To the interested reader who would like to explore more fully the actual biblical holidays, including when they are set within the annual calendar and how they practiced, please visit my sister site The Way of Old. Seeing the exquisite timing of God's hand in history and realizing the spiritual significance of the blueprint of appointed times laid out for us in the scriptures causes the human tradition of Christmas to pale into insignificance by comparison, as it is written, "...let God be true, but every man a liar," (Rom. 3:4).
On the rest of this page are links to other sites and resources that demonstrate in-depth and thoughtful analyses of Christmas origins and repudiations of false teachings. A link or reference to one of these sites is not necessarily a full endorsement of that entire site (or theirs endorsing ours). These examples simply show the complexity of interwoven superstitions, myths, and Christianized paganism surrounding the holiday we call Christmas.
Christmas: An Historical Survey Regarding Its Origins and Opposition to It
by Kevin Reed
"To speak against Christmas observance is considered by many people to be sacrilegious and others as religious fanaticism. After all, how can anyone legitimately oppose such a hallowed institution?
"The purpose of this study is to set forth scriptural reasons for opposing Christmas celebration. A brief historical survey will provide the suitable means for such an examination. Following an initial look at the origins of Christmas, we will note historic opposition to its observance, with special emphasis on Protestant objections to the holiday. We will see that Protestants, and especially Presbyterians, have rejected Christmas celebration, as demonstrated by the following facts: (1.) the scriptural principles of worship upheld by Reformed churches; (2.) the confessional testimony of the churches; (3.) the historic practice of the churches in their most orthodox times..."
Should a Christian Celebrate Christmas?
By John & Kathy Beardsley
"There is no Biblical warrant, precedent, nor precept for remembrance of the day of Christ's birth as a day of special religious celebration. This is not to say that we shouldn't remember Christ's birth and its significance, but for religious commemorations or celebrations, we must have Biblical command or precedent! The fact of the matter is this -- the early church did not celebrate Christ's birth, but such celebration only came into the church with the "Christianization" of pagan rites as Catholicism was made the state religion by Constantine in the fourth century A.D. Since the Word of God does not support the tradition of Christmas, a Christian's conscience ought not and must not be bound.
"The following outline describes the origin of Christmas (with its associated pagan customs, symbols, and terminology), details the Scriptural support against celebrating Christmas, attempts to show that celebrating Christmas violates the spirit of every one of the ten commandments, attempts to demonstrate that celebrating Christmas does not fall in the realm of Christian liberty, and attempts to debunk eight of the major rationalizations Christians put forth for celebrating Christmas."
Christmas: Paganism, Sun Worship and Commercialism
By Vexen Crabtree
[Disclaimer: Vexen is a self-proclaimed Satanist. But really, who better to know about pagan rituals...?] :)
"The main outstanding issue in the West is the Christian assertion that Christmas has something to do with the Christian figure of Christ or his birthday. These elements should be disclaimed. Firstly, the paganism inherent in Christmas, such as decorating trees, is warned against in the Bible (Jeremiah 10:2-4). Second, there are no Christian birthday celebrations in the Bible. Thirdly, early Christians celebrated Christ's birthday in April or May - it was only changed to match with 25th of December, a major pagan holiday, by Emperor Constantine, in order to harmonize Christianity with paganism. It is certain that Christians should not attempt to celebrate Jesus' birthday, and they certainly shouldn't do so at Christmas."
Syncretism: A Blending of Paganism and Truth
By Dr. Daniel Botkin
"...Yeshua [Jesus] spoke about the need for true worshippers to worship "in spirit and in truth." "The Father seeketh such to worship Him," Yeshua said, "and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth" (Jn. 4:23f). True worship is a blend of spirit and truth. Syncretistic worship is a blend of paganism and truth.
The subtle danger of syncretistic worship lies in its claim to be worshipping the true God, Yahweh. When the Israelites brought idols and idolatrous practices into the Temple, they did not think of their actions as an abandonment of Yahweh. They thought of it as just supplementing their worship with customs borrowed from heathen idol worship. Even the golden calf at Mount Sinai was not regarded as a substitute god to replace Yahweh; rather, it was regarded as a symbolic representation of Yahweh. This can be seen in Aaron's reference to the golden calf as the God "which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" and his proclamation that the worship of the golden calf would be "a feast unto Yahweh" - not a feast to some Egyptian god (Ex. 32:4f). "
The Subtle Sin of Syncretism
By David R. Reid
"Syncretism is the fusion of different forms of practice or belief. Syncretism is not a sin when biblical truth and moral standards are not involved. The fact that Mexican culture and American culture are so intertwined that tacos are just as American as Mexican is syncretism, but it is not sinful syncretism. The fact that baseball is just as much Japanese as American and the martial arts are now as American as Asian is syncretism, but it is not sinful syncretism. However, when vestiges of pagan religions and unbiblical beliefs and practices are mixed in and fused with the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not only syncretism—it is sinful syncretism.
Sinful syncretism is subtle. It doesn't happen overnight. Changes usually occur slowly and insidiously. Little by little the culture drifts away from God and His standards."
Christianity...conquered by Paganism!
By Pastor Chuck Kuhler
"In 1 Kings 12:32, we find that Jeroboam ordained a feast day on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in contradiction to God’s instructions. Haven’t we in our Christian observances today established these new feast days contrary to the Word of God? In Amos 5:21, we see what the LORD thinks of these contradictions, I hate, I despise your feast days... These are not God’s ordained feast days - these are man’s feast days! What does Yahweh really think of “our festivals”?"
