hen a Christian says, "Merry Christmas," or thinks of Christmas, this is often what comes to their mind, right? But does this image really represent the sacred truth according to God's word regarding this holy day? Please know that I'm not denying the obvious, that Jesus Christ was indeed born of a virgin in Bethelhem at the inn with no room for them, where he was laid in a manger, etc. What I mean is; are we told how and when to celebrate Christ's birth in Scripture? And if not, then do we have license to celebrate it anyway, and however we choose? Are you ready to find out the answers to those questions? I hope so.
Now then, let me begin by stating how fairly recently this holy day has been called Christmas (i.e. "Christ's Mass" 1038/1131A.D.) and the date of December 25th set by Pope Julius 1, and that it is actually based upon the ancient celebration of Saturnalia (as early as 1645 B.C. by some estimates). Perhaps you have heard something like this before, well, maybe now is the time to pull off of the well worn path of the masses and consider the very serious issue.
Wisdom of The Masses?
"To act without clear understanding, to form habits without investigation, to follow a path all one's life without knowing where it really leads - such is the behavior of the multitude."
-Mencius
"The first to plead his case seems right, Until another comes and examines him."
Proverbs 18:17 NASB
'He (Aaron) took what they handed him (their gold earings)and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, "Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD."' Exodus 32:4-5 NIV(emphasis mine)
This is EXACTLY what the clergy has done ever since, link the LORD, Yahovah, with dumb idols, thinking that it will make idolatry okay by attaching God's name to it!
When Moses arrived on the riotous scene in godly righteous anger, that's when Aaron realized that he had greatly sinned, and then he tried to play the blame game and even tried to play dumb when Moses confronted him. How embarrassing, right? As if Moses would fall for Aaron's ridiculous assertion that he threw gold earrings into the fire and this golden calf came out! "It wasn't me Moses, it was the people, and this calf, they did it!" Can you just see Moses' face?
"So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. "And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you.
And the LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. Deuteronomy 9:15-16; 20 NIV
True Biblical Worship
"You must not worship the LORD your God in their way." Deuteronomy 12:4 NIV
"Moses comes to the statutes he had to give in charge to Israel; and begins with such as relate to the worship of God. The Israelites are charged not to bring the rites and usages of idolaters into the worship of God; not under colour of making it better. We cannot serve God and mammon; nor worship the true God and idols; nor depend upon Christ Jesus and upon superstitious or self-righteous confidences."
Matthe Henry's commentary on Deuteronomy 12 1-4
Is The Christmas Celebration In Scripture?
What about false religions that refuse to celebrate Christmas? Just because the Jehovah's Witnesses got this obvious doctrine right, that doesn't mean they are right about everything, or that we should do away with the one truth they have, for it is the truth. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Devout Jews, Amish, and Mennonites don't celebrate Christmas, either, but do they have the truth about the gospel? Nope. So is this more reason to celebrate Christmas then? No, because some serious biblical born again Christians, like yours truly, do not celebrate it, as well. Trying to reason that keeping Christmas is okay, because some heretics don't keep it, or that the Bible doesn't specifically say not to, is childish at best, and stupid at worst.
Many years ago while in a church service, I remember the pastor gave us a Nativity quiz, only to find out that much of the story was fabricated by man-made tradition. For instance, was the date of Christ's birth really December 25th? No. There's a wisp of evidence in with the shepherds who were still out in the fields with their sheep when the angles appeared to them. In Israel, shepherds are NEVER out in the fields in the month of December! Maybe October, the latest. Going by that small agrarian clue, Jesus could have been born anywhere between March and October. If God really wanted us to know Jesus' birthday, then he would have made it very clear, but he didn't. Therefore, it's not as important to God as Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is, which was clearly during Passover.
How about the wise men; were there really three of them? Not necessarily. There were obviously three gifts, but ancient tradition tells us that people traveled in large groups for protection against thieves, especially if they carried valuable treasures with them. More Nativity myths may have been dispelled for me that day, but more importantly, what I took away from that exercise was that man-made traditions can and do muddy the waters of historical facts, and seek to ruin God's word of truth.
So why do we celebrate Christmas as Christ's birth if it is not sanctioned in Scripture? Good question! It's a reasonable question that irks many Christians, and makes them VERY uncomfortable! Why? Only they can answer that for sure, but the apostle John tells us that: Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. So how do we know if the light of Christmas is really darkness? God's word is our plumb line of true light, and we need to use it as our lamp.
The celebration that has fairly reacently been called Christmas (i.e. "Christ's Mass" 1038/1131A.D.) is really the ancient celebration of Saturnalia (as early as 1645 B.C. by some estimates), that the early Catholic Church could not completely stamp out. So instead, they "Christianized" it, like Aaron did for the calf goddess, and her sun kid. The only holy event we are told to commemorate in the New Testament is Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and ressurection. We know this celebration as Communion, The Last Supper, or The Lord's Supper. That's it. And even that memorial meal is divinly, and therefore, highly regulated. It follows the pattern of the O.T. Passover, but only unleavened bread and wine are used. We are even given the symbology, too. The unleavened bread is to represent Christ's body (as the sinless lamb), and the wine? His all important sin destroying blood, of course!
The Mythology of Santa Clause
Birthday of the Sun god, December 25th!
Who Is Sikkuth?
“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, So I will send you into exile, to a land east of Damascus," says the LORD, whose name is the God of Heaven's Armies."
Amos 5:25-27 ESV
Saturnalia
The revelry started out as a one day celebration, then moved up to a three day event, but then at a later date, the festivities continued up until December 23rd. Some Roman emperors such as Augustus and Caligula (of all people) actually tried to curtail the number of days, but the multitudes didn't like that very much. The mob likes their festivals, don't they? This winter solstice holy day was not limited to the Romans though. The Greeks had their own winter solstice celebration for Kronos, and before them, the Persians had one for Mithras called Zayeshmehr (Yalda) around the 5th century B.C., and the Babylonians had one for a female deity called Sheshach (Jeremiah 51:41), it was supposedly called Sakea, but I can't find much about it on the Interweb. Interstingly enough, a sun-god chariot wheel cult was mentioned in 2 Kings 23:11 that had chariots dedicated to the sun. Josiah burned them and got rid of the other abominations in Judah.
I have read that these early winter solstice celebrations to these false gods included master and slave role reversals, vegetal decor associated with fertility, feasting, drunkenness, sexual perversion, nude carolers, and even a slave, or child sacrifice was made on the last day. But what about now? Well, thanks to the Catholic Church, much of this unsavory behavior has been cleaned up, and given new meanings. The Christmas tree isn't a totem to a false god anymore, now it's a symbol of Christ's cross! The gift giving? Jesus' gift of salvation, of course! Eating pastry effigies of men, such as the gingerbread man? The Eucharist. Christmas caroling? Not in the nude any more, and there are even solemn and beautiful Christian songs besides the ones dedicated to red and white pajama clad Satan Claws. Oh, by the way, that's not St. Nicholas in the picture, that's really father time (or Saturn) with his demon goat pal Krampus. See how the bad little tyke is begging Krampus for forgiveness, while the good little girl is getting rewarded by Saturn? Creepy. I'll tell you what else I see. That bundle of sticks ol' Krampy is holding reminds me of the barsom bundle, or a branch of fragrant sticks that was held to ones nose. I know it's meant to be a flail here, but he is holding it close to his nose. See Ezekiel 8 for reference to that pagan custom.
Early American Colonials Cancelled Christmas!
Let's be honest, Satan has worked very hard to make Christmas very festive, and therefore, very hard for our flesh to resist! Beautiful sparkling lights and decorations, jolly music, special foods and drinks -- presents! Just because something is fun, and gratifying to our flesh, that doesn't give us license to attach God to it, in an attempt to justify it. We must resist what devilish delights that the world has to offer us. Let's be honest, does the world really love Jesus enough to celebrate his birth? No, they love the guy who works miracles, but they don't love the man who tells them they are sinners in need of a Savior. Jesus said that the world loves their own, and that the world hates him. It makes no sense whatsoever for the world to celebrate Jesus' birth. And since winter solstice celebrations are much older than the Christianized version of Saturnalia, well, it's obvious who's really deceived here. The pagans called; they want their winter solstice holy day back!
Doing What's Right In Our Own Eyes
I'm sure I'll get the inevitable insult from some that I'm a Grinch, or a Scrooge, or even that I'm being legalistic, to which I always say to the last sentiment, "Thank you! It's better than being a lawless syncretist! " Jesus never used that term "legalistic" by the way, he called the Pharisees hypocrites. "Legalistic" is nothing more than a man made word hurled at someone attempting to expose their hypocrisy. Another threat I usually get is Matthew 7:1, that I'm not allowed to judge anyone, lest I be judged. I have nothing to fear from that Scripture, since I'm not a hypocrite. I've taken the Saturnalia plank out of my eye, and now I seek to remove the "Christmas" speck from the eyes of others. If they want to blink and keep the speck in, well, that's their decision.
This is a very serious subject, and to be honest, I've only scratched the surface. The truth is never easy to say, or do. Even so, we must decide whom we will serve, and I hope this post has given some of us a little food for thought, which I hope will give way to action. I encourage you to see if what I say is so. Don't just look for justification websites that say Christmas is godly, look at the pagan's side of the argument, as they are the best resource on paganism. Some are amused by the hypocrisy, but the more devout pagans are not in the least bit happy that Christians have robbed their winter solstice temple and stolen their gods and have the nerve to link Jesus to the whole thing. They are deeply offended that hypocritical Christians tell them that they paganized their Christian holy day. In that, believe it or not, they are more righteous.
As always, do your own careful research, but let God's word be your final word on the subject. Amen!