The Real Truth about the Christian holidays

 

Introduction

 

     I can’t count how many times I have heard it from people about the Christian holidays over the years on social media. There is so much information available online, and a lot of it is false, taken too far, has many added assumptions and false accusations, and is quite honestly just ignorant. People read articles or books from people who read something and even “studied” it, and they came to this “revelation” that Christmas and Easter are pagan, idolatry, evil, and should never be celebrated by any Christian. If what they say is true, to the extreme that they have come to believe that it is, then they would be right. However, in this book I will explain how such ideas are either false or extreme, ignorant or misapplied to what Christians actually do celebrate.

 

     There are indeed some different things wrong with the way Christmas is celebrated today. Christmas is no longer just a Christian Holiday, nor is Easter. Both have been hijacked by the world, changed by replacing Christ with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny; with magical creatures, presents, candy and fun. There is nothing wrong with presents, candy and fun; but when it is no longer about Jesus at all, that is where the problem comes into it all.

 

     As Christians, we should seek to keep these holidays according to their original purposes. A celebration is not a sin or dishonoring to God because people share gifts, foods, decorate, have gatherings, and bless one another and others they don’t even know. However, when a Christian holiday is turned into a gathering for all sinners in the world, commercialize to consume income from others, putting them in debt, and made into a time for thieves (much like those selling animals in the temple when Jesus overturned the money changers tables), then it really has become something it shouldn't be and something we need to find some separation from.

 

     This being the case, how much should we separate from, or what specifically? What is okay and what is not? Many people struggle with how to do this, so they prefer to do nothing at all. I can respect a person who has a conviction that they live by. I live by convictions also. Some that many others do not live by. This is a good thing, since too many people don’t seem to have enough convictions, when they should. The problem arises when people become judgmental of everyone else who does not live by the same convictions that they do.

 

     The purpose in this book is to show the true origins of the Christian holidays, in contrast to the assumptions made by those who say they are pagan. Then we will go over the different parts of the holidays to show when they started and what they meant. There are some very interesting facts in the bible about the stories that lie at the foundations of these holidays, and some interesting history. I will also answer many of the arguments used by people to accuse Christians of doing wrong by celebrating them, showing how things are misjudged and therefore wrong. There is both good and bad behind the holidays, but when it comes down to it, after all is seen and understood, I hope you will see the holidays in a new light. In a very biblically inspired way, not a worldly feel-good way. Everything we do during the holidays should take on a whole new meaning, giving honor to God in ways it may have failed to do before. I will show how this happens, and how we can prevent it from happening. It is my prayer that you will be enlightened and filled with the joy of the Lord, as He speaks, inspires, and gives you an understanding of how to get the most out of the holidays, in Christ jesus.

 

Holy Days and Holidays

 

     In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to keep 7 different Holy Days. These celebrations were often kept for a week or longer. They were all a part of His covenant with Him, just as the Sabbath Day was. They had to keep these days and do just as God commanded them to do during them. I will not spend a lot of time on each and what they were all about, since this is about the Christian holidays. However, to lay the foundation for the Christian holidays, I think it is important to understand the purpose of the Holy Days as a foundation. 

 

     During each Holy Day it was God’s purpose for the people to remember God’s great works or commands at different times of the years. The spring feast were, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits, and Pentecost. Passover remembered God’s deliverance from slavery and how God passed over them because of the blood of a lamb spread around the doorposts. Unleavened bread remembers how they had to hurry out of Egypt and they didn’t have time for the dough for bread to rise. First Fruits gives thanks to God for the provisions He has made for them in their crops. And Pentecost is the completion of the spring harvest and God’s fulness in provisions. 

 

     The Fall feasts are the Feast of Trumpets, which is a time to prepare for repentance as the Day of Atonement draws near. The Day of Atonement is the holiest day, when the High Priest enters the Holy of holies for the sins of the people. Then Lastly is the Feast of Tabernacles, which is another harvest celebration. It is a feast of joy, rest, and thanksgiving for God’s provisions.

With these Holy Days, God wanted to assure that His people remembered His great works in delivering them from bondage; He wanted to assure they dealt with their sins so there would be no separation of them from Him, by dealing with their sins; and throughout the year, He wanted then to always give thanks and praise to Him for all He has done and provided for them.

 

    Now of course, there is so much more if we were to get into a deep study of each of these Holy Days, especially when we get into how they all pointed to Jesus in the New Testament, and how Christ fulfilled them all at His first coming, and will fulfill other parts at His second coming. As amazing as all of these things are to get into, that's not what I want to do here now. I only want to show how these Holy days were commanded by God for these main purposes, laying a foundation for any days we choose to celebrate in His name.

 

Does Paul condemn observing holidays not commanded by God?

 

 Galatians 4:10-11 “You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.”

 

     This scripture is taken by many to be saying that we should not keep holidays or any special days that are not commanded by God, and that he fears for them by doing so. This is not what it is saying at all, but in the previous verse he mentions returning to things they did in their past as they serve other gods who were not gods at all, including the keeping of their pagan holidays. So, this clearly condemns the keeping of pagan holidays that worshipped false gods. It is not at all about holidays that honor Jesus Christ who came into this world to save us from our sins, and who died on a cross and rose from the dead on our behalf. These are two completely different things.

 

     The argument today is that we are not to create our own holidays, but only to keep those commanded by God. The problem here is that only Jews were commanded to keep Holy Days to remember all that God did for them in bringing them out of Egypt and providing for them. These days were all a part of the old covenant they made with God. Gentiles were never commanded to keep the Holy days and were never under the old covenant. We are under a new covenant, and have the greatest works God has ever done for all of mankind as a part of it. That sounds like something worth celebrating!

 

     People will say, “but we are to remember Jesus’ in every way, every day!” Sure! Were the Jews not to do the same with all that God did for them? Yet in His wisdom, He knew it was best as a reminder for them and as a praise time in their remembrance to give thanks, so they could reflect at certain times of the years. He never told them to just remember every day. He knew they needed the time to set aside, to reflect, and to teach the children all that God did for them.

 

New Holidays

 

     While the accusation is cast at those who keep the Christian holidays as something they have the right, authority, or commandment to do; they fail to realize that this happened even in the bible with the Jews, and it was never condemned by God.

 

     The Jews started 2 major holidays, and a few others that were just one day. The 3 major holidays are Purim and Hanukkah. These were started in the Old Testament, and even Jesus celebrated them as a Jew growing up with other Jews. 

 

    In the last chapter of the book of Esther, it tells us how Esther and Mordicai made the decision to make Puring a yearly celebration to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from the hand of Haman, who tried to have all of the Jews killed. This holiday was never commanded by God, and never condemned by Him. And why not? Because it honors His great works in bringing this deliverance about, as they give thanks to Him for saving their lives from certain death. Sounds to me like a good reason to give thanks to God and celebrate!

 

     The beginnings of Hanukkah are not written in the bible, nor is even the story of why it is celebrated. It is actually written in the Apochripha, in the book of the 1 Maccabees, which was an event that happened around 164 BC. It is written about in 1 Maccabees, and the decision to start the celebration is written in 2 Maccabees. 

 

    This celebration commemorates the rededication of the second temple after the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes entered the temple and defiled it by sacrificing pigs and other unclean animals in it. There are many more modern and interesting parts of this celebration, but we will cover that later. The point of explaining these celebrations is simply to show that even the Jews started celebrations to commemorate things God did for them. Isn;t it a good thing to always remember the things God did for us as a people and to teach them to the children so they can grow up always being reminded of them? Of course it is! And this is why God never condemned celebrating those days that He did not command. The people were simply doing something that He already approved of. This shows God's approval of keeping holidays that honor Him, not that we are not to do such things.

 

The Purpose of Christmas and Easter

 

     If these holidays served the purpose of idolatry, as some try to convince people of, then certainly God would be against them. One false accusation has just been confronted, and I think proven false. There are no other scriptures that say we cannot start new holidays. The one use was shown to be misused. When people get into something they want to prove, they dig deep and labor hard over the scriptures in their attempt to prove their points. Yet they fail to do as they intend to do, because it's simply not there at all. So they try hard to read it into them and convince us that it is there, when it really isn't. 

 

     Christmas and Easter commemorate the 2 greatest works God has even done in this world for mankind. God sent His only Son to a sinful world through a virgin birth, a great miracle from the start. Then Jesus grew up and began to amaze people at His wisdom and maturity, and He eventually started His ministry in which He healed many people, cast out demons and demonstrated His authority. He eventually gave His own life as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and rose from the dead, in which we now celebrate Easter. 

 

So at Christmas we take the time to remember God’s wonderful provision for us by sending His Son. We not only acknowledge His birth through a virgin birth, but we celebrate His life and His teachings that were given to us because of them. 

 

     At Easter, we remember His last week on earth as He taught His disciples, kept the Passover seder meal with them (the last supper); died on the cross and rose from the dead. What an amazing thing He did for us! This is a time when we not only remind ourselves and our families of His great works, but we can share with other family and friends. We have great opportunities to share Jesus during these two holidays. We also have great opportunities to worship the King of kings and Lord of lords. Why make it into something evil? Why shame people for keeping these days holy and honorable to God? I can understand standing against the worldly additions to these holidays, which we should! However, to judge people's heart or soul over something they assume is happening, when it's not, is not right at all. 

 

     So, now that we have established that it is okay to celebrate holidays that we were not commanded by God to keep, let's move on to some other accusations, so we can get these falsehoods off of our mind, out of the way, and focus on what is good and pure.

 

The Christmas Tree

 

     The most common scripture people will use against the use of a Christmas Tree is Jeremiah 10:2-4 “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.”

 

     From this scripture it is so often used to claim that this is the same thing people do today as they cut down a tree, nail a wooden stand to the bottom so it stands upright, then they adorn it with silver and gold ornaments. The similarities can make it sound like the same thing, but it isn't at all the same. What is happening here in Jeremiah? He is referring to the heathen practice of cutting down a tree and carving it into an idol, then overlaying it with gold and silver. He instructs the people of God to not ever learn their ways of doing this. The heathen nations would create their own gods by doing this and they would pray to and worship them. Even Israel did fall into this sin many times, and judgment came upon them for doing so.

     The Christmas Tree is nothing at all like this, since it is only a decoration and it is never prayed to or worshipped; admired in place of God, or acknowledged as having any power whatsoever. It is not a graven image, a false deity, or a sign of religion in any way. In order for it to be equivalent to this scripture it would have to be at least one of these things. To try to make it into such a thing is complete nonsense. 

 

The Original Christmas Tree

 

     The Christmas Tree is a traditional object used for decoration only, nothing more. Yet the original use of it holds a little bit of a different meaning and purpose. It was during Christmas time when it was first used. Its first beginnings were in the 12th century, then it became more popularized in the 16th century. In the mid 1100’s, in Germany (later in France also), they started the tradition of what was called the Paradise Play on Christmas Eve. This play would teach about the creation and the fall of man to teach it to an audience that were common people who did not know how to read, and they did not own bibles yet. It was a way to educate them on the fall and the need of a savior.

 

     The play would show the connection between the fall of man and the coming of Christ to save mankind and to give eternal life. The evergreen tree was used because it was the only tree around that was still green with life. So it represented eternal life after the fall, and through the coming savior. They would hang apples from the tree to represent sin and the fall, and later would put wafers and candles on it to represent the redemption through Christ. All symbolism was good and pure, and nothing at all came from paganism as many want to claim.

 

   In the 1500’s, and in the time of Martin Luther, it became more of a common practice in the homes of people. By this time they were no longer doing the Paradise Play, but the symbols still stood out to the people with their meanings. This is the true beginning of the Christmas Tree and its decorations. The evergreen tree represents the eternal life God has provided for us through the coming of Jesus, which interestingly is shaped in such a way to point towards heaven. The Ornaments today are like the apples which represent the fruit of the tree of knowledge, pointing to the fall and the need of a savior. The candles (in which we use electric  lights today) represent that light has come into the world, the savior is born! From its very beginning these symbols were part of the celebration, as they should be seen today and explained to our children.

 

     During the Jewish Holy Day celebrations they use many different symbols in the same ways to explain things to the people and children. The Passover Seder meal is a good example of that fact. During it they will use different foods to represent different things they want the people to remember. The bitter herbs to remember the bitterness of slavery; the unleavened bread representing the haste in leaving Egypt quickly; the charoset symbolizes the motor they were made to mix daily as they toiled and suffered; and the passover lamb, using the shank bone to represent the lamb sacrificed in Egypt to save them from the death angel. All of these and more, all symbolizing what God did for them during that time. Christmas started in this same way, giving us reminders of what Christ did for us. It is all good, having no pagan roots at all.

 

     As mentioned earlier, we are never told we cannot start new traditions and celebrations. The Jewish people did so with Purim and Hanukkah (and a few other days of remembrance), and God not only never corrected them, but even Jesus celebrated those days. And now, we can see from history that the Christmas Tree has more meaning than most people even realize, and it has nothing to do with the accused paganism many like to tell about ignorantly.

 

     In John 10:22-23, it says, “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the Temple courts in Solomon;s Colonade”. The Feast of Dedication is Hanukkah. Hanukkah is the celebration of the rededication of the Temple after it had been cleansed from defilement by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Jesus was at this feast in Jerusalem, keeping it as was custom. It was winter, which is always around the same time of Christmas. Hanukkah is also known by the name of “The Festival of Lights”. Interestingly, it is around the same time as Christmas, and it uses lights (Menorah candle light); and it also carries the custom of giving gifts to one another (today but not originally). They are very different celebrations, but have these similarities. 

 

      The reality is, celebrations can carry similarities and have nothing to do with one another. Pagan practices have a lot of similarities with Jewish traditions and commands from God. Animal sacrifices was one of them. Prayer is another. Even fasting, using sackcloth and ashes to display sorrow or humility. There are many likenesses between the Jewish customs and those of the heathen. The real issue is whether we honor God, obey Him, and what is in our hearts. God knows and sees it all. We need to purify all that we do and not be ignorant. Have some meaning and purpose behind all that we do. Honoring God with our celebrations, sharing about Him and His goodness; explaining the symbols and the meanings.

 

The Nimrod tree 

 

     I think it is only right at this point to also bring out the idea of the Nimrod Tree, and how it is used against the Christmas Tree and being pagan. The Nimrod Tree is not anywhere in the bible, but this idea is taken from a book written by Alexander Hislop in the 1850’s called “The Two Babylon’s”. The book itself has a lot of good information in it and confronts a lot of issues with the Roman Catholic Church, exposing many pagan and idolatrous issues with them.

 

     In the book, Hislop claims that Nimrod was deified as a god after his death, and that his wife Semiramis promoted tree worship - which eventually evolved into the Christmas Trees and other traditions. The problem with this claim is that there is no ancient Babylonian texts to support such claims, and scholars actually reject Hislop’s claims as unsubstantiated and speculative. Yet people today take his word for it because it sounds good to them. Drawings have been created by Hislop in his book that people will share online today as proof of this claim. They are clueless of the facts and how his claims are not supported at all by history or by scholars.

 

     So, don’t buy into the false claims people try to use to convince people of such things. It can seem like such strong support against Christmas, when in fact they are all lies and unsupported claims. The truth about Christmas is not pagan at all. It is very biblically based, since we know that Jesus was born of a virgin, sent into this world to save us from our sins. He became the light of the world that shined in our darkness, showing us the way. We rejoice and give thanks for the greatest gift of all, the gift of God’s Son.

 

The Decorations

 

     We have already mentioned the use of apples, wafers, and candles; which eventually changed to ornaments and electric lights. Other decorations also had their symbolism. 

 

• With apples or ornaments symbolising temptation, the fall, and eventually the fruit of the spirit through redemption; the fruit of the tree held blessing according to its original purpose, but a fall into sin according to disobedience. Therefore, the representations of the fruit hold dual purpose.

• The light symbolizing light coming into the world through the savior; 

• and the wafers symbolizing Christ and partaking of Him as the bread of life, and as the provision of God replacing the forbidden fruit. It also represented redemption undoing the fall.

• Then, tinsel has an interesting history as well. Originally, in Germany again, in the 1600’s, tinsel was made from real silver that was flattened out in thin layers and cut into narrow strips and hung on the tree. This would cause a reflection of the flickering candle light. This was to symbolize heavenly glory. 

 

     Other Christmas decorations have their historical stories also, such as garland - which goes back long before Christmas was started into other nations. Certainly, even pagans would have used it as did others. It was not pagan only, as if they owned the idea of its usage. It was recognised as a living tree that kept its life through the harshness of winter, representing life through the cold, dark, and stormy times of life. So naturally, Christians took it to use and redefine their own way during the Christmas seasons. 

 

     Everything can symbolize something, and nothing is left to pagans for its definition. The same object can be used by two separate groups to mean something different to them. What one does with it cannot define what another does with it. So, everything we use can have its symbolism that we recognize, or they can simply be pretty decorations with no meaning at all. These things are determined by the one using them, not by what someone did with them 2000 years ago or more. When people today have no idea what pagans did or why, and they have no association with them or their false religions, we cannot attach what we do today to those religions. We cannot label people as guilty of paganism because we think such things are rooted in paganism. It just doesn’t work that way.

 

     Lastly, I often wonder about people who want to judge others over a holiday they think is so pagan (when it is not); how do they get online from the Smart Phones or computers, and not see those devices as sinful, worldly, evil, corrupted, etc.? It is from these devices that people look at pornography and do all sorts of evil. Somehow they seem to agree that a person can be using the same devices sinners use, without participating in their sins. The same goes with Christmas. Regardless of what Roman Catholics did with their pagan additions to the Church, or what the sinful pagan world did or does today, we are separated from those thing as we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with Jesus Christ born of a virgin and doing great works throughout His life. We celebrate Jesus!

 

Giving of Gifts

 

     The giving of gifts did not start until long after the Christmas celebration was kept yearly. It developed as part of the celebration starting in the 1600’s, but not fully developing until the 1800’s. The idea of giving gifts started from the fact that the Magi gave gifts to Jesus when they visited Him and His parents some time after His birth.

 

     The early Christians gave gifts to many needy people as a charity, not as a celebration. Yet this still had its influence in history. In the 4th century, Nicolas of Myra, who was a bishop known for his secret generosity, giving to the poor, providing dowries to save girls from slavery. No historical evidence tells us that Nicholas ever gave gifts to children as many believe he did. It was during medieval times that gifts were then given to children in his name. This eventually turned into the myth of Saint Nicholas bringing gifts at night.

 

     As a Christian, we did not teach our children about a Santa Claus who comes at night to give them gifts. To us, this was a lie we would have to tell our kids, to later have to tell them it is not true. We want our kids to trust us and believe what we tell them, but then we lie to them, only to have to admit we lied later. I don’t think that is the best choice to make as a parent. I prefer to leave Santa out of the Christmas celebration, since it really is not about Nicholas, and it certainly is not about the mythical creation of a magical being called Santa Claus. 

 

     Each parent will have to make their own decision on this. However, if we don’t make a stand in these small issues, we won’t be able to stand strong in other issues that arise in this hardened world. I think it is wise to stay away from the world's false ideas about the Christian holidays, which can only serve as a major distraction to the real reason for the season.

 

 

Winter Solstice

 

     I have heard many people accuse Christmas of having ties to the winter solstice. The problem with this accusation is that the Winter solstice itself isn't a horrible or a pagan celebration. They fail to understand that even though some pagans did keep their celebrations with the sun god at this time of the year, they were not the only one who acknowledged this time of year. Several different cultures acknowledged it, because it was not a religious celebration, but was an astronomical event. 

 

     The Winter Solstice is the day of the year that has the shortest day and the longest night. And it is usually on December 21st or 22nd, not on the 25th. After the solstice, daylight begins increasing, giving the return of the light to the world. Pagans used this opportunity to celebrate the false sun god, while others simply acknowledged that the days would start to become longer, giving them more sunlight in their days.

 

     Christians did not choose this time of year for the same reasons that pagans did. Even paganized “Christians” had no part in this decision. If they did, they likely would have chosen the 21st, acknowledging the Winter solstice and the sun god. If true Christians they did acknowledge the Winter Solstice, that would not have been a horrible or pagan thing to do, since it would not be to celebrate a false god, but to acknowledge the true light that came into this world through the Son of the Living God. The symbolism of light coming back to the world works, and it doesn’t actually come from paganism, but from a celebration known to the whole world for an astronomical event rather than a pagan event. This is like the whole world today celebrating New Year’s Eve with fireworks and gatherings to rejoice over a New Year. The Roman god Janus, the god of beginning and ends is celebrated on January 1. Whatever pagans do on these dates simply is not associated with what Christians do.

 

     The Winter Solstice was that same kind of celebration and was not something only pagans acknowledged. Today, even the cults, false religions of the world, the Satanists, witches, and sinners of all types will celebrate the New Year, as well as true believers in Jesus. Winter solstice in and of itself is not pagan or evil. And neither are New Year celebrations or Christmas .

 

What about Saturnalia?

 

     Saturnalia is one of the main festivals people will point to when claiming Christmas comes from paganism. It was an ancient Roman festival that honored Saturn, the god of agriculture. It was originally held on December 17th, and later expanded from the 17th to the 23rd. During this event they would allow the slaves to be served by their masters and they could speak freely, symbolizing Saturn's mythical age of equality.

 

    They would hold public banquets, with heavy drinking, gambling, and it would turn into public disorder and chaos. During the celebration they would exchange small gifts. Many people today will claim Saturnalia took place on December 25th, which is not true. It happened before this date. Saturnalia did have gift giving as a part of its celebration. Yet so do some Jewish celebrations. Gift giving is not an evil practice, but is a natural human attitude of love to give to others. And even pagans loved their own families. So we cannot take facts like this and make them evil just because those of a pagan religion did them. 

 

Sol Invictus - the Sun god

 

     Sol Invictus comes from Roman art as a male figure, wearing a radiant crown with sun rays, sometimes driving a chariot. He was a Roman god, but was never a man who became a god. Sol means “sun”, and Indictus means “Unconquered”. Sol Invictus has no birth date, since he was an imaginary figure. He was seen as a sun god, and December 25th was the day of a festival held for him. No false deity was ever claimed to have been born on December 25th.

 

     I have heard many people claim December 25th was the birthday of the sun god, yet he did not have a birthday, since he was not a man; and no other false deity was born on this day. Although he was not born, but created by men; they did give him a “birth date”. On December 25th they celebrated Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which means The Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. 

 

     Emperor Aurelian officially promoted Sol Invictus in 274 AD, which is after Early Church Christians calculated and commemorated Jesus’ birth in the early 200’s AD. If there is any connection between the two with this accusation, it is the pagans who copied Christians - not the other way around as people love to accuse. 

 

The December 25th date

 

     People will constantly share false information about things that happened on December 25th to make it look like Christmas is pagan and following the likeness of pagan gods to honor them instead of Christ. In their claims I have seen outlines created with pictures and statements say that December 25th is the birthday of Nimrod, Tummuz, Sol Invictus, Mithras, Horus, Ositus, Adonis, Krishna, Dionysus, Apollo/Helios, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there are others. Think about this! This is a list of 10 different false gods that people have claimed were born on December 25th, just so they could accuse Christmas traditions of being pagan based. Seems a bit fishy to me, don’t you think?

 

     The real facts are that none of these 10 have a birthday written anywhere in any historical writings. How do these people know when these false gods were born, when many of them lived long before Jesus did, and we know more about Him than we do about any of them? This isn’t even possible! There are no such records anywhere. This shows how people will lie about history just to convince people of something they want them to believe. If people will believe them (which they do!), then those people will think they have the “facts” against Christmas celebrations. The reality is, they have been fooled by lies. 

 

Why December 25th for Jesus' birth?

 

     There are of course arguments about December inaccuracies, and some of those arguments can make sense. I think it is likely that Jesus was born in September, yet there is no evidence of that either. The fact is, we cannot prove a birth date. And to have a date already set gives us a time of the year to celebrate. It is not connected to paganism as many suppose. The reason for this date being chosen is not pagan at all. It is actually a matter of mathematical calculations. Although it can be questioned whether these calculations can be trusted, it is still a historical fact that it was done this way.

 

     It comes from a Jewish tradition called “Integral age”. This was a common Jewish belief that when a righteous person's life was complete, they died on the same calendar date they were conceived on. This may sound silly to us, but it was still a belief that many held to. So, by taking the day Jesus dies on Passover, it would be assumed that he was conceived on the same date,which was March 25 of that year. If we add 9 months to the day of conception, it would be assumed that He was born on December 25th. Without knowing an actual day, this calculation seemed to be as close as they could get mathematically, but accurate according to the tradition. This may not be logical to us today, but it seemed right to them. This did not come from paganism, but from Jewish traditions that existed long before Jesus was born. I am by no means saying we should trust this method to be accurate. But it explains why they chose the date.

 

     These dates were chosen for celebration purposes. They were not dogmatized as unquestionable dates that cannot be wrong. It is good to simply have a date to celebrate, since we can’t know when He was born for sure. Some did calculate the date for Passover the year He died differently, and therefore they came up with different dates, such as January 6.

 

     It was in the year 204 AD that the early Church father Hippolytus wrote the following:

“For the first advent of our Lord in the flesh, when He was born in Bethlehem, was December 25, a Wednesday”.

     This quote doesn't prove an actual date of Jesus’ birth, but it does show that the Church believed Jesus was born on December 25th at least as early as 204 AD. The earliest record of any claim of a sun god being born on December 25th was in 274 AD by the Roman Emperor Aurelian. So according to history, Christians claimed December 25th as the birthday of Jesus 70 years before pagans claimed this day for the sun god. So, who really took the date from who? According to history, Christianity did not take a pagan holiday to celebrate Jesus' birth! It was a calculated method that just happened to land on that day. Although Christians did not actually celebrate the birth of Jesus around 336 AD, the decision to do so was not based on anything pagan. 

 

Summary

 

     If Christmas was put on trial for being pagan, people should at least consider it innocent until proven guilty. In a court of law, no court would ever judge a person based on evidence given only by the prosecuting attorney; but would have to hear the evidence given from the defence attorney also. Unfortunately, so many people have already judged Christmas based on what they have seen or heard from the prosecution, without even looking for or hearing the defence. And the truth is, the evidence they lean so heavily on is almost all false information.

 

     I have laid out a fair amount for the defense of Christmas here. Of course there is always more evidence from both sides of the issue, but getting that deep into it would make for a much larger writing. I have given most of the major arguments and defense for both sides and I just hope people are willing to think for themselves and see the facts for what they really are. No pagan gods are connected to Christmas celebrations or the date chosen for Christmas.

 

     Now that we have covered the arguments against Christmas and the true history of it, I want to take the time to cover the foundation of the Christmas story from the bible. It may sound basic and like something you have heard many times before, but I think you will find that to not be the case. There are some amazing facts in the story most have never heard before. So as you read about it, keep in mind that this is why we celebrate.

 

Wrong day for my birthday!

 

     I have said many times over the years that I really don’t think Jesus is concerned about us getting the day right that He was born, but is only glad that we take the time to celebrate Him. I have had people say, “How would you like it if someone decided your birthday should be celebrated at a completely different time of the year?” Well, I think I would be honored that they cared enough to celebrate my life and take the time to form a celebration. This would show me that they love me enough to celebrate me. And if they went through that much to do such a good thing for me, I probably wouldn’t even want to correct them, since their hearts were right and they did it out of love for me. When you see all of this from people, the day being wrong doesn’t seem to matter so much.

 

     God looks at the heart. If we are acknowledging Him and giving thanks to Him for sending His Son into this world, and we just want to celebrate Him and His life, then why would He feel any different? People are the ones who make such a major issue out of things, putting themselves in the place of God. They look at things that really don't matter, because they are not as they make them out to be. Nobody is dishonoring God, worshipping idols, praying to trees, or doing anything connected to pagan practices. 

 

     It’s a celebration! What do you think of when you think of a celebration? There will often be decorations, lights, candles, music, and gifts. This is what Christmas is. Although the world has lost focus and made it worldly, Christmas originally stayed focussed on Jesus and loved ones. It celebrated the gift of God to the world, and the love He has shown us and our families. Like many celebrations, gifts are given to show the love we have experienced and continue to have for God and one another. This is the Christmas the world has paganized and changed, and commercialized for their own greedy purposes. As Christians. We need to get back to the roots! We need to focus on the purpose, share it with our children, and teach them the true meaning - without the world's additions!

 

The Christmas Story according to Scripture

 

     To end our discussion on Christmas, and before covering Easter, I want to take the time to cover the Christmas story as it is given to us in the bible; except with some explanations about certain details. If we are going to celebrate a miraculous work of God that did one of the most powerful works for mankind in all of history, then we should learn every detail possible about it, with its many symbols and meanings.

 

     The Story begins in the gospels as we read the story of Elizabeth getting pregnant in her old age with John the Baptist. The Angel Gabriel appeared to Zachariah to tell Him that his wife would have a son and he was to name him John. He questioned the angel and therefore was made unable to speak until John was born. After he was born there was a question about the name, and he got his voice back after writing down the name John to inform others.

 

     Gabriel visited Mary, who was a virgin, to inform her that she would become pregnant without ever having been with a man. Joseph was going to quietly dismiss her and change his mind about marriage, when Gabriel appeared to him to inform him that God was in this and that he was to marry her. 

 

      It was when Mary was very close to the time of giving birth that Joseph and Mary had to go to his town of birth to register for the census. This was around 6 BC. When they arrived there was no room in the inn, so they had to stay the night in a barn with animals. This is where it all happens!

 

     We have heard of the shepherds and Wise men coming, but the wise men were not at Jesus’ birth. It was the shepherds who came to the stable after Jesus was first born. But why shepherds? Shepherds are considered the lowliest of all people and trades. 

 

     Shepherds were humble people and often overlooked. They were poor, ordinary laborers who were often viewed as ceremonially unclean. They would also be considered to be unreliable as witnesses by social elites. God chose shepherds for a reason. 1 Corinthians 1:28 says, “God’s salvation is first announced to the humble, not the powerful”.  God wanted to announce this great and wonderful work to be recorded in history, yet kept from the powerful, prideful, religious, and hardened sinners. 

 

     An angel had appeared to the shepherds in the field. Bethlehem was known as a town responsible for raising sheep for the purpose of being sacrificed for the people. The Sacrificial lambs were raised there, while the Lamb of God was being born there. Bethlehem was therefore known as the city of shepherds. When the Angels appeared to them in the field, they announced the coming of the King and savior (the Messiah), with a large company of angels saying in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests”. Then the Angel told them where to go and what to look for in the town. The Shepherds went to find Jesus and bowed down to worship Him. When they got up to leave, they went out and became the very first evangelists, as they shared with others that the savior had come. In Luke 2:17 it says, “They made known the saying that had been told them”. God entrusted the least expected messengers to take the truth to others and share it. 

 

     Bethlehem was David’s home town, and Jesus was called “the son of David”. Jesus became the shepherd of men, as He gathered His sheep and fed them spiritually and taught them. Jesus is called “the good shepherd” in John 10:11, and the “shepherd of Israel” in Ezekiel 34 and Micah 5:4. The city, the lineage, the message, and the future are all tied to the Shepherd and the sheep, which were all symbolized by Bethlehem and the Shepherds whom God used. This is significant and important to notice, that God planned every part of it, down to the smallest details. This was a Huge event, the biggest event of all times before, which would lead up to the crucifixion and resurrection. Both the start and the finish of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth are important and worthy of our remembrance and celebrations!

 

     It was after several months that the wise men showed up. Before they headed out on their journey, they saw a star. This was no ordinary star, and these men were astrominers. So they paid attention to the stars! This star was different, even supernatural. This star moved as they followed it, then eventually stood over the house where Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were living at the time. 

 

     On their Journey, the wise men stopped to see Herod and explained to him that they were on their way to worship a new born King. This of course concerned Herod so that he wanted to kill Jesus. The wise men slipped away from Herod and never returned to tell him where Jesus could be found, so Herod set out to kill all of the males 2 years and younger. So we know Jesus was less than 2 years old at this time.

 

     The 3 wise men were led by a star; while the 3 shepherds were met by angels and told to go into town. 

• The wise men were Gentiles of other nations; while the shepherds were Israelites. 

• The wise men came from afar by following a star; while the shepherds were close by and summoned by the word from heaven. 

• The wise men were educated, wealthy, and influential; the shepherds were poor, ordinary, and socially insignificant. 

• The wise men brought expensive gifts; while the shepherds brought nothing but themselves, their wonder, and their praise.

• The wise men returned home warned in a dream to not return to Herod; the shepherds returned rejoicing and spread the news.

 

     Christ came for both Jew and Gentile. God reveals His Son to the high and low; for those who have much to give, and lows who have nothing but their faith. This is a prelude of the gospel coming into the world for all, with a message for the world to hear about. If the message was important enough to have lowly shepherds take it to the people in their day, why wouldn’t it be important for us to take it to the world today? 

 

     God has sent His only Son into this world as savior for all who will come unto Him by faith! We celebrate this wonderful news with a special celebration, a time of feasting, praising, sharing, giving gifts and sharing love. A time of telling the story! Let go of the worldly version of Christmas. Learn and tell the story of Jesus to your families, friends, coworkers, strangers in the streets! Stop the nonsense accusations of paganism! Let the season be a unique method of evangelism, praise and worship, and celebration of the King of kings!

 

Easter

 

     Christmas celebrates the birth and life of Jesus, all the way up until His last week before His death. It is a time to commemorate all that God did by bringing Him into this world and using Him to show us and teach us so many wonderful things. Easter is all about that last week, as He met with His disciples for the Passover meal, died on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of all men, rose from the dead - conquering death, and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. This is a wonderful and powerful fulfillment of the work of atonement for sins that we commemorate during this time of the year. However, as with Christmas, we will need to cover the same issues of paganism accusations with this holiday. Although the date is far less of an issue, the world hijacked this Christian holiday just as they did with Christmas.

 

     The name “Easter” is one of the first issues we will cover. This name is used only once in the bible, and it is actually translated as “passover”. This is a mistranslation in the King James bible, since Easter is not a word used in the bible elsewhere, and it has nothing to do with the resurrection of Jesus. The word Easter wasn’t used until 725 AD by the English Monk Bede. The name Easter was chosen in association with the Spring personification Eostre, with the spring festival being held in her honor. Unlike the Christmas accusations of connections to the sun god or other false gods, this one is actually true. However, there is no evidence that she was a goddess at all, and with such strong evidence to the timing of Passover and the death and resurrection of Christ being in the spring, the fact that this personification was celebrated is not relevant. We must reject any association with any person or goddess! The fact that Jesus was crucified at Passover in the spring is irrefutable. 

 

     Most believers today prefer to refer to this holiday as “resurrection day”. I am one of them. Although most all Christians celebrate Easter with no knowledge of any connection to a false goddess, most also do not pay homage to her in any way whatsoever. Their focus is mostly on Jesus. However, the worldly additions or replacement of Jesus can become a snare. Like Christmas with Santa, Easter has the Easter Bunny, with small gifts and candy. These are parts of the holiday that we as Christians do not need. Giving kids small gifts and candy can be fine, but I would highly recommend separating from any association with an Easter Bunny. 

 

     The common claim is that Eostre is the goddess of fertility. This is false information that is used by those who want to make this celebration seem as bad as possible. It is actually believed that Eostre was a personification of spring, and not a goddess at all. Either way, I think it is best to leave anyone other than Jesus out of this celebration. Therefore, it is best to leave out the “Easter Bunny” and the worldly additions as well. These will only serve as a distraction to the true and meaningful purpose of Resurrection Day.

 

Eggs and Rabbits

 

      We all know how eggs and bunnies are always used to represent this holiday. The question is, are they pagan. If you were to ask those against this holiday, they will say that this lines up with the idea of the fertility goddess, with rabbits being a creature that produces many offspring. Eggs also represent fertility and offspring. So to them, these all fit together to support the same pagan ideas that were worshipped by pagans. This can seem convincing to many people, who will therefore stand against the holiday. We just need to take a moment to see exactly what history shows us, always realizing that writings and pictures have been created to point to the idea that there is a connection between paganism and this Christian holiday. Although I did state that this did happen in England, it was not the same everywhere else. 

 

     The use of eggs has always symbolized life and renewal in many cultures because they naturally suggest birth. This symbolism appears independently across civilizations. During the Persian Nowruz, which is their spring new year, they painted eggs. Romans and Greeks used eggs in their spring rites. And in Jewish traditions the egg is used in the Passover Seder to symbolize hope in times of mourning. It clearly had a different symbol for them, but was still used to symbolize something of meaning.

 

     In Medieval Christianity, eggs were forbidden during Lent. Chickens kept laying eggs that could not be eaten, so they were boiled and preserved when Lent ended, and eggs were eaten and celebrated. This led to egg feasts, decorated eggs, and giving eggs as gifts to others.

 

     In some circles of Christianity, in Eastern Christianity during the middle ages, they described the egg in this way: the egg shell as resembling the tomb; the cracking of the egg as the resurrection; and the insides as the life within that is the life of Christ that comes out. 

 

     People love to point to paganism, failing to realize that all cultures used the egg, including Jews and those who had no pagan ties at all. It was only symbolism, and not worship of false gods.

 

     The word for Easter in Hebrew is pesach. In Greek and Latin it is Pascha. In French it is Paques, and in Italian Pasqua. Every one of these words in their own language are the same, and mean “Passover”. There are many other languages I could show, but these are just examples. In the English it should be the same, but because of this monk Bede 725 AD, even though his decision was not to connect to paganism, but only to symbolize the season with a figure, it still caused a continuation of the error into the King James Bibles and the English observance of this celebration. Therefore, we can conclude that the name “Easter” is improper. 

 

     Is this then a good reason to preach to all people that they are wrong and need to repent for using an improper name? I don’t think that will be profitable. We should teach people the truth. Explain why we say "Resurrection Day” or even Passover, instead of Easter. After all, these holidays should be a time for teaching! That is the whole entire purpose of the Holy Days, to teach the people and remind them of the things that God did for us, and to do what He commanded us.

 

The Easter Bunny

 

     The Easter Bunny does not come from Eostre and is not an ancient pagan symbol. However, like Santa Claus, it is a worldly created creature that has nothing to do with our reason to celebrate the holiday. The Easter Bunny is a late Christian-era folk custom. It was in the 17th century in Lutheran regions of Germany that the story was created that good children will receive eggs.

 

     Hares appear in Christian art, occasionally symbolizing purity or the virgin birth. They symbolized rapid reproduction and were associated with vigilance, always being alert. They were sometimes mistakenly believed to reproduce without loss of virginity. Therefore, their appearance in art symbolized purity and watchfulness. This was not pagan, although its symbolism was not perfect. Either way, they were never an object of worship in any way of a creature or a goddess. 

 

     The Easter Bunny can symbolize good things, but simply serves as a distraction to the true meaning of the holiday. He can symbolize joy, new life, giving, and innocence; but does not symbolize salvation, resurrection, and definitely is not sacred.

 

     Christians are free to celebrate and enjoy holidays like this. However, we must be careful that nothing replaces Christ in our celebration! Keeping with the Christian Passover pattern of celebration is something I prefer. It all points to the death and resurrection of Jesus and honors all that He did on the cross. Adding some fun and candy and gifts for the children is fine. Yet keeping with the real reason for the celebration is important and a responsibility of the adults to make sure it does exactly that.

 

The Passover Seder

 

     The Passover Seder is the Jewish meal that is kept every year at Passover to commemorate what God did in bringing the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt. What they failed to realize (and still do to this day). Is that the Symbolisms given in this tradition point to the death and resurrection of Jesus. When we say that we celebrate “Resurrection Day”, this celebration is closely aligned to the Passover Seder and what Passover truly pointed to from its beginning. 

 

     The Passover Seder meal uses several symbolic foods to represent what God did for them when He brought them out of Egypt. Let’s look at these and see how they point to the work of Christ as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

 

• The Passover Lamb - This is of course the most significant part of the entire meal, since the Passover lamb points to the lamb that was slain and ate the night the death angle passed over them, after they spread the blood of the land around the door frames of the houses.

     Jesus is called the Lamb of God who was slain before the foundation of the world. Before time began, God knew mankind would need a savior from their sins. All that happened in Egypt with the lamb was pointing to the day when Jesus would become the Lamb of God at this same festival in order to atone for the sins of all men. So, what the Jews celebrate as God’s deliverance from the slavery in Egypt by the mighty hand of God and the use of the blood of a lamb, Christians see as the mighty hand of God that has delivered them from their sins by the Lamb of God. What a powerful picture we are given! And this is what we acknowledge as Christians during the Christian holiday known as “Easter” by the world; but as “Resurrection day” to many of us.

• Maror (Bitter Herbs) - As they partake of the bitter herbs, they remember the bitterness of slavery, and how God delivered them from such hardships. The color and texture of this dish resembled that of the clay and motor they were made to mix, so it reminded them of the forced labor in Egypt. As Christians, we can remember the bitterness of our sinful ways and how Jesus set us free from the path of destruction.

• Charoset (Sweet paste) - this dish was typically fruit like cooked apples mixed with nuts, giving a sweet flavor to express the sweetness of deliverance and freedom, after the bitterness of slavery.

• Matza/Unleavened bread (Afikoman) - Matza is the bread that was made in preparation of leaving Egypt, when they didn’t have enough time to allow it to rise. Leaven has come to symbolize sin, while unleavened bread symbolizes getting or keeping the sin out of our lives in preparation for God’s presence and service. The Afikomen represented the body of Jesus, as the one presenting the Seder to the people would break the matza in half, take the one half (called the afikomen), wrap it in a linen cloth, then have it hidden for the children to later hunt for. So, after a time presenting the Seder, the children would hunt, and the one who found it would receive a “redemption price” for it. It may be equivalent to a dollar to 5 dollars today. This is likened unto the body of Jesus being wrapped in white linen, hidden in a tomb for a time (3 days), then bringing redemption to the people who “find” Him.

• Karpas (Green vegetable) - The green vegetable represents new life, growth, and renewal. So it celebrates redemption and new life in the freedom God made possible, with provisions given in the crops of their land.

• Beitzah (Roasted egg) - the egg represented the lost Temple sacrifices after the destruction of the first Temple. It also represents life emerging from the shell, a natural metaphor for renewal. Victory through chaos.

• Wine (4 glasses) - 1. The cup of Sanctification: this cup is drunk at the beginning of Passover to set the meal apart as holy. 2. The cup of deliverance: This cup is drunk after the telling of the story of the Exodus, in association with the plagues and God’s judgment on Egypt. 3. The Cup of Redemption: This cup is drunk right after the meal. This is the cup that Jesus identified with when He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” Luke 22:20. Jesus did not partake of the last cup. He said in Luke 22:18, “I will not drink the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes”. 4. The cup of Praise: This cup is drunk at the end of the Seder. It celebrates fellowship with God and future hope. The reason He didn’t partake of the fourth cup is because it represents the completion of redemption, full fellowship and joy, and God dwelling with His redeemed people. This was something that had not been completed yet, as Jesus had not yet died and resurrected, and the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent. These were things that were soon to come, but were not completed. 

 

     This Passover Seder is celebrated every year, without them realizing how it points to Jesus. Even Jesus said it did, when He said the bread was His body, and the wine was His blood. As Christians we must partake of Jesus - Spiritually, so we can have the transformation of life that He promises. This is partaking of His body and blood. And this is represented at Passover, which is what many now call Easter.

 

     Many Christians will insist that Easter has nothing to do with Christ, because it is pagan. It is only as pagan as you determine in your own mind that it is. If all you can focus on is what you see as pagan, then to you it will be pagan. For those who see the words of Jesus, focus on the work of Christ on the cross, the resurrection from the grave, His ascension, and the fulfillment of the seder and atonement for our sins; it means so much more!