It is well known that many Christians in the past, including the Puritans, rejected the celebration of Christmas. Present day cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas either.  So, what should be the Christian’s attitude toward Christmas?

First of all, let's take a few moments to consider some of the more commonly asked questions about Christmas, shall we?

No, the birthday of Jesus Christ was definitely NOT December 25th.  He was likely born in September.

Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, better known as Constantine I or Constantine the Great, was born around the year A.D. 275.  He worshipped the pantheon of Roman gods as all his predecessors had done and especially the Roman sun god, Sol. However, as he was traveling to battle Maxentius at the Tiber River in A.D. 312, he had a vision. In that vision, he reported seeing the cross of Christ superimposed on the sun with the words, “in hoc signo vinces” translated meaning “in this sign you shall conquer.” After winning the battle, he became a strong champion of Christianity. The very next year, he met with Emperor Licinius, the ruler of the eastern provinces, to sign the Edict of Milan giving equal rights to all religious groups within the Roman Empire. He returned property seized from Christians, built a great number of churches, donated land, and convened the first Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.  

Either as a means to unify his empire, or to make converting to Christianity easier, or both, Constantine sought to blend Christian and pagan traditions. At that time, two prominent pagan winter festivals were celebrated. The first festival (“Saturnalia”), which honored Saturn (the Roman god of agriculture), began on December 17th and lasted 7 days. The second festival (“Mithras”), which commemorated the birth of Mithras (the Persian god of light), began on December 25th and lasted through January 1st.  Constantine merged many of the traditions from these 2 festivals with the Nativity story in the Bible and Christmas was born.

Think about it. Millions of other people on the planet have the same birthday as I do. Does that mean that when my family gathers to celebrate my birthday, we are really celebrating the birthday of all the other people in the world born on that same day? As a matter of fact, many other things happened on the date of my birth, including wars, murders, deaths, etc. Does that mean I’m celebrating all those things on my birthday? Of course not...the mere idea is absurd. What if it is discovered that “pagans” drank orange juice and kissed their wives at their pagan festivals, does that mean that if I drink orange juice and kiss Charlene, then I am engaging in paganism? This is exactly the same kind of logic used by many of those who would call me a “pagan” for celebrating Christmas. 

What about our months of the year?  January was made the first month in dedication of “JANUS”, a Roman god who was represented as having two faces, one looking backward and the other forward. The month of March is named after “MARS”, the god of war. May was dedicated to and received its name from “MAIA”, a female worshipped as a goddess, whose father was “ATLAS”. Are we worshipping pagan gods if we use the names of these months? Of course not...such an idea is nonsense. Honestly, if we were to abandon everything that has pagan roots, there would be nothing left…

Before proceeding, however, I have one more observation. Most of those who argue for the pagan nature of Christmas appear to be sincere Christians who want to base everything they believe and do on the Bible. They are not fanatics. They believe in and value the incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ. It is simply their belief that the annual celebration of Christmas past and present is pagan and therefore the Christian should have no part in it. I totally respect their position.  The problem I have is that many of those same people would call me a “pagan” since I allow my family to celebrate Christmas, despite the fact that I have strong Scriptural support for my position. That is what really bothers me.

In fact, if the “Christmas is pagan” crowd merely presented their argument as “opinion,” then I probably wouldn’t have posted this website. However, the fact that many of these people summarily condemn Christmas observers as “pagans” and guilty of idolatry is just too much. For in so doing they are binding Christian consciences and robbing Christians of their liberty under the New Covenant.

In the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul is discussing the situation of eating meats which had been sacrificed to idols. Corinth , like all Greek cities, was full of temples to heathen idols. Animals such as cattle and oxen were constantly sacrificed at their altars, the flesh of which was afterwards consumed. The question arose whether a Christian could eat this meat without the sin of showing reverence to an idol.

In chapter 8 of 1 Corinthians, verses 4 to 8, Paul told the church “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. 7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.”

Did Paul have any problem eating meat sacrificed to idols? Not at all.  His conscience was clear knowing that food “does not commend us to God”; whether we eat it or not. Even though the meat had pagan origins, he still ate it.  Even though the cow or bull was offered as a sacrifice for devils, slain and drained of its blood, cut up and used in the ceremony, Paul still had no problem eating it.  Paul’s determent to eat meat sacrificed to idols was the consideration of a weaker brother.  If there was a weaker brother who could not handle, in his own conscience, the thought of eating or practicing such a thing, because Paul was the stronger and more mature Christian, free in Christ to eat what God had made, he still, nevertheless, would have abandoned the practice.  He would not have abandoned eating meat sacrificed to idols because of the meat’s pagan origins, but because of his love to the brother in question.

 So, my question is this: If eating meat of idols was not in itself sinful to Christians (since believers in Christ certainly did not revere idols), is celebrating a holiday (with traditions that happen to coincide with some practiced by long-ago pagans) inherently sinful?

Since it is of utmost importance is to understand what God’s word says about how we should approach holidays, before you answer the above question, let’s look at more Scripture, shall we? Paul shows in Romans 14 that things we would normally consider pagan are not in and of themselves evil. It is really the conscience and motivation of the person that has the real significance. You see, some of the Christians at Rome were still meticulously observing Jewish Sabbaths and feasts, while others were resolute to ignore these holidays. This difference of opinion was apparently causing some disputes in the church.

In verse 5, the apostle offered his verdict in the matter: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”

In neither case does Paul say “He that regardeth/regardeth not the day sinneth against the Lord,” which surely would have been said if one or the other option were displeasing to God.

Given the above principle, I cannot see how a Christian who regards Christmas as a holiday “unto the Lord” can be arbitrarily referred to as a “pagan” or guilty of being displeasing to God. Do you think that the average Christian (who has hardly heard of Saturnalia, Mithra, or the idols of 3,000 years ago) is revering idols when he celebrates Christmas? Certainly not. For him, the holiday is about honoring and celebrating the birth of his Savior, Jesus Christ. The fact that this holiday has been arbitrarily assigned to December 25th simply gives all Christians an “agreed-upon” day on which to honor Him together. Just as the fact that a pagan in Paul’s day worshipped an idol while butchering an ox meant nothing when the apostle bought the meat from that ox, the fact that several thousand years ago pagans happened to be worshiping false gods on the same day is irrelevant to Christians today.

This question arises out of a pronouncement made by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 10: 2-4.

“This is what the LORD says...the customs 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 that it will not totter” 

While at first glance this may seem to be referring to our custom of decorating Christmas trees, a closer look will reveal that God is actually condemning the construction of permanent wooden idols carved from the trees of the forest. In the very next verse, the Lord ridicules these idols because they cannot walk or talk.
Historically, the practice of decorating Christmas trees originated in Germany almost two millennia after Jeremiah made his pronouncement. It was the result of combining two markedly different Christian symbols. The first symbol was a “ Paradise tree” which was decorated with apples to symbolize the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The second symbol was a triangular shelf that contained Christmas figures and was decorated with a star representing the one followed by the Wise Men. By the 1500’s, these two Christian symbols had been combined into the modern-day Christmas tree.

So, the fact of the matter is that Christmas trees are symbols of Christianity, and have nothing to do with the idolatry which Jeremiah condemned. 

Now if you could show me that the worship of Saturn or Mithras or Tammuz were were being practiced by Christians at Christmas-time today, I would have to agree that it is a sin to participate in Christmas. However, this is just not the case. I have never met a Christian who blatantly setup a green tree in their home to practice idolatry. The average Christian who celebrates Christmas doesn’t know about or care anything for Saturn, Mithras, Tammuz, or any of the other heathen gods venerated by heathens who have been in hell for millennia. The fact that some pagan a couple thousand years ago bowed down to a tree in honor of a false god is not really relevant to a Christian decorating a Christmas tree in honor of Christ.

Think about this: During Christmas, the true gospel is preached in every pulpit (including the most liberal and immoral) via radio and TV. The liberal is forced to acknowledge the very doctrines he hates.  For instance, look at the theology in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” The gospel is sung in public, at bars, sporting events, brothels, porn shops, and in the mouth of every school child.  One may say, “Yes, but they don’t mean it and misuse it.”  Well, Philippians 1:15-18 seems to address this concern: “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.”

Trees do not commend us to God, nor do Yule logs, wreaths, or turkey and ham made for the Christmas occasion.  These things do not make us better or worse towards God in and of themselves. Paul ate meat that was sacrificed to idols.  He abstained from the eating of meat if it would cause others to stumble in their faith.  Either way, eating or not eating, Paul did not defile his conscience by it. 

The bottom line is that I can find no reason to abstain from celebrating Christmas because it has pagan origins.  Christmas, as pagan as its roots may be, and as many pagan ideologies it may possess, cannot be condemned because a couple of millennia ago some heathen worshipped a false god on the same day. People hang picture frames through their home to display photos, made from wood. Should that deter them since they knew it was once a tree, and some heathen back in 500 B.C. worshipped trees?    

The Christian conscience should be captive to the Word of God alone.

Let us celebrate Christmas in a way that is pleasing to God, and let no idols of any kind  keep us from giving him praise and worship. Christmas is a classic illustration of the Doctrine of Christian Liberty. That is, how do we decide if something is right or wrong if the Bible does not discuss that particular thing? Do you really believe that Satan is thrilled to see a manger scene that reminds him of the beginning of his defeat?

In summary, I have not posted this website to condemn the “Christmas is pagan” crowd. And I certainly haven’t written it to convince them that they must celebrate Christmas. Christians have never been commanded to celebrate Christ’s birth annually. Therefore, they are free to do so or not do so.  My purpose in this website is to set the record straight for those who have been falsely taught that celebrating Christmas is celebrating paganism, and they are wracked with guilt because of it.

My message to them is: you are doing nothing wrong to celebrate the birth of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, praising and thanking God for the gift of His Son is beautiful worship in the sight of God. There is also nothing wrong with using some of the winter customs, provided you keep them in perspective and don’t allow them to bury the celebration of Christ’s birth.

In conclusion, allow me to quote a modern-day “giant” of the faith, John Reisinger (affectionately known as “Granddaddy John” in the Bollinger household):

                                        "You can have one of three attitudes to Christmas. 

1. You can use it to the glory of God.
2. You can try to destroy it. 
3. You can try to ignore it as if it's not there. 

                I take the first view."

May all who read this website have a truly joyous Christmas celebration.

-Ty Bollinger