Have you ever wondered about Christmas? From
the time you first found out there really was no Santa Claus, did you ever
question other aspects of this incredible holiday ? Did you ever wonder where
Christmas came from? Why have a Christmas tree? Where did the idea of Santa
Claus originate? Why is this day celebrated on the 25th of December? What do
all these symbols and festivities really mean? What is God 's perspective on
these things? If you were surprised when you first discovered the truth about
Santa Claus, you will be even more surprised by the rest of the story.
Christmas Is Not Christian!
As shocking as it might sound, there is
nothing Christian about Christmas. It was men who created the word
"Christmas" from the phrase "Mass of Christ." In this way,
Christ's name came to be associated with this holiday and millions have come to
believe it is a Christian observance. The truth is that this holiday, with the
same symbols and ceremonies, was practiced many centuries before Jesus was ever
born. In fact, it did not become a part of professing Christianity until
hundreds of years after the Savior's crucifixion and ascension to heaven.
This truth is confirmed by the testimony of
both religious and secular authorities. The 1911 edition of the Catholic
Encyclopedia illustrates that Christmas did not originate in Palestine but
rather in Egypt.
Christmas was not among the earliest festivals
of the Church...the first evidence of the feast is from Egypt... Pagan customs
centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.
The celebration of Christmas was not embraced
during the days of the apostles or the early New Testament church. Consider the
words of the Encyclopedia Americana, 1944 edition which states:
Christmas... was, according to many
authorities, not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, as
the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons
rather than their birth.
The Origin of Christmas
Biblical authorities and secular historians
agree that the celebration of Christ's birth did not enter the church until
hundreds of years after Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It was not until
the fifth century that the Roman Catholic Church ordered this day to be
celebrated. Furthermore, the church directed this celebration to take place on
the same day as the pagan festival dedicated to worshiping the sun god.
The connection between Christmas and a variety
of pagan practices is thoroughly documented. Not only the day, but its symbols
are intimately connected to religious practices embraced by the pagan world.
William Walsh, a recognized authority on Christmas, writes:
...the Christmas festival...is a gradual
evolution from times that long antedated the Christian period... It was over
laid upon heathen festivals, and many of its observances are only adaptations
of pagan to Christian Ceremonies. (The Story of Santa Klaus p. 58)
...It was on or about December 21st that the
ancient Greeks celebrated what are known to us as the Bacchanalia or
festivities in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine. In these festivities the
people gave themselves up to songs, dances and other revels which frequently
passed the limits of decency and order. (The Story of Santa
Klaus p. 65)
...the Saturnalia, held in honor of Saturn,
the god of time, began on December 17th and continued for seven days. These
also often ended in riot and disorder. Hence the words Bacchanalia and
Saturnalia acquired an evil reputation in later times. (The Story
of Santa Klaus p. 65)
Why December 25?
Today, most of the world celebrates Christmas
on the twenty-fifth of December. Werner Keller writes in The Bible as
History:
December 25 is referred to in documents as
Christmas day in A.D. 324 for the first time. Under the Roman emperor Justinian
[in the 500's] it was recognized as an official holiday. An old Roman festival
played a major part in the choice of this particular day. December 25 in
ancient Rome was the 'Dies Natali Invictus,' 'the birthday of the unconquered
sun,' the day of the winter solstice and at the same time, in Rome, the last
day of the Saturnalia,...a week of unbridled carnival... (p. 331)
It is clear from the record of history that
Christmas originated during pre-Christian times and was celebrated by the pagan
world for centuries after the death of Christ. This day then became embraced by
the Roman Catholic Church in the fifth century. Where did the pagans get their
ideas regarding such a celebration?
Through her politics and the use of her son's
Nimrod's name, Semeramis became the queen of Babylon, the home of the Chaldee
Mysteries. She was also regarded as the "queen of Heaven" and
"the mother of the divine son." After generations of these idolatrous
practices and traditions, Nimrod came to be considered the son of Baal, the sun
god. He and his mother became the chief entities of worship as a Madonna and
child.
This belief and practice spread to Egypt,
where the names of the gods were Isis and Osiris. The son Osiris was born
December 25. In Asia it was Cybele and Deonius. In Rome they were called
Fortuna and Jupiter. Throughout the world we still find the remnants of mother
and child worship to this day. It is no surprise that this same system still
exists at the end of the age. It is called "Mystery Babylon"
(Revelation 17:5). Shockingly, it is disguised as Christianity and is still
practiced in Christmas.
From Paganism to Christianity
The great historian Will Durant described how
paganism actually took upon itself Christianity and converted it to pagan
purposes.
Christianity did not destroy paganism; it
adopted it... From Egypt came the idea of a divine trinity... [and] the
adoration of the Mother and Child... From Phrygia came the worship of the Great
Mother... The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the Eucharistic sacrifice of
the Mass that Christian fathers charged the Devil with inventing these
similarities to mislead frail minds. [Modern day] Christianity was the last
great creation of the ancient pagan world. (The Story of Civilization,
p. 595)
It is clear that a wide range of pagan
practices became assimilated into the Roman Catholic Church. It began with
embracing the birthday of the sun god and establishing the date of this
celebration as December 25.
It is interesting to note that the practice of
sun worship began in early Egypt. There the priests would make a round wafer to
represent the sun. The celebrants would eat the wafer, symbolizing the sun
god's life and the nourishment of man's soul.
Clearly, the church was embracing paganism in
an attempt to increase its numbers and draw in a non-believing world. In
reality, it was the church being absorbed by those who practiced beliefs
totally contrary to Christianity. In his book The Two Babylons Alexander
Hislop characterized it this way:
Long before the fourth century, and long
before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen at
that precise time of the year, in honor of the birth of the son of the
Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to
conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of
Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only
the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to meet paganism
half-way was very early developed... (p. 93)
The church eventually adopted and merged
several different pagan ceremonies to eventually end up with the modern day
practice of Christmas and the New Year celebrations we witness today.
Christmas Through History
During the latter part of the third century,
Deus Sol Invictus became the official deity of the Roman Empire. At that time,
a great temple was built in honor of the sun and the sun's birthday was
officially set as December 25. This date was chosen because it was the accepted
date of the winter solstice. Less than 100 years later, Emperor Constantine
came to power in Rome. At the beginning of Constantine's rule, it was a
violation of Roman law to practice Christianity. Christians were hated by the
state and were subjected to great persecution.
However, Constantine saw something in
Christianity he believed could be very valuable in holding the empire together.
Despite great persecution, Christians remained dedicated to their faith. This
commitment so impressed Constantine that he issued "The Edict of
Toleration" in 313 A.D. and made Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire. As a result, state persecution of Christians stopped. However,
the news was not all good. Because Christianity became the state religion, the
church became very political and the doctrines embraced by the church were
watered down and seriously compromised. Jesse Hurlbut describes this period in
his book, The Story of the Christian Church.
...the establishment of Christianity as the
state religion became a curse... Everybody sought membership in the church, and
nearly everybody was received. Both good and bad, sincere seekers after God and
hypocritical seekers after gain, rushed into the communion. Ambitious, worldly,
unscrupulous men sought office in the church for social and political
influence...
The services of worship increased in splendor,
but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and
ceremonies of paganism gradually crept into the worship. Some of the old
heathen feasts became church festivals with change of name and of worship.
Legalizing Christianity solved one problem for
the church, but it caused another. Millions of pagans were suddenly made
"Christians" literally overnight. These pagans had no desire to give
up their pagan practices, however. Try as it would, the church could not
prevail on the people to give up the paganism that they embraced. The church's
answer was to finally "Christianize" numerous pagan practices.
This adopting of pagan festivals was not
without opposition however. While many professing Christians welcomed the
liberty to celebrate these pagan practices, others objected. Many at the time
understood that such practices were rankly pagan, ungodly practices which
should never have been brought into the church. Christian preachers of the West
and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's
birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western
brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan
festival.
Despite opposition by Christians committed to
pursuing the teachings in scripture, pagan influence simply overwhelmed the
church, transforming it into something far different from that raised up by Jesus
through Peter and the apostles. This fact is confirmed by The Encyclopedia
Americana which states:
Christmas... according to many authorities,
was not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian Church... In the
fifth century the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day
of the old Roman Feast of the birth of Sol.
As you can see, ancient rites practiced by the
pagan world were eventually grafted into Christianity. Rome had been pagan
centuries before the birth of Christianity and it simply was not going to
abandon its false religion. When Emperor Constantine ordered Christianity
placed on equal footing with paganism, people preferred their old ways. They
enjoyed those things they had always known, and simply adapted the old to appear
to conform to the new.
They changed from worshiping the
"sun" to worshiping the "Son" and this was done retaining
all their old practices.
Most people today know little or nothing of
the pagan origin of Christmas. They are unaware that faithful Christians first
opposed these heretical practices. Additionally, most Christians today don't
understand that believers dedicated to keeping the truth of God were forced to
go underground, some suffering martyrdom rather than allowing themselves to
participate in such things.
The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree is arguably the most
prominent symbol of this season. Millions of people bring an evergreen tree
into their homes and decorate it with beautiful glass balls, tinsel, and
lights. These same millions would never think of the Christmas tree as an idol
which God abhors.
The tradition of bringing a tree into the home
and decorating it came from a fable regarding Saint Boniface. According to
tradition, Saint Boniface cut down the "great oak of Jupiter," a tree
worshiped by pagan Teutons in Germany.
The story is that Saint Boniface came upon a
band of heathens who were worshiping a huge oak tree. This band was about to
offer a human sacrifice. Boniface intervened, stopping the sacrifice. He then
ordered the tree cut down. Legend has it that a small fir tree sprang up in
it's place. Boniface proclaimed that this tree was the tree of life and
represented Christ.
Careful examination of this story reveals
striking similarities to the story of Nimrod and Semeramis. After the death of
Nimrod, his mother Semeramis declared that Nimrod was reincarnated in the form
of an evergreen tree which sprung up overnight. History reveals that the
worship of trees and nature was a common practice among pagans and continues to
this very day.
It is important to understand that such
practices are abhorrent to God. The tenth chapter of the book of Jeremiah
illustrates this point. Here, God commands his people to "learn not the
way of the heathen." He then goes into great detail describing a tradition
in which the heathen cut a tree out of the forest and decorate it. God goes on
to characterize this tree as a graven image (Jer. 10:1-2).
Although many argue that Jeremiah is not
referring to the Christmas tree, in these verses, their argument misses the
point. What God revealed through Jeremiah is that His children are to avoid
practices that resemble those embraced by the pagan world. He did not say that
it was appropriate to modify their practices and call them Christian. The
Christmas tree is clearly a symbol of a faith that was vastly different from
anything advocated by the scriptures.
The Christmas tree's origin in paganism is
thoroughly supported by the testimony of history. Consider the words of
Alexander Hislop.
The Christmas tree, now so common among us,
was equally common in Pagan Rome and Pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the
palm tree; in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the Pagan Messiah, as
Baal-Tamar, the fir referring to him as Baal-Berith.
The Christmas tree... recapitulates the idea
of tree worship...gilded nuts and balls symbolizing the sun...all the
festivities of the winter solstice have been absorbed into Christmas day...the
use of holly and mistletoe to the Druidic ceremonies; the Christmas tree [ It
is clear that the Christmas tree is a powerful symbol and conjures many images
concerning the celebration it pictures. However, there is one thing the
Christmas tree is NOT - it is not Christian. Everything about the Christmas
tree can be traced to beliefs that are strongly condemned in scripture. There
is no connection between the Christmas tree and the birth of Christ. It is a
pagan symbol that God condemns.
In 1974, United Press International, one of
the world's leading press agencies, carried an article regarding the origin of
the Christmas tree. This article spoke volumes about this symbol that has come
to be strongly embraced by the Christian world.
Toward the middle of winter, as the sun began
setting further in the south, and the nights grew longer, ancient pagan priests
put candles which they called fairy lights on trees in an attempt to lure the
sun back toward the north. (December 17)
Today, millions of Christian homes around the
world are adorned with evergreen trees every Christmas. Tragically, people fail
to understand what these trees picture because they simply don't ask.
Santa Claus
One of the most prominent images associated
with Christmas is that of Santa Claus. Every year, children around the world
long for his arrival, for he is the giver of gifts. Today, Santa Claus is
depicted as a lover of children and a true giver. During the Christmas season,
people are even encouraged to join his great army of elves so that children
around the world can be touched by his goodness. So popular is Santa Claus that
adults tell children stories of his exploits. These stories are conveyed with
such conviction that children believe them without question. But who is Santa
Claus? And where did his story begin?
Many articles and books have been written to
explain that Santa Claus was a bishop by the name of Nicholas who lived in Asia
Minor during the fourth century. It is true that such a bishop did exist but
much of what is attributed to him is untrue.
The second Vatican council formally stated
that while there was a Roman Catholic bishop named Nicholas, they acknowledged
that many concepts associated with him actually came from pagan sources.
William Walsh wrote:
Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas, the
saint whose festival was celebrated in December and the one who in other
respects was most nearly in accord with the dim traditions of Saturn as the
hero of the Saturnalia. (The Story of Santa Klaus, p.70)
Tony Van Renterghem writes the following in
his book, When Santa Was a Shaman: The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus
& the Christmas Tree:
In the newly Christianized areas where the
pagan Celtic and Germanic cults remained strong, legends of the god Wodan were
blended with those of various Christian saints; Saint Nicholas was one of
these. There were Christian areas where Saint Nicholas ruled alone; in other
locations, he was assisted by the pagan Dark Helper. In other remote areas...
ancient pockets of the Olde Religion controlled traditions.
Here the Dark Helper ruled alone. Sometimes in
a most confusing manner, using the cover name of Saint Nicholas or 'Klaus,'
without in any way changing his threatening, Herne/Pan, fur-clad appearance.
By absorbing such pagan feasts and traditions,
the Christian Church turned Herne into Saint Nicholas' captive, chained Dark
Helper; none other than Satan the Dark One, symbolic of all evil...
The Worldbook Encyclopedia provides some
interesting insights into some of the traditions regarding Santa Claus.
Some of Santa Claus's characteristics date
back many centuries. For example, the belief that Santa enters the house
through the chimney developed from a Norse legend. The Norse believed that the
goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the home.
Other traditions from the Druidic time suggest
that Santa's red suit is a leftover from the times when ancient peoples
worshiped the god of fire. Tradition has it that this fire god came down the
chimney. Consider too, that in ancient times, Druid homeowners would leave a
treat consisting of milk and pastries to appease this god who came down the
chimney into their fireplace. This is how the tradition of leaving milk and
cookies out for Santa began. The idea of placing stockings on the fireplace
mantel also comes from this legendary pagan practice. It is clear that the modern
Santa traces his origins back to ancient pagan traditions.
Christmas Presents
Most people believe the tradition of giving
Christmas presents comes from the Bible. The assumption is that the wise men
gave gifts to Jesus, therefore it is appropriate for us to give gifts to each
other. Christmas Poems
However, careful examination of this tradition
will reveal that gift giving has nothing to do with Magi or the gifts they
presented to Christ. Both religious and secular history reveal a clear
connection between giving gifts during the Christmas season and pagan
practices. Consider the following insights concerning this practice.
The interchange of presents between friends is
a like characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been
adopted by Christians from the Pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly
shows. (The Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 12, p. 153)
Tertullian wrote in his work, On
Idolatry that during the pagan feast of the Saturnalia which was
celebrated in December, gifts were "carried to and fro."
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,
exchanging gifts at this time of the year may have been influenced by similar
customs practiced by the pagans on January 1.
"Gifts are exchanged by the French on
January 1, by the Spanish and Italians on January 6, and by other nationalities
on December 25. In most parts of Europe it was the Christ Child who brought the
gifts. After the Reformation, the day itself was personified, and the figure of
Father Christmas was later combined with St. Nicholas, [who later became] Santa
Claus." (p. 659)
William Walsh provides additional insights
into the tradition of exchanging presents.
Christmas gifts themselves remind us of the
presents that were exchanged in Rome during the Saturnalia. In Rome, it might
be added, the presents usually took the form of wax tapers and dolls - the
latter being in their turn a survival of the human sacrifices once offered to
Saturn. It is a queer thought that in our Christmas presents we are preserving
under another form one of the most savage customs of our barbarian ancestors. (The
Story of Santa Klaus, p.67)
Gifts to a King
It is important to understand that the wise
men did not give gifts to each other. Additionally, the gifts they brought to
Christ were not birthday presents. Jesus did not receive toys from these
visitors, but rather unusual offerings that many believe carry great
significance.
It has been suggested that gold was is a gift
given to a king, frankincense a gift given to a priest and myrrh-a spice used
in preparing a body for burial-was a gift that was given to a condemned man. It
is clear that the wise men presented gifts to Jesus because they understood Him
to be a great King. The protocol at that time was to never approach the
presence of kings or dignitaries without bearing a gift. Adam Clark's
commentary expresses it this way:
"The people of the east never approach
the presence of kings and great personages without a present in their
hands." (Vol. 5, p. 46)
The truth is that gift giving at this time of
year is not scriptural and has no basis in the story of the wise men. The
giving of gifts at this time of year came from the practice of the ancient
Saturnalia. Today, this worship of Saturn has merged with the worship of
Mammon, the god of money.
