Every year in our culture we find a great struggle against Christmas. Groups like the ACLU, and others, have somehow come to the conclusion that public displays of Christianity, in a nation that is at its core founding Christian, are somehow offensive. The terms"toleration and sensitivity" have come to mean that if you are Christian you must tolerate everyone else's whims about what you believe, and how you express it. Should a Christian expect some sort of reciprocation for all this tolerance and sensitivity then the Christian is, of course, being "intolerant". Christmas vacation in public schools becomes “winter holiday” as Christmas songs about Jesus are banned from the school choir. Businesses who don’t mind making money from Christians think twice about saying “Merry Christmas”, and the Salvation Army is not allowed to collect for the needy at some department stores. Some towns that have Christmas displays will allow nothing in those “Christmas” displays about Christ.
I could look for cultural reasons as to why there is this yearly hostility from "the world", or unbelievers, to Christmas but at its heart is a very basic and biblical reason. Mankind does not do not like to think about God. The problem the unbelieving world has with the "baby" Jesus is He didn't stay that way. He was God incarnate and grew into a Man, and then you have to do something with Him. Believe or don't believe. Accept of reject. To acknowledge the Child at Christmas is to set your feet on the path for Easter. Fictional elves in December, and bunnies in April still do not hide THE REASON. THE REASON is always there whether spoken or not. Best, from a hostile secular stance, to wash the whole thing from public view.
Add to this the sincere belief of some Christians that the Christmas celebration is pagan, and the unbelieving world is closer to getting a wish it tries (and tries and tries) to have the other 11 months of the year - no public acknowledgment of Christ. Out of sight and out of mind.
For those believers who have wondered about the points of paganism that are brought up at this time of year - make no mistake; the struggle against Christmas is against Christianity, not paganism.
I spent a few years struggling with Christmas. I attended a church with brothers and sisters that I loved, and love still, that supposedly didn’t celebrate Christmas. Every December we were somehow at odds with the “lie” of Christmas. Still, some of those I knew that said they didn’t celebrate Christmas had another day in January where they exchanged gifts – Christmas with another name and date, but no tree - a day in January that surely would not have been chosen had there not been a Dec 25 just a week before. I don't believe those who "chose the alternative day" saw it that way, nor had anything but pure motives, but quite honestly I couldn't see it any other way. Eventually my own hypocrisy and double talk in December of trying not to celebrate something that had so much potential, as well as history, for sharing Christ became too overwhelming for me even several years before I left that church.
First I think we have to acknowledge the criticisms that have merit, and above all what the scripture says, and what it does not say.
Jesus was not born Dec 25. Some claim He was born in October which might be plausible but no one knows for sure. We do know He was born in Bethlehem, and angels announced His Birth to shepherds in the field, and they found the Child lying in a manger. The wise men did not come to the stable, but found the child in “the house” when he may have been as old as two. While we know the wise men brought three gifts the bible does not say there were three wise men so their number is undetermined.
The scripture in Jeremiah 10 DOES NOT describe a Christmas tree, although if the chapter were to stop at verse 5 it would seem so. Reading the rest of the chapter makes it clear that Jeremiah is referring to a wooden idol worshiped as a god. –
“But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; A wooden idol is a worthless doctrine. Silver is beaten into plates; It is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the craftsman And of the hands of the metalsmith; Blue and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skillful men.” –Jeremiah 10:8-9
While various kinds of trees were decorated in pagan times the Christmas tree as we know it did not appear until the 1500’s.
Santa Claus is not what is referenced in Revelation 2 in connection with the “Nicolaitans”. The Nicolaitans believed that Christian liberty was excuse for adultery, and fornication, and other carnality. They were self-indulgent and believed they were lords over others.
Santa Claus is derived, in part, from a real life figure in the 4th century Saint Nicholas of Myra ( hence his association with Christianity), but the fanciful toy making fictional character we know today has almost as little to do with that historical person as with Odin or any other pagan origin. While living in the North Pole with toy making elves and flying reindeer has much to do with marketing, and nothing to do with the gospel, it is more modern myth than ancient ritual. I prefer that we concentrate on the biblical account of Christ's birth – the part that seems to upset everyone.
History reveals that some of the criticisms people state authoritatively as facts aren’t quite as certain as they believe. It is said that Dec 25 was originally a day of celebration during the winter solstice, and was adopted by the catholic church (it is called Christ-mass after all) as a way of “Christianizing” the day. December 25 was the day of the winter solstice created under Julius Caesar in 45 B.C., yet contrary to what is widely held there was no religious connotation to the day. Some argue the date of December 25 was the result an attempt by early Christians, pre-dating Catholicism, to figure out when Jesus was born before there was the thought of the celebration, or a name given the day. In fact the Roman Emperor Aurelian designated the day as a “festival of the Unconquered Sun” as a way of undermining the early Christians. There is much history about it, and an informative read recommended by Albert Mohler about the date of December 25 can be found in a Touchstone article titled Calculating Christmas by William J. Tighe.
The historian in part writes-
Thus, December 25th as the date of the Christ’s birth appears to owe nothing whatsoever to pagan influences upon the practice of the Church during or after Constantine’s time. It is wholly unlikely to have been the actual date of Christ’s birth, but it arose entirely from the efforts of early Latin Christians to determine the historical date of Christ’s death.
And the pagan feast which the Emperor Aurelian instituted on that date in the year 274 was not only an effort to use the winter solstice to make a political statement, but also almost certainly an attempt to give a pagan significance to a date already of importance to Roman Christians. The Christians, in turn, could at a later date re-appropriate the pagan “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” to refer, on the occasion of the birth of Christ, to the rising of the “Sun of Salvation” or the “Sun of Justice.”
So is the celebration, or the way of celebrating, pagan? The Puritans, and others have refused the celebration in part because they considered it part of the Catholicism they were separating from, and because some also did indeed make the day an excuse for drunken parties. It is the same now whether the day is Christmas or Derby day if you live in Kentucky, or Super Bowl Sunday, etc. Those looking for a reason for revelry always find one. Whether the celebrating of Christmas in particular is holy or “pagan” I think depends upon whom is doing the celebrating and how. To be sure I don’t believe anyone, Christian or non-Christian, is celebrating Saturnalia. A Christian, even if the date is unsure, is celebrating a historical event – the birth of Christ. An unbeliever who does not consider Christ any other time is celebrating what has become a cultural event more than anything else, with Christian trimmings, but with no thought of false gods or rituals - until a well meaning Christian gives him, or her, reason not to consider Jesus at this time of year either. For each, the Christian and the non-Christian, much of the day consists of what they bring to it. Those who do not wish to celebrate have a case for paganism if they concentrate on celebration similarities to the exclusion of differences. The pagans did not seek to use the trappings of any of their celebrations to bring to mind the Christ Who came into the world. I am aware of no pagan festival that had at its core, whatever the decorations, this recounting of Christ’s birth by Angels-
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:9-14
We could go beyond similarities to daily holdovers from ancient times and come up with new days of the week as the names we know and use are derived from Rome. We’ll need new names for the months of the year for the same reason. Now we could argue that no one holds religious meanings to these things any longer, and that would be correct, but that is exactly the point about the Saturnalia festival that has also been associated with Dec 25 – even though apparently at a later date than some believe. It is nothing more than a name in History. We have no problems recognizing Sunday (named for the sun and not the Son) as the first day of the week as the day the Living Son rose from the dead, and we do it without falling into paganism though that is where the “name” for the day originates. How do we do this? We as Christians recognize there is One true God who made all days for Himself, no matter what the day is called.
Is there a biblical mandate to celebrate the Lord’s birth? No. Nor is there a biblical mandate to celebrate our births, or our children’s, though many of us do. Is there anything wrong with concentrating on the those aspects of a celebration that for centuries has used scriptural accounts of His birth to prayerfully make others aware of Who He Is, and what He accomplished? I would prefer Holiday celebrations be individual matters of conscience instead of a test of faithfulness. Were false gods in reality being celebrated I hope I would be the first to chuck the whole thing, but as God as cleansed me, someone who once behaved like a pagan, I believe any day (and all days are His) can be cleansed and used for His glory. Days are subject to God, and not the other way around.
No one in the Christianized world (I would almost dare say the WHOLE world) believes in the pagan god Saturn, nor has Saturnalia in mind. Even if the celebration were pagan (and history indicates that part has been exaggerated) I ask myself what the Apostle Paul would do with the day? Paul took opportunity in Acts 17 of an Athenian altar that was simply inscribed “To The Unknown God” and proclaimed Jesus! How much more would Paul, in my opinion, have taken advantage of a day that many perceive be about Jesus already and proclaim the truth of Who Jesus is? A day rich in centuries of Christian symbolism, and beautiful music (obviously I am not speaking of music of the “Rudolph” variety but “O Come O Come Immanuel”, “Silent Night”; “Joy To The World”, etc) that’s purpose is to glorify God. I think Paul would have used the day to tell others about Jesus.
Much of what I have heard, or read, that others use for proof text of the paganism of Christmas comes from a book called “The Two Babylon’s” by Alexander Hislop, with this being their only, or main source. I read the book several years ago. His primary idea was that the Catholic Church was ancient Babylonian religion with a different name, and that is where the catholic rituals find their origination. Hislop contends that the paganism roads all lead to Nimrod. Nimrod is mentioned in passing 4 times in scripture. Hislop’s contentions have been noted for their lack of evidence.
The real issue in this is not idol worship as none are being worshiped. The issue is not worshipping a day as a day is not being worshiped. A very real issue in this is LIBERTY. Liberty from trying to prove ones relationship with God by keeping a day or, as in this case, by not keeping a day. The implication in much of the “Christmas is pagan” speech is that we have gained something, or have something to gain, with God by our efforts of not celebrating a day. The thought is that we can make ourselves more holy by doing something rather than trusting Someone. My walk with God is not determined by a day, or a food, or anything except what Jesus has done at Calvary. He who observes Christmas, and he who does not, has hope only in the same Person – Jesus Christ. Were I surrounded by decorated trees in the midst of the most vile temples of paganism, were I named after a Roman Caesar, and were every day known as “Saturn” day it would have no affect upon who I am in Christ, because He is greater than all things and has made all things for Himself. My righteousness is bound only in Him, and it is expressed by walking in the Fruit of the Spirit, not being bound one way or the other to a superstition of “days”.
The attitude towards Christmas, or any similar holiday, should be as the one Paul expressed in Romans 14:5-6 when speaking of Sabbath days – “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.”
Freedom.
Christmas is an opportunity legitimately afforded us by history to let people know, however they celebrate or don’t celebrate, that the Christ has come into the world to die that they might have life. I say avoid the distortions and use the day.
Proclaiming His Gospel does not dishonor Him.
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