12/15/2023
What is Christmas?
Since long before the internet was invented, I have heard arguments years after year about Christmas and Easter. Every Holiday season dozens of fellow Christians are guaranteed to start posting meme’s and opinions about them both, calling them pagan, unscriptural, and dishonoring to God. For years I have held my tongue, and it isn’t my desire to get into debates over such things or to cause any division between the brethren. I am one who loves the truth and will do everything in my ability to be sure that what I stand for is truth – even if it gets me marked as a heretic, a compromiser, or anything else that people have put upon me for decades now. Although I am still not looking for a debate, the false accusations have gone on for so long, with false judgements, false information, and false teachings, that I can no longer hold my tongue. I have to at least put out there what I believe and why I believe it, and how the accusations and assumptions are wrong. Not to defend myself in any way, but rather to defend the truth and all Christians who love Jesus and His mighty works.
Is Christmas pagan? If we look at the secular additions to the holidays, the answer would appear to be yes. However, it only appears this way because of likenesses with pagan celebrations that people see. What they fail to see is the likenesses with Jewish Holy Days and so many other things we can find done by the world and in pagan history. For decades I have studied history. And what many will accuse the holidays of paganism is mostly false information that has no true link. If they would look just a little harder into history, they would see the true origins, and how they did not come from paganism at all. Of course, this doesn’t mean the devil can’t be involved in bring in corruption and defilement as he did with the Roman Catholic Church. But it is really the sinful world who hijacked the Holidays and made them their own – because they like to eat, have fun, give and receive gifts too. Amazing, isn’t it?
The true meaning of Christmas started with the Church. Yes, a corrupted Church. But the celebration was still about Jesus only, and not about Santa Clause, magic elves and flying reindeer. The traditions we follow have spiritual meanings and value that do honor God – if we keep the holidays pure from the worlds defilements. To the Christian, Christmas is about the birth and life of Jesus. When we celebrate a persons birthday, we are also celebrating their lives and the years they have been with us. With Christ, it is so much more than His birth. It doesn’t matter when you think He was actually born! What matters is that we acknowledge that God sent His only Son into this world to live, teach, perform miracles, and give us His words in red in our bibles. Then we celebrate Easter to remember His works in going to the cross for our sins and rising on the third day.
Of all of the Holy Days God commanded Israel to celebrate, is there a single one that should have more meaning to us as Christians than these two powerful works that made salvation possible for us, and gave us His Word? People will say, “God never told us to keep Christmas and Easter!”. So, they will only keep the Holy Days, which were commanded of Israel, never of the Gentiles. And no, we are not literal Israel. Do they not realize that God never commanded Israel to keep Purim and Hanukkah either? Yet they do, and so did Jesus. Celebrations God did not command! Well, how about that? Yet what greater works are there than the life, the miracles, the death and resurrection of Christ? Nobody would be saved today without them. Yet somehow Christians who keep Christmas and Easter are shamed and condemned for keeping them.
I don’t know about you, but I have never seen any person, and definitely never a Christian, bow down or pray to a Christmas tree. And by the way, Jeremiah 10 is not talking about a Christmas tree. It is talking about the heathen who would carve idols from the wood of a tree and overlay it with gold and silver and worship it. This a is not even close to being the same thing. A Christmas tree is a decoration. It started in the 1400’s with a tree representing the garden of Eden in a play in Germany. The tree of life with fruit (later being Bulbs) and candles (Lights) representing the light of Christ in the world. After this play it became a tradition in Germany, and later when migrants moved to America, they brought the tradition with them. It was rooted from the heart and minds of Christians who thought of the works of God and Christ, and had nothing at all to do with Paganism. Today, it is a tradition of pretty lights and decorations to remind people of the season of love, giving, and fruit of the spirit – all things that honor God.
Many people will come to their “New Revelations” of “Truth” against the holidays, not realizing that they have been fed false information that only sounds good and convincing. I have heard all of the claims over and over, so I promise you anything you think proves otherwise really doesn’t. Be careful of peoples “revelations”! Every lie will be convincing to those who listen to them, or they wouldn’t even exist or last long.
Many arguments will be used:
December 25th is the day Tummuz the ancient sun god was born! And who cares if this is true or not? Nobody I have ever met in almost 60 years of life has ever acknowledge any sun god or even know about him. This is not what Christmas is at all. So what if a false god was born on your childs birthday? Will you tell them, “Sorry honey, but we can’t celebrate your birth and life, because Tummuz was born on the same day”. We absolutely refuse to acknowledge any false god as Christians! And no pagan, nor this world, can define Christmas or Easter for us. What they do to it cannot change what it really points to. It is about the Son of the Living God coming into this world for us – period! Forget all of the non-sense and just give thanks to God for sending His Son. He is the greatest gift giver of all! He gave us His Son; He gave us His Holy Spirit; He gave us Spiritual Gifts; and He gave us the Church, leaders, and He trusted us with a great commission. Why turn this into a bad thing? Stop looking at the bad! Get rid of the bad! And focus on whatsoever things are true; whatsoever things are honest; whatsoever things are just; whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report! And things of virtue. Philippians 4:8
I don’t care about the myths behind mistletow, Yule, the 3 Kings not mentioned in the Bible, or anything else the world acknowledges. Because I don’t acknowledge even those things. They don’t matter at all to me personally. I do think it is a good thing to understand them, and if we see roots of evil in them, then get rid of them! Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Many other issues people have with the two holidays can be pointed out. Just don’t do those things! The world will always corrupt things. To them, many don’t even acknowledge Jesus at all. Yet it is a historical fact that Christmas was all about Jesus in it origins. There does need to be some purifying of the holidays because of the worlds additions and changing it to being about Santa and presents. Where is your heart during these celebrations? Is it looking towards heaven and giving thanks to God and Christ for their works, remembering all that has been done for us? Or is it with the world and its hustle and bustle to buy gifts and do things only appealing to the flesh?
We determine what these holidays are all about. Not the world, not paganism, and not those who want to stand against the majority. Christmas is what we determine from a heart of love and gratitude, as we worship a holy God from a holy heart. The assumptions of those against the holidays can never make it into what they claim it is all about. Purify your life by the putting away of the flesh. The putting away of a holiday isn’t the answer. Some will say they are happier since they stopped celebrating Christmas and easter. Then you were probably doing it wrong to begin with. Or you just like the idea of not having to spend your money on gifts for others. Either way, judging others for something they love out of gratitude and love for Christ is wrong. What you do is your business. But don’t judge others for what they do. And stop trying to convince them to follow your ways, as you attempt to prove yourself right and everyone else wrong!
This may sound harsh. But it is truth. Let love reign in and through your heart. Help people to purify their celebrations. I love to acknowledge the Holy Days in the Bible. We have done this for over 20 years now with some of them, and now acknowledge them all. They all point to the works of Christ. Many of them point to the very works of Christmas and Easter. The rest point to His second coming. And there would be no second coming without all the works of His first coming. Especially not for us Gentiles! So, as these holidays come each year, Celebrate them in remembrance of Jesus/Yeshua our savior. There has never been any greater works than those we remember and celebrate during these seasons. If God want the Jews to remember what He did for them at different times, I think He is fine with us remembering and celebrating the greatest works He has ever done. Be blessed, and be a blessing! And Merry Christmas!
