A couple of years ago, someone in the comments on one of my Christmas posts asked if I celebrated Christmas, and why I thought that was an okay thing to do as a Christian.

Now that I’ve returned from my hiatus, I figured I should finally provide a well-fleshed out answer to this question!

To catch everyone up on this conversation, I’ve posted their comments and my replies below:

Me: “I do celebrate Christmas. It is a holiday to remember Jesus Christ’s birth (even though He was not born on that day). Yes, there are pagan roots to it (just as there are with Easter and Valentine’s Day), but God created December 25th, just like He did every other day. I don’t use Christmas to focus on the presents (although it is nice to both give and receive), but rather to remember Jesus’ birth, and His sacrifice for us. Do you celebrate Christmas?”

Them: “You are right, there are some pagan roots in Valentine’s day and Easter, as there are some of the other celebrations that Christians do as well. It says in Deuteronomy 12 that God said not to worship Him the way the other nations worship their gods. Have you considered this verse? If God doesn’t want us – His people – to be worshiping Him the way that other people worship their gods, and if Christmas is pagan in root and practice, then why do we as Christians today worship Him in that way?”

Me: “I’m glad that you are questioning the world around you and reading the Bible! The technicality is that we don’t use Christmas to strictly worship God – we use it to remember Him, His birth, and His sacrifice. Think of it like Memorial Day. We don’t worship the veterans who sacrificed for our country…we use Memorial Day to remember them. In the end, it comes down to your conscience. If you do not feel that it is right for you to celebrate Christmas (or Easter, or Valentine’s Day, etc.) because of its past, then you should follow God’s guidance. But this is another gray area, such as whether suits and dresses should be strictly worn to church, or if jeans and t-shirts are alright, as long as the person’s heart is in the right place.”

Them: “Yes, it’s very important for all Christians should be reading the Bible!
The problem with Christmas is that the day chosen, the ornaments, the trees and wreaths…they are all pagan. And to loop God in with it is wrong!
Granted, it is not wrong to celebrate or remember God on that day, but that is not all that people do. They christianize all the pagan aspects of the solstice celebration. If Christians treated the 25 of December as they do all other days – remembering who He is and what He has done, then there wouldn’t be an issue. But there is… Because God really doesn’t want us to treat Him in the way of the pagans! But if you are convinced in your mind that God meant for Christians to treat Him in this way, then that is your decision – as all decisions should be. It is my opinion that it is wrong to celebrate Christmas, but that is between me and God just as your celebrating Christmas is between you and God. Also, there are many gods that where born on December 25, including, Mithras, Horus, and Krishna. Thanks for discussing this with me!”

And that was essentially the end of our conversation. Here is what I believe on whether Christians should celebrate Christmas or not. I’m going to break this up into sections so that it is hopefully easier to read, as a lot of material is covered.

Personally, Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year – my Christmas tree is up by Thanksgiving and comes down a good bit after January. I love seeing all of the lights and joy that come to an otherwise dull, depressing world.  People are usually far happier around Christmas time, and I love that. But is it something that we should even celebrate?

***

There are two main reasons as to why people believe it wrong to celebrate Christmas (1). 1) Christmas is a man-made holiday not found in the Bible and 2) Christmas is a pagan holiday, or at least has pagan roots. My friend above seems to fall into the second reason, so that is the one I will focus on.

Christmas commemorates an actual historical event (1). Which event is that? The one where hope and everlasting life was brought to the human race. Jesus left His home in Heaven, came to Earth, and willingly laid down His life, so that we might be saved from an eternity in Hell, separated from God…a very significant historical event.

The ancient Romans held a festival called Saturnalia in December (1). It was a holiday that grew out of agricultural rituals, where gifts and sacrifices to the gods were offered for a better harvest in the upcoming year (1). The Romans would sing songs, have feasts, socialize, and give each other gifts (1).

Sounds like Christmas! And birthday parties, retirement parties, weddings, graduations, maybe even some funerals. Should we stop doing those things as well? The physical resemblance has very little to do with Christmas. Rather, it is the spiritual relationship.

Let’s look at the spiritual relation between Christmas and Saturnalia. Christmas has nothing to do with agriculture, appeasing gods, giving gifts and sacrifices to said gods, looking to the future for better harvests, and focusing on the physical wellbeing of the citizens in the upcoming year. The closest relation Christmas has to Saturnalia is the time of year they’re held. One is based on the winter growing season, while the other is just celebrated in winter, with no basis on the season. While Gabriel’s announcement of the conception likely happened in December, Jesus was probably born sometime in September (2).

Christmas has no religious or spiritual ties to Saturnalia. Just because your cousin is having a birthday party a few days before you are, doesn’t mean you’re celebrating their birthday because you’re holding your own birthday party…right?

It’s said that Pope Julius I chose the date of December 25th to capitalize on the existing traditions of those pagan winter festivals (1). The theory was that by holding the Feast of the Nativity at the same time as the winter festivals, the chances would be greater that Christmas­—the celebration of the birth of the Savior—would be widely embraced by the people (1).

***

However, my friend brought up a point about Deuteronomy 12, where “God said not to worship Him the way the other nations worship their gods”. Before I get into the specifics, this chapter tells the Israelites to destroy the pagans’ groves, altars, pillars – every place where they served their gods (Deuteronomy 12:2-3), and instead build in the place where the Lord chose to give burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tithes (Deuteronomy 12:11). I’m about to say something you may deem blasphemous here…but if we can draw lines between Christmas and winter pagan festivals…what’s the difference between pagan sacrifices and Godly sacrifices? Using the same logic that is used against Christmas, you can say that sacrificing to God is the same as the pagans.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is very clearly a difference between the two – I just wanted to point out the flaw in logic.

After reading the whole chapter, I believe they were talking about verses 30-31.

“Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.”

The Israelites gave sacrifices to God – unblemished lambs, etc. – never children as the pagans did. That’s, again, a huge difference. Physically, the act of sacrifice is not different from what the pagans did. Spiritually and religiously though, an enormous difference. The act of worshipping God is so far removed from pagan worship, because religiously and spiritually, they are two completely different worlds. Just as Christmas is religiously and spiritually different from pagan activities that happened the same time of the year.

***

Next, my friend mentioned that “there are many gods that where born on December 25, including, Mithras, Horus, and Krishna.” While I’m not entirely sure the point they were making, as Jesus was very likely not born December 25^th, perhaps it was that by celebrating Christmas, we’re celebrating the birth of these gods? Which, that doesn’t make sense to begin with. Anyone who celebrates anything on April 20^th, December 26^th, or January 8^th is in turn celebrating the birthdays of Adolph Hitler, Mao Zedong, and Kim Jong Un, respectively. Doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Also, Horus’ birthday is celebrated between October and November, in Mithraism there is no record of Mithras’ birthday, and Krishna’s birthday is August 26^th (5 & 6). Also, they’re fictional characters. Susan Pevensie could have been born December 25^th – and because I’m celebrating Christmas, it doesn’t mean I’m celebrating her. And Jesus wasn’t born December 25^th either, so this really just a moot point.

***

Lastly, my friend’s other comments that I haven’t already addressed involve the ornaments, tree, and wreaths all being pagan.

The Christmas tree tradition emerged from the “sacred trees” of Northern European mythology such as Yggdrasil, the giant ash tree at the center of the Norse cosmos that holds all the worlds in its roots and branches (3).

It is said that St. Boniface came upon one such sacred tree during his mission to the Germanic tribes in 723 (3). Upon finding devotees preparing to sacrifice a child to Thor at the “Thunder Oak,” Boniface intervened and miraculously chopped down the tree with one swift swing (3). He used its wood to build a Christian chapel, and in the spot where the oak had stood, he placed a small fir tree (3).

Perhaps unaware, St. Boniface gathered up all the traditions that use evergreens at the Winter Solstice to mark fertility and new life in a time of darkness (3). A tree that is forever green and points to heaven can stand for Christ (3).

As to the ornaments and wreaths, I discovered that fish, crosses, and candles were all once pagan symbols too (4). Just because pagans use it, does not mean God can’t use it for good. Have you ever read 1 Kings 5? In this passage, King Solomon is building the first temple…using materials and labor from the pagan nations around him. King Solomon worked with Hiram, King of Tyre…a very pagan nation, under God’s direction and wisdom. Does that mean the great temple Solomon built was against God? Pagan things have no power of their own, and anything can be used to bring glory to God.

***

All of this boils down to this simple statement. Whether you celebrate Christmas is up to you. Until we get to Heaven, we’ll never know if God wanted us to celebrate Christmas, birthdays, or wear suits and skirts to church. I can provide cultural and Biblical evidence as to why celebrating Christmas, with a focus on Christ, is not a pagan thing to do, but ultimately, as I said to my friend in those comments, it rests on whether you feel that it is right for you to do in your walk with God.

Sources:

1. https://rlsolberg.com/should-christians-celebrate-christmas/
2. https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/when-was-jesus-born
3. https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2020/12/11/pagan-christmas-trees-indigenous-eucharist-tradition-239475
4. https://medium.com/@ulyana.egof/from-pagan-roots-to-christian-adoption-the-fascinating-history-of-the-wreath-motif-93f743f45771
5. https://beingwatchmenintheendtimes.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/was-jesus-a-copy-of-horus-mithras-krishna-dionysus-and-other-pagan-gods/
6. https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/janmashtami-2024-timings-and-rituals-to-mark-lord-krishna-s-birthday-124082000922_1.html

If you are not 100% sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, now is the time to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you have any questions or doubts about your salvation, click here to learn how you can be saved.