A Biblical Examination of Christmas: Truth and History

By COGwriter

Should You Keep God’s Holy Days or Demonic Holidays? 

Here is a link to a related sermon: Biblical Examination of Christmas. 

Introduction: Seeking Worship in Spirit and in Truth

Brethren, today we will address a subject that touches many parts of the world. It is a subject wrapped in custom, tradition, nostalgia, and emotion. It is a subject so deeply woven into western culture that many assume it must originate from the pages of the Bible itself. That subject is Christmas.

Does the Bible point towards or against the observance of Christmas?

Our purpose today is not to attack people, nor to condemn those who practice what they have been taught all their lives. Our purpose is not to diminish the sincerity of individuals who celebrate Christmas with their good intentions. Many people are kindhearted, and family-focused, and they associate the holiday with warmth and generosity. But sincerity does not determine truth. Tradition does not sanctify error. And long-held practices do not transform human inventions into divine commandments.

Our aim is to look honestly at the origins, meaning, and biblical evaluation of Christmas, and to do so in the spirit of Jesus’ own words: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Worship must be truthful. Worship must align with God’s revelation. Worship must reject the mixture of paganism and Christianity, because God has never accepted syncretism.

So we embark on a careful, biblical, historical, prophetic examination of Christmas. And as we do, let us ask God to open our understanding, remove blinders, and empower us to worship Him as He truly desires.

Part I: The Question We Must Ask — Did Jesus Command Christmas?

Let us begin with the most fundamental question in all discussions about Christmas: Did Jesus Christ, the apostles, or the early Church ever instruct anyone to observe Jesus’ birth?

The answer, plainly and simply, is no.

Nowhere in the Gospels does Christ command His followers to celebrate His birth. Nowhere in Acts do the apostles introduce an annual festival commemorating the birth of the Messiah. Nowhere in the Epistles is such a festival commanded, recommended, mentioned , or even hinted at

In fact, the biblical emphasis is overwhelmingly on something else:

These are the themes the early Church observed and taught. They kept the biblical Holy Days, not days like Christmas.

The Passover commemorated Jesus’ sacrifice. Unleavened Bread pointed to His sinless life and our call to holiness to strive to live as He did.

Pentecost testified of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the founding of the Church, and that the firstfruits are being called in this age. Trumpets pointed to His return and our changing from mortal to immortal. Atonement foreshadowed His work in reconciling all creation. The Feast of Tabernacles points to the millennial kingdom of God. And the Last Great Day reveals God’s plan for the majority of the human family which were not called in this age.

These are the festivals Jesus kept, the apostles kept, and the early faithful kept.

But Christmas — a festival supposedly related to the birth of Christ — is entirely absent. And this absence is not accidental.

The Catholic Encyclopedia teaches that:

Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church (Martindale C. Transcribed by Susanti A. Suastika. Christmas. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III. Copyright © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company. Online Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. Knight. Nihil Obstat, November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York).

The above is true.           

Perhaps it should be mentioned that it was not even called Christmas until 1038:

The first written reference we have to the word “Christmas” itself being used comes from a Saxon book dating from 1038 that mentions Cristes Maesse, meaning “Christ's Mass,” from which we get “Christmas.” (Green J. Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas. Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2009)

In Dutch it is Kerstmis, in Latin Dies Natalis (which is similar to the Roman pagan name for December 25th), whence comes the French Noël, and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest, from the preceeding sacred vigil. (Martindale C. Christmas, 1908).

So, it was not until over a 1,000 years after Jesus died that a term for 'Christmas" was used--and this was reported in The Catholic Encyclopedia. Thus, this was obviously not an original Christian holy day or holiday.

Jews and Early Christians Did Not Celebrate Birthdays

The first century Jewish historian Josephus noted that Jewish families did not celebrate birthdays:

Nay, indeed, the law does not permit us to make festivals at the birth of our children, and thereby afford occasion of drinking to excess (Josephus. Translated by W. Whiston. Against Apion, Book II, Chapter 26. Extracted from Josephus Complete Works, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids (MI), 14th printing, 1977, p. 632).

For the first several centuries of Christianity, believers also did not celebrate birthdays at all — including Jesus’ birthday. Early Church writers understood birthday celebrations to be pagan in origin, rooted in astrology, divination, and superstition. And the historical record is unambiguous: Christians avoided them.

This alone should cause us to pause.

If Jesus’ own disciples — the men taught directly by Him — never celebrated His birth…
If the apostolic Church never instituted such a festival…
If Scripture never commands or approves such an observance…
Then where did Christmas come from?
And should true Christians embrace something Jesus and the apostles never practiced?

These questions are essential, and the Bible encourages us to prove all things (1 Thessalonians 5:21 KJV), test all things (NKJV), or “test everything” (NJB).

But those who keep Christmas simply have never properly done that.

Part II: When Was Jesus Born? — The Biblical Evidence

Before exploring the historical origins of Christmas, we must deal with an important biblical question: Was Jesus even born on December 25?

The answer is no.

1. Shepherds in the Field at Night

Luke 2 tells us that shepherds were staying out at night with their flocks when Jesus was born. In Judea, shepherds did not typically keep their flocks outside overnight in late December due to cold, rain, and winter conditions. Most scholars recognize that this simple detail makes a late-December birth highly unlikely.

2. The Roman Census

Luke also records that Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem because of a census.

Roman censuses were not conducted in the dead of winter. Travel was difficult; agricultural labor was unavailable; and such timing made little administrative sense.

Here is a Roman Catholic translation of the account in the Gospel According to Luke:

1 Now it happened that at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be made of the whole inhabited world. 2 This census -- the first -- took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, 3 and everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee for Judaea, to David's town called Bethlehem, since he was of David's House and line, 5 in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 Now it happened that, while they were there, the time came for her to have her child, 7 and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the living-space.

8 In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the night. 9 An angel of the Lord stood over them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel said, 'Do not be afraid. Look, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.'

13 And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven, praising God with the words: 14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace for those he favours.

15 Now it happened that when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us go to Bethlehem and see this event which the Lord has made known to us.' 16 So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, 18 and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds said to them. (Luke 2:1-18, NJB)

Notice that, at the time of the census, Luke teaches that the shepherds were out all night in the field at the time of Jesus’ birth. This is biblical evidence that Jesus could not have been born in late December for a couple of reasons. One of them is that the practice of shepherds spending the night with their flocks outside ceased each Fall. 

Consider also that we are told by Luke that we can rely on the verity (certainty, NKJV) of his writings:

3 It seemed good to me also, having diligently attained to all things from the beginning, to write to thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4 That thou mayest know the verity of those words in which thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1:3-4, DRB).

Furthermore, related to the reason that Joseph had to go to Bethlehem (the census) at the time of Jesus’ birth, even The Catholic Encyclopedia admits that the “census would have been impossible in winter” (Christmas, 1908). If something is impossible, then it did not happen. Jesus was not born on December 25th according to Roman Catholic teachers who will accept some of their own translations and findings.

Partially because of this account by Luke, various ones have speculated that Jesus was born in the early Fall or perhaps late Spring.

3. The Timing of John the Baptist’s Conception

By reconstructing the priestly service schedule of Zechariah (the father of John the Baptist), as recorded in Luke 1, we can estimate approximate dates for both John’s birth and Jesus’ birth. Most scholars who follow this biblical timing conclude that Jesus was likely born in the fall — around September or early October — not in late December.

Thus, December 25 is not biblically supported, and the Bible itself contradicts the traditional date.

So how did December 25 become associated with Jesus’ birth?

Part III: The Pagan Roots of December 25

This is where history becomes unmistakably clear: December 25 was celebrated in ancient pagan religions long before Christianity attached Jesus’ name to it.

Many ancient cultures observed winter solstice festivals. These festivals often centered around sun worship, fertility rites, feasting, gift-giving, greenery, and evergreens — themes still present in the modern Christmas season.

1. The Roman Saturnalia

Saturnalia (December 17–23) was one of Rome’s most popular festivals. It included:

Sound familiar?

Saturnalia was such a beloved festival that even centuries after 'Constantinian Christianity' spread in the empire, people were reluctant to abandon it.

Instead of holding to THE WAY (Acts 24:14,22), many parted from it.

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. It was also essentially extended though until New Year's.

Notice what Tertullian (late 2nd century) wrote about winter celebrations, such as Saturnalia (from a pagan deity whose name meant plentiful):

The Minervalia are as much Minerva's, as the Saturnalia Saturn's; Saturn's, which must necessarily be celebrated even by little slaves at the time of the Saturnalia. New-year's gifts likewise must be caught at, and the Septimontium kept; and all the presents of Midwinter and the feast of Dear Kinsmanship must be exacted; the schools must be wreathed with flowers; the flamens' wives and the aediles sacrifice; the school is honoured on the appointed holy-days. The same thing takes place on an idol's birthday; every pomp of the devil is frequented. Who will think that these things are befitting to a Christian master, unless it be he who shall think them suitable likewise to one who is not a master? (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter X. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

Around the time of Tertullian, the Roman Bishops Zephyrinus (199-217) and Callistus (217-222) had a reputation of compromise and corruption (and this is confirmed by such Roman Catholic saints such as Hippolytus) and allowed people in their church that compromised with paganism, etc. 

So, notice what else Tertullian wrote:

But, however, the majority {of Greco-Roman 'Christians} have by this time induced the belief in their mind that it is pardonable if at any time they do what the heathen do, for fear "the Name be blasphemed"...To live with heathens is lawful, to die with them is not. Let us live with all; let us be glad with them, out of community of nature, not of superstition. We are peers in soul, not in discipline; fellow-possessors of the world, not of error. But if we have no right of communion in matters of this kind with strangers, how far more wicked to celebrate them among brethren! Who can maintain or defend this?...By us, ... the Saturnalia and New-year's and Midwinter's festivals and Matronalia are frequented--presents come and go--New-year's gifts--games join their noise--banquets join their din! Oh better fidelity of the nations to their own sect, which claims no solemnity of the Christians for itself!...Not the Lord's day, not Pentecost, even it they had known them, would they have shared with us; for they would fear lest they should seem to be Christians. We are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathens! (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter XIV. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

The scripture Tertullian seems to be referring to is 1 Timothy 6:1:

1 Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. NKJV

1 Whosoever are servants under the yoke, let them count their masters worthy of all honour; lest the name of the Lord and his doctrine be blasphemed. Douay-Rheims

But, as even he alluded to, that should not have been an excuse to celebrate pagan days. Notice that it would be false teachers that would get the way of truth blasphemed:

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber. (2 Peter 2:1-3, NKJV)

1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord who bought them: bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their riotousnesses, through whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you. Whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their perdition slumbereth not. (2 Peter 2:1-3, Douay-Rheims)

So, following covetous, false teachings, is really what causes the way of truth to be blasphemed.

Getting back to Tertullian, he wrote:

But "let your works shine," saith He; but now all our shops and gates shine! You will now-a-days find more doors of heathens without lamps and laurel-wreaths than of Christians. What does the case seem to be with regard to that species (of ceremony) also? If it is an idol's honour, without doubt an idol's honour is idolatry. If it is for a man's sake, let us again consider that all idolatry is for man's sake; let us again consider that all idolatry is a worship done to men, since it is generally agreed even among their worshippers that aforetime the gods themselves of the nations were men; and so it makes no difference whether that superstitious homage be rendered to me of a former age or of this. Idolatry is condemned, not on account of the persons which are set up for worship, but on account of those its observances, which pertain to demons (Tertullian. On Idolatry, Chapter XV. Translated by S. Thelwall. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 3. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

What Tertullian seems to be saying is that observing mid-winter celebrations make Christians appear to be followers of pagan gods--even more so than the pagans themselves--and since the pagans would not intentionally celebrate days considered by many to be Christian, Christians should not celebrate days that are honored by the heathen. Specifically, he felt that those who profess Christ should not celebrate Saturnalia, New Year's, or other pagan days, as even the observance is a form of idolatry.

Notice that he was also pointing out that his 'Christians' even used laurel wreaths and lights more than the heathen. Even The Catholic Encyclopedia says of them that they have pre-Christian origin, that Tertullian considered them pagan.

Notice that they were in widespread use, however, by the time of the late 4th century Bishop of Consantinople, John Chrysostom:

A wreath of flowers or evergreens formerly used in connection with baptismal, nuptial, and funeral rites, as well as in solemn processions.

The bridal crown or wreath is said to be of pre-Christian Greek origin, adopted later by the Romans. Tertullian refers to it as a sign of paganism, but this prejudice was afterwards set aside, and it was in common use among Christians by the time of St. John Chrysostom ... (Alston, George Cyprian. "Garland." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909).

Notice also the following:

Roman 'Christmases' were similar to ours

The Romans celebrated the winter festival of Sigillaria on 23rd of December, part of their Saturnalia festivities. Just like on Christmas Day, Sigillaria saw presents exchanged.

Saturnalia began in the very early history of Rome. It was a festival devoted to the god Saturn ... The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries until it was supplanted by the Christian festival of Christmas ...

"Just like our festive season, it seems that the whole of Rome geared up early for Sigillaria. Seneca noted: 'It is now the month of December, when the greatest part of the city is in a bustle. Loose reins are given to public dissipation; everywhere you may hear the sound of great preparations'. (Ep. 18.1)." (Roman 'Christmases' were similar to ours. December 23, 2013 http://phys.org/news/2013-12-roman-christmases-similar.html viewed 12/30/13)

Since the modern Christmas celebration is at the same time as the old Gentile Saturnalia holiday (and with many of the same elements, like wreaths and gift-giving), it is clear that Tertullian is condemning these practices by stating that those that keep it are of the pagan god Saturn.

Tertullian also wrote against winter giving:

... gifts like those you have in the Saturnalia! (Tertullian. De Fuga in Persecutione, Chapter 13. Excerpted from Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 4. Edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson. American Edition, 1885. Online Edition Copyright © 2004 by K. Knight).

So basically, those who teach "Jesus is the reason for the season" are in error. Those who professed Christ and observed these pagan holidays did not attempt to pretend that they were celebrating "Christmas" then (that term was not developed until centuries later). The initial reason for the season appears to be that many of those who somewhat professed Christ wanted to have a party. And they did not care if the party was related to pagan gods.

It is interesting to note that Tertullian objected to keeping a celebration lasting until the Roman New Years, putting up wreaths, and giving gifts. Since most of these quotes come from his writing titles “On Idolatry” apparently he considered those practices as idolatrous.

It seems to me that no true Christians would do this, only those who were somewhat nominal, but who had been accepted, to some degree, by part of the Greco-Roman confederation. Tertullian's complaints apparently did not stop this from happening, though his objections certainly have biblical support.

Notice something that John Chrysostom wrote in the fourth century condemning paganism:

And what, pray you, is that Minerva of theirs, and Apollo, and Juno? They are different kinds of demons among them. (Chrysostom J. The homilies of S. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople: on the Acts of the Apostles, Volume 1, Homily IV. John Henry Parker, 1851. Original from Harvard University. Digitized, Apr 12, 2008, p. 66)

Notice that, like Tertullian, John Chrysostom associated paganism with demons.

Yet, 'venerable' Cesare Baronius, a Roman Catholic of the 16th century, wrote:

If the candles which were formerly distributed at the Saturnalia are now identified with the feast of the Purification of our Lady? What, I ask, is there so surprising if holy bishops have allowed certain customs firmly rooted among pagan peoples, and so tenaciously adhered to by them that even after their conversion to Christianity they could not be induced to surrender them, to be transferred to the worship of the true God?" (Baronius, "Annales", ad ann. 58, n. 77). (as cited in Thurston, Herbert. "Lights." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. Nihil Obstat.October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910)

Thus, Baronius seems to be saying that Saturnalia lights are a pagan practice, yet using them is acceptable.

But even the Rheims' version of the New Testament (a Roman Catholic approved translation) states the following:

15. And what agreement with Christ and Belial? or what part hath the faithful with the infidel? 16. And what agreement hath the temple of God with Idols? For you are the temple of the living God. as God saith, Then I will dwell, and walk in them, and will be their God: and they shall be my people. 17. For the which cause, Go out of the midst of them, and separate yourselves. saith our Lord, and touch not the unclean: and I will receive you (2 Corinthians 6:15-17, The Original And True Rheims New Testament Of Anno Domini 1582. Prepared and Edited by Dr. William von Peters, Ph.D. Copyright © 1998, Dr. William G. von Peters. Ph.D. 2004, copyright assigned to VSC Corp.).

So unclean practices associated with idols are prohibited by God. Does not that include celebrating as the idolaters celebrate?

The Roman Saturnalia and the Persian Mithraism themselves were adaptations of an even earlier pagan religion – that of the ancient Babylonian mystery cult. The ancient Babylonians celebrated the reborn Nimrod as the newborn Tammuz by worshipping an evergreen tree. The Babylonians also celebrated this rebirth during the season of the winter solstice. Jeremiah condemns ancient Israel for copying this type of paganism, and and condemned the the pagan use of trees in Jeremiah 10:2-4 and the evergreen tree in Jeremiah 3:13.

To take this a step further, notice that using trees as part of worship was condemned by God thousands of years ago:

2 'You must completely destroy all the places where the nations you dispossess have served their gods, on high mountains, on hills, under any spreading tree; 3 you must tear down their altars, smash their sacred stones, burn their sacred poles, hack to bits the statues of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. (Deuteronomy 12:2-3, New Jerusalem Bible, NJB, a Catholic translation)

2 Destroy all the places in which the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods upon high mountains, and hills, and under every shady tree: 3 Overthrow their altars, and break down their statues, burn their groves with fire, and break their idols in pieces: destroy their names out of those places. 4 You shall not do so to the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 12:2-4, Douay OT, DOT, a Catholic translation).

16 Beware lest perhaps your heart be deceived, and you depart from our Lord, and serve strange Gods, and adore them (Deuteronomy 11:16, DOT).

9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God shall give thee, beware lest thou have a mind to imitate the abominations of those nations...12 For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them at thy coming. (Deuteronomy 18:9,12, DOT)

24 God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24, NJB)

Roman Catholic translations of the Bible show that spreading shady trees, like evergreens, were not to be part of the worship of the true God--and that people should not be deceived and serve such strange practice or other pagan practices. The truth is that Christmas reminds us that people are often unwilling to worship God as He intended, but instead often prefer pagan substitutes that they rationalize as somehow acceptable if they pretend the holiday is about Jesus.

Those who truly believe Jesus’ words, “Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, NJB) will not celebrate a compromised pagan holiday such as Christmas because it contains practices and symbols (see also What Did the Early Church Teach About Idols and Icons?) warned against in the Bible and was never enjoined upon true believers to practice.

Apparently the practice of 'Christmas caroling' also has its origins in Saturnalia:

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. In January, they observed the Kalends of January, which represented the triumph of life over death. This whole season was called Dies Natalis Invicti Solis, the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The festival season was marked by much merrymaking. It is in ancient Rome that the tradition of the Mummers was born. 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. In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were begun long before the participants had ever heard of Christ. 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 ... http://www.essortment.com/christmas-pagan-origins-42543.html

Many practices that people associate with Christmas came from pagan holidays.  

2. The Birth of Mithras

The cult of Mithras — popular among Roman soldiers — celebrated Mithras’ birth on December 25, known as Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, “the birthday of the Unconquered Sun.”

Mithras was a sun-god figure. His followers viewed December 25 as a symbol of rebirth, when the sun begins its ascent after the winter solstice.

Notice the following from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Constantine the Great… Constantine can rightfully claim the title of Great, for he turned the history of the world into a new course and made Christianity...the religion of the State… it is easy to understand that many of the emperors yielded to the delusion that they could unite all their subjects in the adoration of the one sun-god who combined in himself the Father-God of the Christians and the much-worshipped Mithras; thus the empire could be founded anew on unity of religion. Even Constantine…cherished this mistaken belief… Could not Sol Deus Invictus, to whom even Constantine dedicated his coins for a long time, or Sol Mithras Deus Invictus, venerated by Diocletian and Galerius, become the supreme god of the empire?  Constantine may have pondered over this. Nor had he absolutely rejected the thought even after a miraculous event had strongly influenced him in favour of the God of the Christians... It is true that the believers in Mithras also observed Sunday as well as Christmas. Consequently Constantine speaks not of the day of the Lord, but of the everlasting day of the sun.  (Herbermann C., Georg Gp. Constantine the Great. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 4. Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.  New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908).

Mithraism A pagan religion consisting mainly of the cult of the ancient Indo-Iranian Sun-god Mithra. It entered Europe from Asia Minor after Alexander's conquest, spread rapidly over the whole Roman Empire at the beginning of our era, reached its zenith during the third century, and vanished under the repressive regulations of Theodosius at the end of the fourth century...Helios Mithras is one god...Sunday was kept holy in honour of Mithra, and the sixteenth of each month was sacred to him as mediator. The 25 December was observed as his birthday, the natalis invicti, the rebirth of the winter-sun, unconquered by the rigours of the season (Arendzen J. Mithraism. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X. Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911).

The birthday of the sun god Mithras was what Constantine observed and he wanted his followers to observe. And it ended up getting officially adopted by the Greco-Roman bishops.

Emperor Constantine became a highly devout follower of the sun-god after he said he saw an apparition of the sun god Sol in a grove of Apollo in Gaul in 310 (discussed in Rodgers, Barbara S. “Constantine's Pagan Vision,”Byzantion, vol. 50, 1980, pp. 259–78). He also observed the sun-god Mithras' birthday on December 25th. He also seems to be have instrumental in getting the Greco-Romans to celebrate December 25th as Jesus' birthday:

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December. (Why is Christmas Day on the 25th December? http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/25th.shtml accessed 12/07/15)

The eventual choice of December 25, made perhaps as early as 273, reflects a convergence of Origen's concern about pagan gods and the church's identification of God's son with the celestial sun. December 25 already hosted two other related festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman "birth of the unconquered sun"), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian "Sun of Righteousness" whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier. Seeing that pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders decided to commandeer the date and introduce a new festival.

Western Christians first celebrated Christmas on December 25 in 336, after Emperor Constantine had declared Christianity the empire's favored religion. (Coffman E. Why December 25? For the church's first three centuries, Christmas wasn't in December—or on the calendar at all. Christianity Today, August 8, 2008. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2000/dec08.html accessed 12/07/15)

The sun-god worshiping Emperor Constantine succeeded in getting the Greco-Romans, over time, to mainly agree with his date--the date of the rebirth of the sun-god Mithras.

Notice the following 19th century admission from Cardinal Newman:

We are told in various ways by Eusebius, that Constantine, in order to recommend the new religion to the heathen, transferred into it the outward ornaments to which they had been accustomed in their own. It is not necessary to go into a subject which the diligence of Protestant writers has made familiar to most of us. The use of temples, and these dedicated to particular saints, and ornamented on occasions with branches of trees; incense, lamps, and candles; votive offerings on recovery from illness; holy water; asylums; holydays and seasons, use of calendars, processions, blessings on the fields; sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure, the ring in marriage, turning to the East, images at a later date, perhaps the ecclesiastical chant, and the Kyrie Eleison, are all of pagan origin, and sanctified by their adoption into the Church. (ibid, pp. 359-360) While the use of rings related to marriage greatly predates Emperor Constantine, and even has scriptural support (cf. Genesis 24)—hence are not from paganism, notice that many things associated with various churches came from compromises with paganism, including from an imperial follower of Mithraism.

But these vestiges of paganism were not part of the original catholic faith, nor are they accepted by the CCOG. They are pagan and, in time, became entrenched traditions for the Greco-Romans. 

 

3. Sol Invictus

In the late Roman Empire, December 25 was firmly established as the festival of Sol Invictus — the reborn sun. This festival also included feasting, worship, and gift-giving.

Notice also:

When Emperor Constantine I declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, it is said that the church purposefully co-opted the date of December 25 to incentivize pagans to convert. After all, it was better to ease them into the new faith by replacing their traditions rather than by changing them.

Thus, Jesus, who is supposed to bring new light into the spiritual state of the world, replaced the Roman god of literal light. His birth was seen by the early adopters of Christmas as a logical symbol for the birth of a new era whose positive change was reflected in the natural world. Some of the most iconic symbols of Christmas, like the decorated tree, the presents, and the date, are the result of syncretism between Christianity and pagan Roman rituals.

Some Christians believe allowing these two to mesh is a mistake. Otoniel Morraz, who stopped celebrating Christmas five years ago, says: “As a Christian, if the lord warns me, ‘don’t do as the pagans did and say that you do it for me’ then I don’t do it.” (Why Some Christians Are Forsaking Christmas To them, Jesus is not the reason for the season. by Mariana Zapata December 21, 2016 https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-some-christians-are-forsaking-christmas)

 

4. Evergreen Trees, Wreaths, and Decorations

Evergreens represented eternal life in numerous ancient religions. Decorating with greenery, holly, and lights originated in pagan rituals celebrating life’s triumph over winter’s death.

Trees were venerated in various cultures long before Christianity adopted Christmas trees. Scripture itself warns against practices involving decorated trees (Jeremiah 10:2–4), which, while not directly referring to modern Christmas trees, shows God’s consistent disapproval of pagan customs.

None of These Practices Were Christian in Origin

The historical record is not ambiguous:

So the question becomes: How did pagan customs enter mainstream 'Christianity'?

Part IV: How Christmas Entered the Church — Compromise, Not Revelation

Christmas was not instituted by Christ.
It was not practiced by the apostles.
It was not celebrated by the early Church.

Instead, Christmas entered mainstream 'Christianity' through compromise, syncretism, tradition, and political convenience.

Emperor Constantine and Roman Church authorities wondered how to persuade pagans to unite and convert. Many pagan festivals were deeply ingrained in cultural life, and giving them up was difficult. Instead of teaching believers to fully abandon paganism, some Church leaders chose accommodation.

If a pagan festival was highly popular — why not “Christianize” it?

If people worshiped the sun on December 25 — why not replace it with the birth of the “Sun of Righteousness”?

If people used evergreens as symbols of life — why not assign them Christian meaning?

This approach made conversion easier — but it came at a spiritual cost.

History records numerous admissions by bishops, historians, and Christian writers that Christmas customs originated in paganism and were adapted for Christian use.

None of this came from the Bible.

It came from human decision-making — decisions made centuries after the apostles had died.

While some Church leaders believed Christianizing pagan customs was harmless, the Bible strongly disagrees.

Deuteronomy 12:29–32 contains one of the most direct warnings:

“Do not enquire… saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way… Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

God explicitly forbids adopting pagan customs in His worship — even if the intent is to honor Him.

Thus Christmas — a holiday built from pagan elements — stands in direct conflict with the revealed will of God.

Part V: Theological Problems with Christmas

Beyond historical and biblical concerns, Christmas also creates several theological problems.

1. It Replaces God’s Festivals with Man-Made Ones

God has given His people annual holy days — festivals that reveal the plan of salvation. Christmas obscures and replaces these holy days. Millions know Christmas by heart, yet have no idea why God commanded the Feast of Tabernacles, or what the Last Great Day represents.

2. It Promotes a False Narrative about Christ’s Mission

The Christmas story, as popularly told, focuses on a sentimentalized baby Jesus — harmless, approachable, gentle. But Scripture emphasizes Christ’s roles as Savior, Sacrifice, High Priest, and returning King. Christmas distorts the seriousness of His mission.

3. It Encourages Commercialism

No season has been more commercialized. Greed, excess, and materialism dominate the season. Even secular news outlets acknowledge that Christmas has become a commercial machine. This is incompatible with the message of Christ.

4. It Introduces Doctrinal Error

Nativity plays, hymns, and traditions add elements that the Bible does not teach:

The blending of truth and error undermines biblical accuracy.

5. It is lie and encourages lies

Some Roman Catholics are getting concerned about some of the paganism associated with modern Christmas observance. Notice the following news item from 2011:

Vatican paper disfavours Santa Claus

Rome, Dec. 22: Santa Claus, and Christmas trees, have been condemned in an editorial in the Vatican weekly newspaper, “L’Osservatore della Domenica.” The editorial describes Santa Claus as a “monstrous substitute” for the Christ Child, and says that the idea of Santa “is offensive to the faith” and “will not and must not be accepted or tolerated by Christians.” The use of Christmas trees — which have only recently become a part of the Italian Christmas — is condemned as “an attempt to substitute the Crib ..... with a certain feeling of naturalism and paganism.” (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/dc50/vatican-paper-disfavours-santa-claus-684)

No one should be using Christmas trees, Santa Claus, etc. And even some in the Vatican are telling people that. It may also be of interest to note that Catholics originally condemned Protestants for using trees. Roman Catholics used to denounce Protestantism as the "Tannenbaum religion" see Protestantism the ‘Tannenbaum religion’?) because of Martin Luther's promotion of lighted Christmas trees. Greco-Roman Catholics should still condemn the use of trees now.

Also notice what the Bible (NJB) teaches:

5 The truthful witness tells no lies, the false witness lies with every breath. (Proverbs 14:5, NJB)

Is not Santa Claus a lie? Is not endorsing Santa Claus bearing false witness?

Want more reasons?

Look at the following:

Here's Why You Shouldn't Lie To Your Kids About Santa

...why, exactly, parents shouldn't lie to their kids and make them believe in Santa Claus.

The argument goes something like this: lying to children is bad.

You would think that this would be uncontroversial, somewhere between "Don't punch old ladies" and "World peace is a good idea", but there we are. So let us explain.

It's not just a story. Parents usually defend the Santa lie by saying that it's just a story, like Snow White. But there's a difference between fiction and lying. When you tell your kids a story, they know it's a story. They don't believe it's actually real. When kids play cops and robbers, even though they pretend otherwise -- and that's part of the fun! -- they know they're not actual cops and robbers. It's not the same thing as a telling them a story. Telling stories is awesome. The Santa lie, however, is a lie.

It doesn't do anything for their imagination. This is usually the next line of defense: tricking kids about Santa somehow helps their imagination. But that makes no sense. You're not asking kids to actually imagine anything, you're feeding them beliefs. You are taking advantage of the fact that they trust you to make them believe things are true which are not. That has nothing to do with imagination. If believing in Santa was an exercise in imagination, every kid would believe in a different Santa. And yet the things kids believe about Santa are the things their parents tell them (unless the kids are smart).

Who cares if it's tradition? ... You don't need to invent a supersonic fat man to show your children you love them.

It's bad tactics. From the parents' purely self-interested perspective, the Santa lie is just dumb parenting. First of all, it erodes your trust capital. Once your kids discover that you were actively lying to them for several years, how much do you think they'll trust you? Some kids are unaffected, but many trust their parents less. The Santa lie is also used to control children: if you're "good" you'll get presents, and if you're "naughty" you won't. But really, has that ever worked? Except for the two weeks before Christmas, and possibly for thirty seconds after being reminded, has any child ever altered his behavior in any way because of this threat?

It's just morally wrong. Sorry to repeat ourselves, but lying to children is just wrong. It is. Just because someone is gullible is no reason to lie to them, and children have a right not to be deceived like everyone else. You can make a case for some "white lies" but the Santa lie is not a white lie. It's just a lie.

It's selfish. That's the biggest reason. Despite their protestations to the contrary, parents don't do it for the benefit of the children. They do it for their own benefit. When pressed and rebutted, parents will eventually blurt out "But they're so cute when they believe in Santa!" That's the real reason, isn't it? Parents tell their kids the Santa lie because it's a form of entertainment. They like to watch kids helplessly believe something they know isn't true. At the end of the day, it's a cruel prank.

So there you go, parents. It's not too late. Come clean. (Gobry PE. Here's Why You Shouldn't Lie To Your Kids About Santa. December 25, 2010. http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-you-shouldnt-lie-to-your-kids-about-santa-2010-12#ixzz2pdnSGMck=)

Lying is wrong. Santa Claus is wrong. Various Greco-Roman Catholic and other leaders realize this.

Furthermore, the one called St. Nicholas was not a real Christian anyway.

He and other symbols of Christmas also shift the emphasis from the true God to pagan substitutes.  For example, notice something that the Apostle Paul was inspired to write:

For we must all be manifested before the judgement seat of Christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:10, RNT).

Yet, Christmas teaches children that throughout the year that they need to sit before the judgment of Santa Claus–a pagan substitute for Christ. 

Greg Williams, president of Grace Communion International (the group that was part of the changed Worldwide Church of God) had the following in its December 2021 newsletter:

Believe it or not, even Santa can be saved! Far from being a dangerous fairy tale, Santa Claus in reality is an Anglicized form of the Dutch name Sinter Klaas, which in turn is a reference to Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop from the fourth century. According to tradition, Saint Nick not only lavished gifts on needy children, but also  valiantly supported the doctrine of the Trinity at the Council of Nicea in AD 325. While the word Trinity­­–like incarnation–is not found in Scripture, it aptly codifies what God has condescended to reveal to us about His nature and being.

Santa Claus – St Nicholas – was a good Christian man who served others and believed in the Father, Son and Spirit.

No, Nicholas was NOT a good Christian man nor a saint. Furthermore, not only is trinity not mentioned in the Bible, it was not believed nor taught by early Christians.

Additionally, it is wrong to tell children lies about Santa Claus. Nicholas is dead. He does NOT know who is naughty or nice. He does not have a sleigh with reindeer. He does not come down chimneys to give presents, etc.

Now who was the real Roman Catholic and Orthodox and GCI saint called Nicholas?

Here are some answers from a Roman Catholic monsignor priest:

The Real St. Nicholas – Not Fat and Not Very Jolly Either.

(Dec 6) is the Feast of St. Nicholas. The real St. Nicholas was nothing close to the St. Nick (Santa Claus) of the modern age. He was a thin curmudgeonly man with a zeal for the Lord that caused flairs of anger. Compromise was unknown to him. The slow transformation of him into “Jolly ole’ Saint Nicholas is a remarkable recasting of him centuries in the making…

Enjoy this excerpt on the real St. Nicholas of Myra (aka Santa):

He approaches Arius, fist raised menacingly. There are gasps. Would he dare? He would. Fist strikes face. Arius goes down. He will have a shiner. Nick, meanwhile, is set upon by holy men. His robes are torn off. He is thrown into a dungeon…

Saint Nicholas. Paintings show a thin man. He was spare of frame, flinty of eye, pugnacious of spirit. In the Middle Ages, he was known as a brawling saint. He had no particular sense of humor that we know of. He could be vengeful, wrathful, an embittered ex- con….No doubt, Saint Nick was a good man. A noble man. But a hard man.

Nicholas was born in Patara, a small town on the Mediterranean coast, 280 years after the birth of Christ. He became bishop of a small town in Asia Minor called Myra. Beyond that, details of his life are more legend than fact….He became a priest at 19, and bishop in his twenties…Nicholas of Myra might not seem like the kind of person who relates to kids, and few acts attributed to him involve children.

St. Nicholas of Myra morphed into Santa Claus. (Pope C, Msgr. The Real St. Nicholas – Not Fat and Not Very Jolly Either. http://blog.adw.org/2012/12/the-real-st-nicholas-not-fat-and-not-very-jolly-either/ viewed 12/6/12)

So, Nicholas was a violent and hard man according to a senior Roman Catholic priest. Nor, biblically, was he a saint (cf. Acts 5:32).

Here are two more articles about him, with a Germanic focus:

Though they have similar outfits, Nikolaus is not to be confused with Santa Claus, who Germans call the Weihnachtsmann, or Father Christmas…

Each year on December 6, Germans remember the death of Nicholas of Myra (now the Anatolia region of modern Turkey), who died on that day in 346. He was a Greek Christian bishop known for miracles and giving gifts secretly, and is now the patron saint of little children, sailors, merchants and students. Known as Nicholas the Wonderworker for his miracles, he is also identified with Santa Claus. Beliefs and traditions about Nikolaus were probably combined with German mythology, particularly regarding stories about the bearded pagan god Odin, who also had a beard and a bag to capture naughty children http://www.thelocal.de/society/20121206-15915.html

Children were often quite frightened of being questioned about their behaviour because they’ve been told that St. Nicholas will hurt them with his rod or even put them in a sack and take them away. http://www.thelocal.de/society/20111206-15915.html

Notice the following from the St. Nicholas Center:

In 325 Emperor Constantine called the Council of Nicaea, which was the first ecumenical council ever held. More than 300 bishops from all over the Christian world came to debate the nature of the Holy Trinity, one of the early church’s most intense theological questions. Arias, from Egypt, taught that the Son Jesus was not equal to God the Father. This was the Arian controversy which shook Christianity’s very foundations. According to one account, when confronted by the unyielding Arias, Nicholas slapped him in the face. For such a breach of decorum, Nicholas was brought before Constantine, who stripped him of his office and had him thrown into prison. During the night, Jesus with his Mother Mary appeared to Nicholas: Jesus bringing the book of the Gospels, and Mary, the bishop’s stole which had been taken from him. In this way Nicholas was reinstated. (Bishop of Myra. St. Nicholas Center. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/bishop-of-myra/ viewed 12/05/14)

While Jesus is God, since Jesus said “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), this should help prove that Nicholas was wrong to punch somebody who claimed to believe something like that–plus Christians are not to be violent (Luke 3:14; see also Military Service and the Churches of God: Do Real Christians Participate in Carnal Warfare or Encourage Violence? ). Hence this helps demonstrate that Jesus’ mother Mary truly DID NOT appear to him, to get him acquitted of this. Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not appear to Nicholas (see also Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions).

Perhaps I should mention that once, when my wife and I were in Serbia a decade ago, we were told that Nicholas is the most popular ‘saint’ in that Eastern Orthodox-dominated land.

Here is some of what the Eastern Orthodox have strangely claimed about him:

As a faithful bishop/shepherd, St. Nicholas was revered as a saint even before his death because of his great holiness and tender care of his flock. After the Blessed Mother and St. John the Forerunner (Baptist), Nicholas was the most revered saint in the early church. He is most honored in the East, especially in Russia. Throughout the world many churches are named for him—more than for any other saint. His ministry continues to this day as a powerful intercessor for the protection and advancement of the Church. (Orthodox America and St. Therese Byzantine Catholic Church, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/wonderworker/)

Of course, according to the Holy Bible, the only intercessor listed in the Bible is Christ (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25)–and Jesus is specifically called the “one mediator” (1 Timothy 2:5, Douay-Rheims). Nicholas is not one who should be revered and he is NOT our intercessor.

All me to add that I was criticized on YouTube related to Nicholas because of using selected historical sources. Two issues, the first is that the critics should have realized the sources I used were valid. But the second is that they offered no instance where my sources were wrong nor did they offer precise contradictory information from historical sources. And since I tend to list my sources, anyone who wants can check them out to “Prove all things” as the Apostle Paul wrote.

That said, perhaps I should mention that once, when my wife and I were in Serbia, we were told that Nicholas is the most popular ‘saint’ in that Eastern Orthodox-dominated land.

 It should be noted that the modern idea of Santa Claus as a jolly, gift-giving figure in a red suit is a product of 19th-century literature and advertising. But again, really seems to have come from the pagan Norse god Odin also spelled as Wodin. Here is what Wikipedia says about him:

Odin (/ˈoʊdɪn/;[1] from Old Norse: Óðinn) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory, sorcery, poetry, frenzy, and the runic alphabet, and depicts him as the husband of the goddess Frigg. In wider Germanic mythology and paganism, the god was also known in Old English as Wōden, in Old Saxon as Uuôden, in Old Dutch as Wuodan, in Old Frisian as Wêda, and in Old High German as Wuotan, all ultimately stemming from the Proto-Germanic theonym *Wōðanaz, meaning ‘lord of frenzy’, or ‘leader of the possessed’.

Odin appears as a prominent god throughout the recorded history of Northern Europe, from the Roman occupation of regions of Germania (from  c. 2 BCE) through movement of peoples during the Migration Period (4th to 6th centuries CE) and the Viking Age (8th to 11th centuries CE). In the modern period, the rural folklore of Germanic Europe continued to acknowledge Odin. References to him appear in place names throughout regions historically inhabited by the ancient Germanic peoples, and the day of the week Wednesday bears his name in many Germanic languages, including in English. (Odin. Wikipedia, accessed 12/12/24)

Odin was depicted in the 19th century with a long beard. We have no evidence that the Roman Catholic Nicholas looked like depictions of Odin.

Anyway, the emphasis on Santa Claus and the idea of a magical, gift-giving figure can lead to idolatry and the worship of false gods. This is especially true for children, who may come to believe that Santa Claus is the one who provides them with gifts, rather than God.

Of course, it is wrong to tell children lies about Santa Claus. Nicholas is dead. He does NOT know who is naughty or nice. He does not have a sleigh with reindeer. He does not come down chimneys to give presents, etc.

Also, at least in many Western cultures, Santa Claus is supposed to bring presents to children all over the world by coming down chimneys at night.

Many parents actually tell children this lie every year. They forget that Jesus taught that Satan was a liar and the father of lies, and that once their children get older, they will realize that their parents lied to them. The Rheims' version of the New Testament specifically shows that Jesus taught the following:

43 Why do you not know my speech? Because you cannot hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof. 45 But if I say the truth, you believe me not. (John 8:43-45).

Lying to children does NOT improve the bond between parents and children as some apparently hope the Santa Claus lie will somehow help their family. Please tell your children the truth. Is that not what Jesus would do?

Furthermore, when I was at a Roman Catholic website (EWTN) on 12/25/09, it had a report that there is a tradition that claims that "Saint" Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (near Constantinople), the man now known as "Santa Claus", attended the Council of Nicea and while there assaulted Arius by hitting him in the face (this is also reported in Butler A, Thurston H, Attwater D. Butler's lives of the saints, Volume 4. 2nd edition, Christian Classics. 1956. Original from the University of Virginia, Digitized Jul 29, 2008, p. 504).

Not a particularly fine example of Christianity.

Parents should not lie to their children about Santa Claus. This is not the Christian thing to do.

Notice that even the Douay Old Testament (the accepted Roman Catholic translation of the Latin Vulgate into English ) teaches:

16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour (Exodus 20:16)

It is a false witness against children to tell them that Santa Claus has God-like powers and that he delivers presents to children in the 21st century.

 

Part VI: God’s Consistent Warning Against Mixing Holy and Unholy

Throughout Scripture, God issues consistent commands:

Examples include:

The principle is timeless: God does not accept worship invented by man.

Jesus rebuked religious leaders for “teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:7). He warned that worship built on human tradition renders worship vain.

At risk of repeat, let’s look at something that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians:

14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

"I will dwell in them

And walk among them.

I will be their God,

And they shall be My people."

17 Therefore

"Come out from among them

And be separate, says the Lord.

Do not touch what is unclean,

And I will receive you."

18 'I will be a Father to you,

And you shall be My sons and daughters,

Says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:14-18, NKJV)

Christmas — without biblical foundation, with pagan roots, introduced centuries later — fits this pattern of vain worship.

As far as being unclean goes, in ancient Northern Europe, Germanic and Scandinavian peoples held mid-winter feasts (such as Yule).

The tradition of eating ham during winter feasts dates back to ancient Nordic rituals. The Norse people sacrificed wild boars to Freyr, the god of fertility and good weather, during their Yule celebrations (https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/christmas-ham-history). When Roman Catholicism spread, many pagan customs were adapted into Christian celebrations, and the boar feast became associated with Christmas.

Alexander Hislop in his The Two Babylons book has the following:

25th of December, the day that was observed at Rome as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth, was held at the Natalis invicti solis, "The birth-day of the unconquered Sun." Now the Yule Log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun-god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas-tree is Nimrod redivivus--the slain god come to life again. In the light reflected by the above statement on customs that still linger among us, the origin of which has been lost in the midst of hoar antiquity, let the reader look at the singular practice still kept up in the South on Christmas-eve, of kissing under the mistletoe bough. That mistletoe bough in the Druidic superstition, which, as we have seen, was derived from Babylon, was a representation of the Messiah, "The man the branch." …


In many countries the boar was sacrificed to the god, for the injury a boar was fabled to have done him. According to one version of the story of the death of Adonis, or Tammuz, it was, as we have seen, in consequence of a wound from the tusk of a boar that he died. The Phrygian Attes, the beloved of Cybele, whose story was identified with that of Adonis, was fabled to have perished in like manner, by the tusk of a boar. Therefore, Diana, who though commonly represented in popular myths only as the huntress Diana, was in reality the great mother of the gods, has frequently the boar's head as her accompaniment, in token not of any mere success in the chase, but of her triumph over the grand enemy of the idolatrous system, in which she occupied so conspicuous a place. According to Theocritus, Venus was reconciled to the boar that killed Adonis, because when brought in chains before her, it pleaded so pathetically that it had not killed her husband of malice prepense, but only through accident. But yet, in memory of the deed that the mystic boar had done, many a boar lost its head or was offered in sacrifice to the offended goddess. In Smith, Diana is represented with a boar's head lying beside her, on the top of a heap of stones in which the Roman Emperor Trajan is represented burning incense to the same goddess, the boar's head forms a very prominent figure. On Christmas-day the Continental Saxons offered a boar in sacrifice to the Sun, to propitiate her * for the loss of her beloved Adonis.

In Rome a similar observance had evidently existed; for a boar formed the great article at the feast of Saturn, as appears from the following words of Martial:--

"That boar will make you a good Saturnalia."

Hence the boar's head is still a standing dish in England at the Christmas dinner, when the reason of it is long since forgotten. 

Also notice some comments from The Catholic Encyclopedia:

Nature Worship generally, and Agrarian in particular, were unable to fulfil the promise they appeared to make. The latter was to a large extent responsible for the Tammuz cult of Babylon, with which the worships of Adonis and Attis, and even of Dionysus, are so unmistakably allied. Much might have been hoped from these religions with their yearly festival of the dying and rising god, and his sorrowful sister or spouse: yet it was precisely in these cults that the worst perversions existed. Ishtar, Astarte, and Cybele had their male and female prostitutes, their Galli: Josiah had to cleanse the temple of Yahweh of their booths (cf. the Qedishim and Kelabim, Deuteronomy 23:17; 2 Samuel 23:7; cf. 1 Samuel 14:24; 15:12), and even in the Greek world, where prostitution was not else regarded as religious, Eryx and Corinth at least were contaminated by Semitic influence, which Greece could not correct. "Although the story of Aphrodite's love", says Dr. Farnell, "is human in tone and very winning, yet there are no moral or spiritual ideas in the worship at all, no conception of a resurrection that might stir human hopes. Adonis personifies merely the life of the fields and gardens that passes away and blooms again. (Martindale, Cyril Charles. "Paganism." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 17 Feb. 2014 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11388a.htm>)

Thus, The Catholic Encyclopedia is condemning practices associated with Tammuz, Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, Ishtar, Astarte, and Cybele. And some practices associated with them are tied to Christmas today. To this day, various ones will consume boar/pork on Christmas day.

Notice the following passages of scripture from the Roman Catholic New Jerusalem Bible:

29 ... you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:29, NJB).

19 What does this mean? That the dedication of food to false gods amounts to anything? Or that false gods themselves amount to anything? 20 No, it does not; simply that when pagans sacrifice, what is sacrificed by them is sacrificed to demons who are not God. I do not want you to share with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons as well; you cannot have a share at the Lord's table and the demons' table as well. (1 Corinthians 10:19-21, NJB)

Using pagan practices to worship Jesus is wrong.

Another reason that ham was pushed also seems to have been a way to separate from people who held to the original Christian practice of not eating pork.

No early Christian ate pork nor would they have endorsed a Christmas ham. And, of course, Jesus did not eat pork (see also The New Testament Church, History, and Unclean Meats).

When Roman Catholicism spread, many older customs were absorbed into it—including the consumption of unclean swine as part of the winter festivities. This is not something that Jesus would ever have suggested.

Part VII: Prophetic Warnings About Spiritual Babylon

Revelation warns of a great religious system described as Babylon the Great — a system that merges pagan customs with Christian labels. God calls His people to come out of her:

1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! 3 For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury."

4 And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.  (Revelation 18:1-6, NKJV)

This is not merely physical Babylon. It is a spiritual system:

Christmas is one of the clearest examples of this syncretism.

God’s people must come out of the confusion of Babylon — not by hating people, but by rejecting false worship.

Part VIII: The Witness of Early Christian History

Historical evidence confirms that the early Church did not keep Christmas.

1. Early Church Writers Opposed Pagan Mixture

The earliest Christian claiming writers warned strongly against adopting pagan festivals. They emphasized purity, holiness, and separation. They argued that the Church must not imitate heathen practices.

2. No Early Record of Christmas

There is no record of Christmas observance for centuries after Christ. It appears nowhere in the writings of the earliest Christian leaders.

3. The First Celebrations Were Regional, Not Universal

The earliest mentions of a midwinter “nativity festival” appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries — and even then, different regions used different dates.

This inconsistency alone shows that the festival did not originate with Christ or the apostles.

4. Early Christians did not celebrate Christmas or Birthdays at all.

5. It was impossible for Jesus to have been born on December 25th for those who will accept the truth of the Bible as well as early historical reports about Roman census’ and Jewish shepherds.

Part IX: A Call to Biblical Worship — God’s Holy Days

If Christians are not commanded to keep Christmas, what should they observe instead?

The answer is simple: the holy days God instituted.

These days — Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day — were kept by:

These days reveal God’s plan far more deeply than Christmas ever could.

They point to:

Why replace God’s inspired festivals with human inventions?

Part X: Practical Steps for Christians Leaving Christmas

Twice the Book of Proverbs warns:

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14:12, 16:25)

Jesus warned:

24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, (Luke 13:24)

13 Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

The Bible also teaches that there is a RIGHT WAY–and that is taught in both the Old (1 Samuel 12:23) and New Testaments (2 Peter 2:15).

Christmas is NOT the right way--it is part of the broad way. See also What was the Parting from the Way?

Leaving Christmas can be emotionally challenging, especially for families. But God blesses obedience.

Here are practical steps for those seeking to honor Him:

1. Focus on What God Commands

Replace Christmas with Passover and the spring holy days. Replace December festivals with the joy of the Feast of Tabernacles.

2. Teach Children the Truth with Love

Explain why you do not observe Christmas. Teach them God’s holy days. Provide joyful, meaningful activities grounded in Scripture.

3. Separate from Error Without Condemning Others

Most who keep Christmas do so in ignorance. Show kindness and patience. But do not compromise convictions.

4. Build Biblically-Based Traditions

Establish biblically rooted family worship, study, service, and celebration.

Conclusion: Worship God in Spirit and Truth

It should be clear that the Bible points against the observance of Christmas.

Brethren, people are faced a choice embraced by God’s faithful in every age:

Will we worship God His way or our way?
Will we honor His commandments or human traditions?
Will we follow the example of the early Church or the inventions of later centuries?
Will we come out of spiritual Babylon or remain entangled in her customs?

Christmas may feel warm, familiar, and culturally comfortable. But feelings cannot override Scripture. Nostalgia cannot sanctify pagan roots. Tradition cannot replace truth.

God is calling His people to return to the purity of apostolic Christianity — to worship in spirit, in truth, and in holiness.

Let us therefore honor God not with borrowed customs or pagan-influenced celebrations, but with obedience, worship, and fidelity to His Word.

  Here is a link to a related sermon: Biblical Examination of Christmas. 

Thiel B. A Biblical Examination of Christmas: Truth and History. https://www.cogwriter.com/BiblicalExaminationofChristmas.htm COGwriter (c) 2025 1214

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