. I, personally, think it’s a weak argument. Although I
respectfully disagree with them on this issue, I whole-heartedly agree with them on
what really matters. Jesus born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, crucified death in
sacrifice for me to atone for my sin, and His resurrection to conquer death. On
anything else, let’s agree that it’s alright to disagree.
Study by: Denise Baxley