Do You Know the Surprising Origins of the Christmas Holiday?

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Do You Know the Surprising Origins of the Christmas Holiday?

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The popular American comedic actor Drew Carey was once interviewed on the television talk show The View. He surprised the audience when he addressed the value of telling children the truth about Santa Claus.

"I don't think you should tell kids that there is a Santa Claus," Carey said. "That's the first lie you tell your children." Instead, he told the audience, "Tell kids that Santa's a character we made up to celebrate a time of the season." Otherwise "when kids get to be 5. . . they realize their parents have been lying to them their whole life."

Earlier that same year the Arts & Entertainment cable television channel aired a program about Christmas titled Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas. The promo for the program read:

"People all over the world celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th. But why is the Savior's nativity marked by gift-giving, and was He really born on that day? And just where did the Christmas tree come from?

"Take an enchanting journey through the history of the world's favorite holiday to learn the origins of some of the Western world's most enduring traditions. Trace the emergence of Christmas from pagan festivals like the Roman Saturnalia, which celebrated the winter solstice."

Both programs addressed an uncomfortable fact—that Santa Claus is fictitious and that Christmas and its trappings emanate from pagan Roman festivals. But as we'll see, by no means are these the only sources of information about the background of Santa Claus and Christmas.

Is there more to these ancient traditions and practices than meets the eye? Does it make any difference whether we continue to participate in them? What does the Bible say about such practices?

Celebration of the sun god

It may sound odd that any religious celebration with Christ's name attached to it could predate Christianity. Yet the holiday we know as Christmas long predates Jesus Christ.

Elements of the celebration can be traced to ancient Egypt, Babylon and Rome. This fact doesn't cast aspersions on Jesus, but it does call into question the understanding and wisdom of those who, over the millennia, have insisted on perpetuating an ancient pagan festival that has spread through much of the world as Christmas.

Members of the early Church would have been astonished to think that the customs and practices we associate with Christmas would be incorporated into a celebration of Christ's birth. Not until several centuries had passed would Christ's name be attached to this popular Roman holiday.

As Alexander Hislop explains in his book The Two Babylons: "It is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance" (1959, pp. 92-93).

As for how Dec. 25 became the date for Christmas day, virtually any book on the holiday's history will explain that this date was celebrated in the Roman Empire as the birthday of the sun god.

Explaining how Dec. 25 came to be selected as the supposed birthday of Jesus, the book 4000 Years of Christmas says: "For that day was sacred, not only to the pagan Romans but to a religion from Persia which, in those days, was one of Christianity's strongest rivals. This Persian religion was Mithraism, whose followers worshiped the sun, and celebrated its return to strength on that day" (Earl and Alice Count, 1997, p. 37).

Not only was Dec. 25 honored as the birthday of the sun, but a festival had long been observed among pagan nations to celebrate the growing amount of daylight after the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. The precursor of Christmas was in fact an idolatrous midwinter festival characterized by excess and debauchery that predated Christianity by many centuries!

Pre-Christian practices incorporated

This ancient festival went by different names in various cultures. In Rome it was called the Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture. The celebration was absorbed into the early Roman church and given the name of Christ ("Christ mass," or Christmas) to conciliate new converts who didn't want to give it up and to swell the number of nominal adherents of Christianity.

The tendency on the part of third-century Catholic leadership was to meet paganism halfway—a practice made clear in a bitter lament by Tertullian, a Catholic theologian of that time. In 230 he wrote of the inconsistency of professing Christians. He contrasted their lax and political practices with the strict fidelity of the pagans to their own beliefs:

"By us who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God [the biblical festivals spelled out in the Bible in Leviticus 23, which they no longer observed], the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians" (quoted by Hislop, p. 93, emphasis added throughout unless otherwise noted).

Failing to make much headway in converting the pagans, the religious leaders of the Roman church began compromising by dressing heathen customs in Christian-looking garb. But, rather than converting them to the church's beliefs, the church became largely converted to non-Christian customs in its own religious practices.

Although at first the early Catholic Church censured this celebration, "the festival was far too strongly entrenched in popular favor to be abolished, and the Church finally granted the necessary recognition, believing that if Christmas could not be suppressed, it should be preserved in honor of the Christian God. Once given a Christian basis the festival became fully established in Europe with many of its pagan elements undisturbed" (Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion, and the Unknown, Richard Cavendish, editor, 1983, Vol. 2, p. 480, "Christmas").

Celebration wins out over Scripture

Some resisted such spiritually poisonous compromises. "Upright men strove to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostasy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin" (Hislop, p. 93).

The aforementioned Tertullian, for one, disassociated himself from the Roman church in an attempt to draw closer to the teachings of the Bible.

He wasn't alone in his disagreement with such trends. "As late as 245 Origen, in his eighth homily on Leviticus, repudiates as sinful the very idea of keeping the birthday of Christ as if he were a king Pharaoh" (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 6, p. 293, "Christmas").

Christmas was not made a Roman holiday until 534 (ibid.). It took 300 years for the new name and symbols of Christmas to replace the old names and meaning of the midwinter festival, a pagan celebration that reaches back so many centuries.

No biblical support for Santa Claus

How did Santa Claus enter the picture? Why is this mythical figure so closely aligned with the Christmas holiday? Here, too, many books are available to shed light on the origins of this popular character.

"Santa Claus" is an American corruption of the Dutch form Sinterklaas, short for Sint Nikolaas, a figure brought to America by the early Dutch colonists. This name, in turn, stems from St. Nicholas, bishop of the city of Myra in southern Asia Minor, a Catholic saint honored by the Greeks and the Latins on Dec. 6.

He was bishop of Myra in the time of the Roman emperor Diocletian, was persecuted, tortured for the Catholic faith and kept in prison until the more tolerant reign of Constantine (The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Vol. 19, p. 649, "Nicholas, St."). Various stories claim a link from Christmas to St. Nicholas, all of them having to do with gift-giving on the eve of St. Nicholas, subsequently transferred to Christmas Day (ibid.).

How, we might ask, did a bishop from the sunny Mediterranean coast of Turkey come to be associated with a red-suited man who lives at the North Pole and rides in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer?

Knowing what we have already learned about the ancient pre-Christian origins of Christmas, we shouldn't be surprised to learn that Santa Claus, too, is nothing but a figure recycled from ancient pagan beliefs.

The trappings associated with Santa Claus—his fur-trimmed wardrobe, sleigh and reindeer—reveal his origin from the cold climates of the far North. Some sources trace him to the ancient Northern European gods Odin (or Woden) and Thor (Count, pp. 56-64). Odin, portrayed with a long, white beard, was said to ride the sky with his eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Others trace Santa Claus even farther back in time to the Roman god Saturn and the Greek god Silenus, companion and tutor of the wine god Dionysus (William Walsh, The Story of Santa Klaus, pp. 70-71).

Was Jesus born in December?

Knowledgeable Bible scholars who have written on the subject of Jesus' birth conclude that, based on evidence in the Bible itself, there is no possible way Christ could have been born anywhere near Dec. 25.

Alexander Hislop points out regarding Jesus' birth: "There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December.

"At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields . . . The climate of Palestine . . . from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October" (p. 91, emphasis in original).

He goes on to explain that the autumn rains beginning in September or October in Judea would mean that the events surrounding Christ's birth recorded in the Scriptures could not have taken place later than mid-October, so Jesus' birth likely took place earlier in the fall (p. 92).

Further evidence supporting Jesus' birth in the autumn is that the Romans were intelligent enough not to set the time for taxation and travel in the dead of winter, but during more favorable conditions.

Since Joseph's lineage was from Bethlehem, and since he had to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem, and since his expectant wife Mary traveled with him, it would have been nearly impossible for Joseph and Mary to make the trip in the winter. As recorded by Luke, Mary delivered Jesus in Bethlehem during the time of census and taxation—which no rational official would have scheduled for December.

What difference does it make?

The Bible gives us no reason—and certainly no instruction—to support the myths and fables of Christmas and Santa Claus. They are tied to the ways of this world and contrary to the ways of Christ and His holy truth. "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles," God tells us (Jeremiah 10:2).

Professing Christians should examine the background of the Christmas holiday symbols and stop telling their children that Santa Claus and his elves, reindeer and Christmas gift-giving are connected with Jesus Christ. Emphatically they are not!

God hates lying! "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren" (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Christ reveals that Satan the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). Parents should tell their children the truth about God and this world's contrary and confusing ways. If we don't, we only perpetuate the notion that it is acceptable for parents to lie to their children!

Can a Christian promote a pagan holiday and its symbols as something that God or Christ has approved? Let's see what God thinks about people using customs and practices rooted in false religion to worship Him and His Son. We find His views clearly expressed in both the Old and New Testament.

God specifically commands His people not to do what early church leaders did when they incorporated idolatrous practices and relabeled them Christian. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God gave them a stern warning: "Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them [the pagan inhabitants of the land] . . . and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.'

"You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (Deuteronomy 12:30-32).

Many centuries later the apostle Paul traveled to and raised up churches in many gentile cities. To the members of the Church of God in Corinth, a city steeped in idolatry, Paul wrote: "What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?

"For you are the temple of the living God . . . Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you' . . . Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 7:1).

Instead of allowing members to rename and celebrate customs associated with false gods, Paul's instructions were clear: They were to have nothing to do with them. He similarly told Athenians who were steeped in idolatry, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).

God clearly forbids adopting pagan worship days and customs to worship Him. Jesus Christ plainly tells us that "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). We cannot honor God in truth with false practices adopted from the worship of nonexistent gods.

Jesus said: "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:6-7). With God no substitutes are acceptable! It makes no difference that Christians mean well when they observe Christmas. God is not pleased.

Almighty God, who made us, preserves us and gives us eternal life, has made His will in this matter known to you through His Word, the Bible. Will you honor God or follow the traditions of mankind?

To Learn More...

Does it matter to God which days and customs we use to worship Him? Why do so many of our holidays have strange customs found nowhere in the Bible? Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular holidays. They're also surprised to learn that the Holy Days God commands in the Bible—the same ones kept by Jesus Christ and the apostles—are almost universally ignored today. Be sure to download or request your free copies of the booklets Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? and God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.

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Comments

  • dziwczyna
    @TEE1980 That's quite the predicament you are in, but nothing is impossible and many others have been in your situation before as well. If your eyes are opened to the truth about xmas, you need courage to act. Pray, fast, study. One act of courage/faith, will help you making further steps, which God will bless you for.
  • KARS
    When I see the holiday rolling around again, I tell myself; Jeremiah Chapter 10. That fixes it in my mind everytime.
  • United Church of God
    For additional information you can go to www.ucg.org/booklets and read online or request a free printed copy of our booklets: “Holidays of Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?” and “God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.” If you have any further questions, please feel free to write again.
  • United Church of God
    Christ’s birth to be observed, because it results in the rejection of observing the Passover, the most important commanded observance in all of God’s Word. In addition to that, Solomon, with the wisdom given to him by God, said: “A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of one’s birth” (Ecclesiastes 7:1). It is not how we begin life that really counts, but how we live our life. What counts is the character we build and the legacy we leave, at the time of our death. It’s not how we begin life, but how we end life that really matters to God. In that regard, no one left a greater legacy than Christ did. The writer of Hebrews says this: “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). At the moment of His death, Christ became the Savior for all of mankind. That is why we commemorate His death and why we do not observe His fabricated birth, which was adapted from heathen festivals. That is why Christmas should not be observed, in spite of good intentions.
  • United Church of God
    since no instructions are given for observing Christ’s birth, is it possible that God might not want us to observe Christ’s birth? Why might that be the case? The Pharisees of Christ’s day had many traditions they incorporated. At one point they asked Christ why He and His disciples didn’t “walk according to the traditions of the elders” (Mark 7:5). Christ answered, “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men... All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7:8-9). Paul was not referring to Christmas here, but the principle holds just the same. Christmas observance is a tradition of men and by observing it, Christians end up rejecting the commandment of God to observe and memorialize Christ’s death. God’s Word does tell us the precise day on which Christ died – the Passover Day, which God commands His followers to observe. All four Gospels also give us specific instructions on how to observe it. That commandment has been rejected. Instead, men today follow a human tradition of observing Christ’s birth, which is nowhere commanded and the date of which is not even given. That is why God undoubtedly did not want..
  • United Church of God
    Saturnalia. These were all major celebrations to their pagan gods with customs that parallel Christmas customs today. Jesse Hurlbut says this in chapter nine of his book The Story of the Christian Church: “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 worship.” In other words, in the case of Christmas, the worship of Christ was substituted in place of the worship of Mithra, Bacchus and Saturn so those who celebrated those festivals could come into the church without having to give up their ancient celebrations. What does God say in regards to adopting heathen customs? He says: “take heed... that you do not inquire after their gods saying ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way... Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it” (Deuteronomy 12:30-32). Some might ask however, “What would be wrong with trying to observe Christ’s birth? After all He was the Son of God and the most influential Person ever to walk this earth.” Since no date is given and
  • United Church of God
    Dear TEE1908, Thank you for your inquiry regarding how to handle questions about the origin of Christmas with your wife and children. Today, Christmas has become a major holiday celebration, supposedly celebrating the birth of Christ. However, all informed readers of the Bible know that the day of Christ’s birth is not given in any of the four Gospels. Mark and John make no mention whatsoever of any events surrounding the birth of Christ. Matthew and Luke each devote a few verses to it, but do not mention when He was born. It is thus obvious that God did not feel it was important to know when Christ was born. Any date given has to be fabricated. Why did man pick December 25th as the date to fabricate for His birth? They picked that date because the time of the winter solstice was already a major celebration for many people, dating back long before the birth of Christ. Persians honored Mithra, their god of light on December 25, at the time the sun began its’ “rebirth”, as days began getting longer. The Geeks honored Bacchus, their god of wine, at the winter solstice. The Romans honored the god Saturn beginning on December 17, which lasted for seven days and was known as the
  • TEE1980

    Seeking advice:
    I'm a regular attender at a non-denominational protestant church in a small, university town. There are a lot of educated and intelligent congregants in this gathering. My town is where I grew up and my wife has grown close to many people in our church and town, just as I have many enduring relationships and acquaintances. I don't know anyone that does not celebrate Christmas. In fact it is a big part of my church's calendar. Growing up, I began to realize that there was something that was "off" about our holidays, and I often felt like what was wrong with the holidays had to do with the teaching in the Bible. I've been a passive reader of UCG publications for a couple years now, and am growing more and more discontent with my tolerance of these traditions. The trouble comes with my wife and kids. I try to avoid the questions from the kids that would cause me to lie to them, but it is hard. My wife relishes the holidays, and argues that they are good for building traditions and memories. She sighs when I explain some of the roots of the holidays to our curious 6 year old. I just want to be free from anything that would disappoint God. Any advice?

  • dziwczyna

    What do people of the world do when it's Passover, or the Sabbath, or the Day of Trumpets? They do whatever they normally do on any given day. They don't treat those days special. To me xmas is just a normal day, and I do normal daily things (albeit, the shops are closed).

    We don't need to feel left out of anything. We've got around 52 Sabbaths every year; we can and should treat those as special. My family always gets together Friday evening, even a sister comes who is athiest. If you don't have family, invite people from your church over.

    McDonalds is open on xmas, so I will go grab a cup of coffee (and maybe a cheeseburger) and go for a walk!

  • lakeside46

    Hooray for you KC1974. My conscience was doing the same thing to me. Good for you for following that little voice that I feel is God's spirit telling you that its not right with him. We are shunned by our families and don't have many friends, but we feel good about what we are doing (or not doing) and the way we are walking in spirit and truth with God.

  • KC1974

    Every Christmas for the past 6 yrs I have felt that something just wasn’t right. Every year while decorating the tree I felt a sense of conviction and was reminded of what God said in Jeremiah 10:2-4…"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen....For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not." I continued decorating the tree in spite of my convictions until this year. Recently I researched the REAL history of Christmas and was so disgusted with how we Christians have let the enemy of our souls deceive us into practicing paganism. Some say “Lets keep Christ in Christmas” or “Jesus is the reason for the season” but the truth is Jesus Christ was never in Christmas and He isn’t the true reason for the season. 1 Corinthians 11:24-26; Luke 22:19 says we are to remember His death. Too many Christians focus on His birth (His humanity) and not His death and resurrection (His deity). Since receiving the truth about Christmas I have an enormous amount of peace and a sense of spiritual freedom. Some people have laughed at me and some have even cursed me but I must live by my convictions. I choose to obey His commandments rather than the traditions of men(Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7-9).

  • lakeside46

    My husband and I stopped celebrating Christmas about 10 years ago. After I learned the truth, I couldn't, in good conscience, ever celebrate Christmas again. And lying to kids??? What's that about? Just to have a little fun, people are willing to tell lies to their kids. I know I was devastated when I was told there was no Santa Claus. And I was mad at my parents. How dare they lie to me all these years. What purpose does it do to tell kids all that stuff? Our son grew up with the truth after age 6 and he has not missed Christmas at all. We do special things that day with our own family and make it a special time so other kids don't make him feel "left out". Sure, we miss the glitz and lights, but it in no way makes up for the joy we have now that we know we are obeying the laws of Jehovah and Jesus. And it has been hard. Family has been brutal. But it doesn't last long. We have a hard time with them at Christmas and Easter; then they leave us alone for awhile. But when we get down about it, we just remember Jesus saying that people didn't like him for what he was saying, and they won't like us either. So, I feel we are being like Jesus. What a blessing!

  • tesfalem

    As no where in the Bible mentined where axctly was born Jesus,why would millions of people celebrated his birth? it is amazing. I wish all who celebrate to read their Bible clearly. And the answer will be there for them.

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