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THE CHRISTMAS STORY
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Christmas or Christ Mass is a Festival that was unknown
and not honored by Christians in the first three centuries. There was not even
so much as a mention of it. We see a few sporadic attempts to calculate the date of
Christ's birth, usually in some very fanciful ways, but the church certainly did
not associate Jesus' birth with any particular day. In fact, the only ones who could tell us the date of
Jesus' birth would be the Evangelists, and they are silent on this matter. The
only small hint of the time of Jesus' birth is Luke's mention that shepherds
were in the field. But they would be in the fields from late March to November
at the latest, so that is all we know. The early church seems to accept that no one knew Jesus'
birth date, and they did not seem to feel any need to celebrate it. His death
and resurrection was far more important to them. In the New Testament books, the
central events in the story of Jesus are his death and resurrection, and there
was a great deal of discussion and attention to these in the early church. When we examine the history of the times, what we see
clearly is an extensive pagan influence on the church. There were many quarrels
about doctrine and many heretical teachings were spread abroad. There were
Church Councils that made decisions many did not accept, and many times there
were clear disregard of express Biblical teachings. We will look at many of these matters and, briefly trace
the development of the Christian Festival called Christmas, showing the dominant
influences behind the Church's decision to set up this Festival. It will be
shown that the present Christmas Festival and many of the practices associated
with it really have no basis in the word of God, or in the practice of the
apostles. We will show that the Festival was the result of some
particular leadership decision when there was a perceived need to compromise
with the pagan elements that had infiltrated the church. The church leadership,
then as now, found it convenient to retain pagan concepts and practices, and
attempted to switch the worship of the pagan gods along with the current worship
rituals to the new God, Jesus. Unfortunately, the strategy of the church failed and we
now have a church that mixes the old abominable and very ancient religious
concepts with the true worship of Jesus. Historically, no one has ever succeeded
in mixing pagan customs and the customs instructed by God without severe and
horrible consequences. The prophets constantly reminded Israel and the apostles
the church, that the people of God must be separated and must not follow the
ways of the heathen. The adoption of the religious practices of those who do
not follow the true God has led to trouble in the past and will lead to trouble
in our present times. Syncretism is never an option for the people of God. The product of this mixture is not acceptable to God.
Israel tried to present this mixed religious practice, not only in the time of
the Judges, but also under Solomon, Jeroboam, Rehoboam and their successors. God
rejected both Israel and Judah and sent many messages of rebuke by the prophets. By reading this, I hope we will begin to closely observe
the instructions of God and eliminate the traces of paganism and idolatry in our
worship. Old habits die hard, but the Holy Spirit gives us the
power to change day by day. ANCIENT PAGAN
WINTER RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
There has always been a major celebration at the time of
the winter solstice. This was a very old practice in many societies. The
ancients looked forward to the coming of spring and so many years before Jesus
was born, many religious groups would have Festivals connected with fertility
and sun worship. It was not a new idea when Christians decided to hold a major
religious celebration in this season to highlight the birth of a god and the
beginning of salvation.2 Many primitive people had thought that the sun was their
source of light and life, and they therefore worshipped the sun.3 The Persians,
for example, worshipped Mithra, their god of light. At this season they had
great feasts to show their reverence to the sun, and they lit great fires to
honor Mithra. The Romans also honored and worshipped Saturn, their god
of agriculture, and called this winter season of celebration Saturnalia. This
stretched from the middle of December to the beginning of January.4 Features of these celebrations were excessive eating,
drinking, sport, gambling, visiting, and exchanging gifts. Masked revelers went
up and down the streets indulging in excess and riotous celebrating. In Europe, the pagan tribes also celebrated and honored
their 'All-Father' Odin.5 By their bonfires they consumed large quantities of
food and drink during the Yuletide season, the rebirth of the sun. FEAST OF
EPIPHANY
The corrupting influence of these pagan customs very
quickly affected the early church. Origen, an early figure in the post-apostolic
era (after the death of John, the last Apostle, about A.D. 95) had taught that
Christians should not celebrate any birthday because it was a pagan custom,
practiced by the unrighteous, such as Pharaoh and Herod.6 It was a general
custom in the Roman Empire to celebrate the birthday of rulers and outstanding
persons (see Matt. 14:6). Many prominent people would celebrate their birthdays,
not on the actual date, but would celebrate it on the feast day of their god.
Plato, for example, would celebrate his birthday on the feast of the god Apollo. TRUE ROOTS OF
CHRISTMAS
Early Christians had distanced' themselves from these
pagan practices but some in the church still clung to them. A feast was
celebrated on January 6th to celebrate the baptism of Jesus. A sect called the
Basilideans taught that the divine Christ first appeared on earth at the baptism
of Jesus and then temporarily united with a human person named Jesus.8 The festival on Jan. 6th was therefore called Epiphany or
Appearance (Gr. epipaneia). This festival led to tremendous conflicts with more
orthodox churches that believed that Christ and Jesus were one and the same.
These churches stressed that the birth of Christ was therefore the first real
Appearance of Christ on earth. For the heretics, Jan. 6th marked both the, baptism and
the birth. Arguments raged and the Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) condemned the
doctrine that God himself did not become incarnate in Jesus at his birth. The Encyclopedia of early Christians (p. 206) says that
the Christological debate and the associated dogma "caused the festival of
Christ's birth to be separated from the heretical custom of commemorating
Christ's appearance at his baptism. The festival of the birth of Christ, hailed as the 'light
to lighten the Gentiles' was then transferred to Dec. 25th, to counter a pagan
festival held on that day in honor of Sol Invictus 'The Invincible Sun.' The nativity festival was probably separated from
Epiphany in Rome between A.D. 325 and 354."9 Note that the decision ran counter to earlier Christian
and Jewish practices, which did not allow birthday festivals such as practiced
by the pagan cultures. The origins of this festival lay in error. In most
places, the commemoration of Christ's birth had been included in the feast of
Epiphany (manifestations) that was itself based on a serious blasphemy about the
nature of Jesus. Note that it was soon after the end of the last great
persecution, about A.D. 330, that the Church in Rome definitely selected Dec.
25th, for celebrating the birth of Christ. The independent minded Eastern
churches continued to keep other dates, even though Rome managed to increase the
acceptability of Dec. 25th, through all means imaginable, including military and
political. WHY DECEMBER
25TH?
The exact date of Christ's birth is not known. God had
not allowed man to retain this date in his memory or to discover this
information. Many early Christians attempted to calculate the date by engaging
in fanciful arithmetic. In one document, the DE PASCHA COIVIPUTUS completed in
243 A.D., the first day of Creation was placed on March 24, the Vernal Equinox.
God made the sun four days later (as per Genesis) so this date would be March
28. It was therefore deduced that Christ, the 'Son of Righteousness' (Mat. 4:2)
must have been born on March 28.10 Others argued that Jesus' birth had to coincide with the
beginning of the new solar cycle. He thus had to be born at the time of the
Winter Solstice. It was assumed that the Annunciation of John the Baptist
occurred on September 24, and thus six months after, around the time Gabriel
appeared to Mary, would give us March 25th as the Day of the Incarnation. Nine
months later on December 25th would then be the Birthday of Jesus." Of course these explanations depended on many assumptions
that cannot be proved and so the birth dates suggested lack any basis in
history. Other dates suggested by early churchmen were January
2nd, April 18th, April 19th, May 20th (by Clement of Alexandria), and December
25th. Julius Africanus (A.D. 221) argued in his chronicles for a date in winter,
December 25th. 12 We should note that at this time in the early church
there were tremendous disagreements about matters of doctrine. Rival Bishops in
various churches in different parts of the Near East battled for supremacy. Not
only was Rome, one of the leading contenders for supremacy, locked in
disagreements with other churches over the doctrine of the January 6th Baptism
and Nativity date, but at the end of the last great persecution, it faced
tremendous competition from the Mithras cult with its sun God worship. Various writings indicated that the Popes and Bishops
chose December 25th to split the Nativity date from January 6th as well as to
combat the Mithras cult. The Romans from the time of Aurelion (275 A.D.) had
celebrated the Feast of the sun God (Sot Invictus: the Unconquered Sun) on that
day. December 25th was called the Birthday of the sun' and great religious
celebrations of the Mithras cult were held all through the Empire. The earliest mention of the celebration of December 25th
is in the Philocalian Calendar, and represented the Roman practice of the year
336 A.D. 13 THE PUSH FOR
ACCEPTANCE
Rome manipulated and pushed churches that disagreed on
the December 25th date. By the fourth century, the celebration of December 25th
was adopted in Syria, and by the middle of the fifth century, most Eastern
churches had adopted it. It was only in A.D. 431 that Egypt decided to accept the
Festival. The strongest opposition came from the Christians in Jerusalem, and
not until the middle of the 6th century did the Palestinian Christians accept
December 25th.
The Armenian Church still today has not bowed and still
observes January 6th as Christmas Day. The controversy of the fourth to the sixth centuries on
the Incarnation and the Person of Christ ended in the growing importance of the
feast, since Rome emerged as the victor militarily and politically and imposed
its will on other churches. In the HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN FEASTS AND CUSTOMS by
Francis Weiser, a noted Roman Catholic apologist, points out: " Emperor Justinian in 529 A.D. prohibited work and
public business by declaring Christmas a civic holiday. The Council of Agde (506 A.D.) urged all Christians to
receive Holy Communion on the Feast. The Council of Tours (567 A.D.) proclaimed the twelve
days from Christmas to Epiphany as a sacred and festive season. The Council of Braga (563 A.D.) forbade fasting on
Christmas Day. The celebration of Christmas ... came to Ireland through
Saint Patrick (461 A.D.), to England through Saint Boniface (754 A.D.) ... The
Irish monk Saint Columban (615 A.D.) and Saint Gall (646 A.D.) introduced it
into Switzerland and Western Austria; the Scandinavians received it through
Saint Ansgar (865 A.D.), to the Slavic tribes by ... the brothers Cyril (869
A.D.) and Saint Methodious (885 A.D.), to Hungary by Saint Adalbert (997
A.D.)... By about the year 1100, all the nations of Europe had accepted
Christianity, and Christmas was celebrated everywhere ... " It is obvious that it took many decades to establish the
observance of December 25th. So let us not feel that this birthday has always
been around and was easily accepted, or, when it was accepted, was celebrated in
a deep religious way. The popular observance of the Feast has always been marked
by the joy and merrymaking formerly characteristic of the Roman Saturnalia and
other pagan festivals it replaced. As Christianity expanded, it absorbed into
the celebration many customs of the pagan winter festivals such as Holly,
Mistletoe, the Christmas tree, Yule logs, the Nativity crib, and the singing of
carols. OPPOSITION TO
DECEMBER 25TH: SOME HISTORY
All through this history, a minority of Christian leaders
opposed the observance of Christmas on December 25th. They rejected the
authority the Church of Rome claimed in establishing official Feast Days.
Christmas of course was only one of the days that the religious authorities in
Rome established. There were numerous saint days and feast days, as well as Lent
and Easter, Halloween and so on. Many of the opposition leaders objected to the
immorality, drinking and partying associated in every age with the Christmas
celebrations. Of course, many also loudly rejected the linking of Christmas with
religious ideas and practices. Calvin Knox, the English reformer, and the Puritans were
among those rejecting December 25th Christmas. Other continental reformers, however, defended the
observance and tried to emphasize the truth of the incarnation, even while
admitting the dubious roots of the practice. The Reformation had a dampening
effect on the excesses. Calvinists regarded Christ's birthday as a human
invention. They regarded the festival as being from pagan origin, and condemned
the extremely immoral behavior of the celebrants.14 When the Civil War broke out in England and the Puritans
won, in 1042 they took over power under Cromwell. Puritan preachers opposed the
Christmas celebrations as heathen and began to pass laws abolishing or
forbidding Christmas practices. The final Act to abolish Christmas was passed on
June 3, 1647. Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 however brought back
some of the old Christmas practices, but the celebrations never achieved the
same levels of merriment again. In 'ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS' by Mayme Krythe we are told
"During the Middle Ages, Christmas was England's most popular holiday with
everyone from the King to the beggar taking part. All who could do so quit work,
and gave themselves entirely to pleasure. And no people ever entered more
heartily into the joys of the Yule season than the Britons did. Christmas was
elaborately observed by English monarchs of this epoch." The lavish and
expensive celebrations continued under the Tudor Kings and the Stuart Kings. The use of evergreens, lights, decorating homes and
religious worship sites, singing carols, giving presents, excessive feasting and
other practices became commonplace as old pagan practices were incorporated into
the holiday. Krythe observes that the Christian religious holiday was
a strange mixture of Christian and pagan rites. M.Krythe (pg. 3 para 2-3) says the authorities may have
set the date of Christ's birth to correspond to celebrations already in vogue
through earlier beliefs. Perhaps they thought it wise to give a sacred meaning to
pagan observances, rather than antagonize new converts by doing away completely
with old customs, for instance, instead of thanking a heathen Deity for the
rebirth of the year, the Christians were inspired to show their gratitude to the
one and only true God. Pope Gregory once wrote St. Agustine, advising him about
the wisest way of converting the Anglo-Saxons. The prelate was in favor of
allowing them to continue their heathen practice of slaughtering oxen, but to do
so to the glory of God, rather than to Woden as had formerly been their
practice. But attempts to combine pagan and Christian events led to
difficulties in Rome, for example, when the Saturnation ideas were still strong
at this season, many Christians were guilty of conduct frowned upon by the
church. St. Gregory (who died in 389) urged his people to celebrate Christmas
"after a heavenly and not on earthly manner" and he warned them
against excessive indulgence in gluttony, dancing, etc. Taking part in plays and other secular spectacles,
dressing in grotesque costumes, such as animal skins were also forbidden. The action of some unruly converts in Rome had a strong
influence, even on the distant Tuetonic tribes. St. Boniface the apostle to
Germany wrote to the Pope, complaining that his efforts were frustrated by the
conduct some Northern visitors had witness near the great Church of St. Peter at
Rome. This caused embarrassment to the prelate and by repeated
bans he tried to restrain Roman Christians from going to excess at the winter
festival. As the early church found itself unable to abolish former customs
entirely, it did the next best thing; it took over certain customs,
'christianized' them after purging them of their worst features, and
incorporated them into the Christian observance of Christmas. Let us look briefly at the fascinating history behind
some of the customs. THE CHRISTMAS
TREE
Well, before the Christian era; evergreens were embraced
as symbols of eternal life. They were emblems of immortality. Winter did not
kill them, so they became symbolic of summer and of life. Many ancient nations, including the Celts and the Nordic
tribes worshipped the greens "that do not die." They felt that the
pine, the spruce, fir, Holly, the Box, the Bay, mistletoe, ivy, juniper,
rosemary and so on would shield them from evil spirits. The Egyptians during the Winter- Solstice took the green
date palms, significant of 'life triumphing over death' indoors. The Romans, during the Festival of Saturnalia to their
God of agriculture, trimmed trees with trinkets and small masks of Bacchus their
God of enjoyment and excess. They placed 12 candles on the tree with an image of the
sun God at the tip of the tree. Vergil, the noted poet, spoke about the custom
of decorating the tree with swinging toys. In northern Europe, the Druids honored Odin (or Woden)
their chief God by tying gilded apples to tree branches. They also attached
cakes made in the shape of fish, birds and animals, and put these with lighted
candles on the tree boughs to honor their God Balder. The practice of the decorated tree during the winter
solstice festival to the gods is very old indeed and predates Christ. Our present Christmas tree is nothing but this old pagan
practice. God condemned this pagan heathen practice in Jeremiah
10:1-12 and warned Israel not to follow heathen ways of idolatry and astrology. "HEAR THE WORD WHICH THE LORD SPEAKETH UNTO YOU, O
HOUSE OF ISRAEL; THUS SAITH THE LORD, LEARN NOT THE WAY OF THE HEATHEN,
AND BE NOT DISMAYED AT THE SIGN OF HEAVEN; FOR THE HEATHEN ARE DISMAYED AT THEM. FOR THE CUSTOM 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 HAMMER, THAT IT MOVE NOT. THEY ARE UPRIGHT AS THE PALM TREE, BUT 'SPEAK NOT; THEY
MUST NEEDS BE BORNE, BECAUSE THEY CANNOT GO. BE NOT AFRAID OF THEM; FOR THEY
CANNOT DO EVIL, NEITHER ALSO IS IT IN THEM TO DO GOOD. FOR ASMUCH AS THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO THEE, O LORD; THOU
ART GREAT, AND THY NAME IS GREAT IN MIGHT. WHO WOULD NOT FEAR THEE, O KING OF NATIONS? FOR TO THEE
DOTH IT APPERTAIN: FOR ASMUCH AS AMONG ALL THE WISE MEN OF THE NATIONS, AND IN
ALL THEIR KINGDOMS, THERE IS NONE LIKE UNTO TREE. BUT THEY ARE ALTOGETHER BRUTISH AND FOOLISH; THE STOCK IS
A DOCTRINE OF VANITIES. SILVER SPREAD INTO PLATES IS BROUGHT FROM TARSHISH, AND
GOLD FROM UPHAZ, THE WORK OF THE WORKMAN, AND OF THE HANDS OF THE FOUNDER: BLUE
AND PURPLE IS THEIR CLOTHING: THEY ARE ALL THE WORK OF CUNNING MEN. BUT THE LORD IS THE TRUE GOD, HE IS THE LIVING GOD, AND
AN EVERLASTING KING: AT HIS WRATH THE EARTH SHALL TREMBLE, AND THE NATIONS SHALL
NOT BE ABLE TO ABIDE HIS INDIGNATION. THUS SHALL YE SAY UNTO THEM, THE GODS THAT HAVE NOT MADE
THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH, EVEN THEY SHALL PERISH FROM THE EARTH, AND FROM UNDER
THESE HEAVENS. HE HATH MADE THE EARTH BY HIS POWER. HE HATH ESTABLISHED
THE WORLD BY HIS WISDOM, AND HATH STRETCHED OUT THE HEAVENS BY HIS
DISCRETION." Note that God associates and condemns together, the
practices of idolatry, superstition and the tree. The tree, in its origin and
use was associated with idol worship. Those decorated trees and other practices
associated with idol worship drew God's wrath and he forbade the children of
Israel from following the pagan abominations.15 Many writers point to the modern manifestation of the
Christmas tree in 1521 in Alsace, Germany. We have detailed descriptions of the Tree in Strasbourg,
Germany in 1605. The practice spread rapidly in Germany and was soon
accepted by the Eastern European Slavs. The fashion spread, and was common in Paris by 1837. In
England, in 1841, Queen Victoria's husband set up a Tree in Windsor Castle and
legitimized the practice there. German immigrants brought the Tree and its customs with
them to the United States, in the first wave of German immigration in 1700 and
again in the second wave in the 1830's. Today the christmas tree is a common
practice and represents the incorporation into our culture of a heathen practice
from the distant past. THE MISTLETOE
Another Christmas custom is the mistletoe. The mistletoe
was an ancient revered plant that was considered to have tremendous power. In Greek mythology it was a charm against evil. A story
from Virgil's Classic poem illustrates this. Vergil tells us that Aeneas was told to seek his Father
in the underworld (the place of departed spirits). Aeneas plucked the 'golden bough'(mistletoe) to carry as
a gift to Prosperine. When the Boatman Charon saw the mistletoe branch he
allowed Aeneas to cross with Him (Charon was the boatman that ferried all dead
across the dreaded River into the land of the Dead). In the Elysian Fields (a version of Paradise) he talked
to Anchises, his father. Through the magical powers of the 'golden bough' he
managed to reach earth, the land of the living, again. The Druids religious leaders in ancient Britain regarded
the mistletoe as a sacred plant and it figured prominently in their religion.
They insisted it was brought from Heaven by the missel thrush, hence the name of
the plant. They believed the mistletoe had all sorts of miraculous
qualities; the power to heal diseases, make poisons harmless, give fertility to
humans and animals, protect people from witchcraft, banning evil spirits, and
bring good luck and blessing. So sacred was this plant, that if enemies met under the
mistletoe in the forest, they would lay down their arms, exchange friendly
greetings, and keep a truce until the following day. The custom then sprang up to hang mistletoe over the
doorway or room as a token of goodwill and peace to all comers. To kiss under
the mistletoe was interpreted as a sincere pledge of love and a promise of
marriage. It was an omen of happiness, good fortune, fertility, and long life to
lovers who sealed and announced their engagement by a kiss under the sacred
plant (E. and MA. Radford, Encyclopedia of Superstitions, New York 1949, pages
102104). Maymce Krythe in ALL ABOUT CHRISTMAS, recounts that in
Norse legend, the plant was sacred to the goddess Frigga, wife of Odin, the
chief God. Balder, the sun God, the Deity of Light and Good, was the
son of Odin and Frigga. Balder felt he would die soon and told his mother of his
impending death. She determined to prevent it, so she got a promise from every
living thing, from nature and from the earth, fire and water, not to harm
Balder. She didn't feel the mistletoe was significant so she did
not get a promise from it. The lame God Loki, jealous of Balder, made a sharp arrow
of mistletoe wood. He gave it to the blind God Hoder, the God of winter, who
shot and killed Balder. Immediately the light of the sun decreased. There was a
great mourning for the young Deity. All the gods tried to restore him to life. After three days, through his mothers love, Balder
returned to life. Balder returned from the dead. The light shone again at the
winter solstice. Frigga's tears turned into mistletoe berries, symbolic that
love was stronger than death. At her joy, Frigga kissed each person passing
under the mistletoe and decreed that anyone walking under it would get the same
token of affection. You will of course notice the corrupted ideas about the
gods, the death of a God of Light and Good, the immense love of the Mother, the
resurrection in Three days. Despite the evil plot, Good triumphed. These pagan stories that predate Christianity, seem to
parody the truth of Redemption in a corrupted form, and gives us the feeling
that there must have been a common source that taught the truth in the distant
past, but man somehow fell away and mixed the truth with fables. The Druids, the pre-Christian British and Gaul people
were sun worshippers and believed the mistletoe was a sacred spirit. They had an
elaborate religious ceremony when they went to cut it at the winter solstice. Their ceremonies included sacrifice of white bulls and
even the sacrifice of human beings. THE HOLLY
The Holly was a popular winter decoration used by the
Romans. It was used extensively by the Romans at Saturnalia. They
carried it in procession and decked the images of their gods with its glistening
leaves. Many primitive tribes believed the woodland spirits had
to leave their homes and wander around in the cold during the winter solstice
feasts. They believed-that if you gave the spirits shelter they
would bring you good luck during the year. To entice the spirits inside, people-hung evergreens,
especially Holly over their doors at Yuletide. The Holly would also be planted near the home to ward off
witches and protect occupants from severe weather, thunder and lightning. During the time of the Druids, women put sprigs of Holly
in their hair when they went out to watch the priests cut the sacred mistletoe. The Holly gave people special powers against witchcraft.
Unmarried women fastened a sprig of Holly to their beds at Christmas to guard
them during the coming year from being turned into witches by the Evil One. All kinds of fables sprang up. It was believed that when Christ's enemies were searching
for him, the Holly plant concealed him. So he rewarded the Holly by allowing it
to keep its leaves all year. It thus became an emblem of immortality. It was also said that Christ's crown of thorns was
fashioned from the Holly. At first, the berries were white, but when the crown
was pressed down on his head the drops of blood turned the white berries a
bright red. THE IVY
In pagan Rome the ivy was the badge of the wine God
Bacchus. It was displayed as a symbol of unrestrained drinking and feasting.
Many Christians during the Middle Ages opposed its use as a Christmas item, but
the custom of using it persists nevertheless. A popular Christmas carol shows
how the plants were linked to the Christmas story of Jesus. THE HOLLY & THE
IVY The Holly and the ivy, now both are full well grown Of all the trees that
are in the wood The Holly bears the Crown. O the rising of the sun, The running
of the deep The playing of the organ Sweet singing in the choir. The Holly bears
a blossom As white as lily flower Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ To be our sweet
savior. The Holly bears a berry as red as any blood And Mary bore sweet Jesus
Christ To do poor sinners good. The Holly bears a prickle as sharp as any thorn And Mary
bore sweet Jesus Christ On Christmas Day in the morn. The Holly bears a bark as
bitter as any gall And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ For to redeem us all. The
holly and the Ivy Now both are full well grown of all the trees that are in the
wood The Holly bears the crown. SANTA CLAUS
The real Santa Claus is actually the figure of the pagan
Germanic God Thor (after whom Thursday is named). An excerpt from writings on
ancient German mythology shows the origin of this God figure. THOR WAS THE GOD OF THE PEASANTS AND THE COMMON PEOPLE.
HE WAS REPRESENTED AS AN ELDERLY MAN, JOVIAL AND FRIENDLY, OF HEAVY BUILD, WITH
A LONG WHITE BEARD. HIS ELEMENT WAS THE FIRE, HIS COLOUR RED. THE RUMBLE AND
ROAR OF THUNDER WERE SAID TO BE CAUSED BY THE ROLLING OF HIS CHARIOT, FOR HE
ALONE AMONG THE GODS NEVER RODE ON HORSEBACK BUT DROVE IN A CHARIOT DRAWN BY TWO
WHITE GOATS CALLED CRACKER AND GNASHER. HE WAS FIGHTING THE GIANTS OF ICE AND SNOW, AND THUS
BECAME THE YULE-GOD. HE WAS SAID TO LIVE IN THE NORTHLAND' WHERE HE HAD HIS
PALACE AMONG ICEBERGS. BY OUR PAGAN FOREFATHERS HE WAS CONSIDERED AS THE
CHEERFUL AND FRIENDLY GOD, NEVER HARMING THE HUMANS BUT RATHER HELPING AND
PROTECTING THEM. THE FIREPLACE IN EVERY HOME WAS ESPECIALLY SACRED TO HIM, AND
HE WAS SAID TO COME DOWN THROUGH THE CHIMNEY INTO HIS ELEMENT, THE FIRE. (H.A. Grueber, MYTH OF NORTHERN LANDS, Vol. 1 New York,
1985, page. 61) Here then is the true origin of our Santa Claus. There is however, an old Catholic saint, St. Nicholas,
whom people confuse with Santa Claus. In the pre-Reformation days, there was a Feast to St.
Nicholas, popular in Holland and other countries, where a St. Nicholas visited
children on Dec. 5 and brought presents. This St. Nicholas was an early Catholic Bishop in the 4th
Century. He worked mainly in Asia Minor. The Catholic church attributed many
miracles to him such as restoring life to a dead sailor, raising three
dismembered boys to life, calming storms on the sea, and saving people from
certain death from famine. He was said to secretly give bags of gold to three poor
sisters so they could have a dowry and be happily married. He therefore was the
patron saint of unmarried girls and his emblem decorated many ships because of
his help to sailors. 16 Historically, confusion between St. Nicholas and Santa
Claus in modern times arose because of a popular Christmas poem: 'A visit from
St. Nicholas' by a Dr. Clement C. Moore, a Theology Seminary teacher. The
poem pictured Santa Claus riding eight reindeers over the housetops. The poem was published in the Troy New York Sentinel. A
well-known cartoonist Tomas Nash helped popularize the Santa Claus concept in
Harpers Illustrated Weekly. Other Christmas figures can be found in different lands. Some people also spoke about "Father
Christmas." As far as is known after 1660 the custom began in England to
impersonate the spirit of the Christmas feast by this figure of Father
Christmas. He was pictured as a heavily bearded, fur clad, friendly man,
symbolizing and bestowing the mood of merry Christmas celebrations. He did not
usually bring presents. Much could be said about other Christmas customs which
people currently practice. SHOULD
CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
One might ask whether it is acceptable to celebrate
Christmas, if one can really dissociate Christmas from its pagan connections,
the commercialization and its clearly pagan practices. Might not one say, I celebrate the birth of Christ only.
I do not accept a pagan connection, I am purely and simply worshipping Christ. I
am not into Christmas trees, holly, wreaths, gift exchanges and so. I like the
special mood of love, caring and sharing so obvious at Christmas. At the center of this is an understanding of what God
considers necessary to a relationship with him. We know that God has always
desired that his people be separate from the world, and that they be therefore
completely obedient to him. Abraham was told to leave his father's land and go to a
land promised to him. The Israelites, God's people created and molded in Egypt,
were taken miraculously out of Egypt and directed to the Promised Land. They
were instructed to maintain their distinctions as God's holy people by
separating themselves from the heathen people of the land. Leviticus 15:31, speaks of Israel's needed to keep itself
'separate' from the ceremonial uncleanness that would defile the tabernacle. The
sanctuary was particularly defiled by placing foreign cultic objects in or near
it. (Lev. 20:3, Jer. 7:30.) In 2 Corinthians 6:15-18, Paul instructs Corinthian
Christians to be separate from the rest of mankind, in what is clearly a
composite quotation constructed from Lev. 26:12 and Isa. 52:11. Belief in Yahweh carried with it certain
responsibilities. The greatest danger was always pictured as a syncretism
whereby the followers of God, claimed to worship God, not realizing that by
confusing beliefs in the demands of God and belief in other things, would
immediately break the covenants, and bring down retribution, even though the
name of God was on his lips. The prophets repeatedly stressed that there should be no
other gods, nor any semblance of pagan ideas and worship. Jesus himself held out the real rejection of those who
even cast out devils in his name but who obviously did not 'know' him. Israel
and the church were always instructed to follow only the commandments of God in
matters of worship and life (Phil. 3:19,20.) To be separate from the world while
being guided only by the instructions of heaven, rather than our own creations,
is the Biblical model. Our example must be Christ and his apostles and certainly
not our own creations, especially if these creations are tainted by pagan
connections. To celebrate the birth of Jesus, with no Biblical or
apostolic instructions on a day clearly unhistorical, 'and on a day and season
which is pagan through and through, with customs that originate in the worship
of other gods, is a gesture that has not produced any permanent change in
peoples heart, but instead, has always led to riot and excess, is to strain the
senses of Christian devotion. Association or participation in an act of worship not
sanctioned by God cannot be justified by high moral intentions.' If one wishes
to celebrate the birthday of Christ it should at least be done on the correct
day, in a way totally unconnected with paganism and in fashion of true worship. It is indeed strange that this is the only important date
in the worship or celebration observed whose date God has not revealed. Certainly all the Hebrews feast days, the Sabbath, the
Lord's supper are on clearly noted times. This clue should not be conveniently
forgotten. It should be clear by now that most of these customs lay
in a pagan past and were part of heathen religious worship. Idolatry and
astrology were intimately bound up with these practices. There is little doubt that the commercialization of the
Christmas celebrations reflects very early practice. This commercialization
tends to cover both the pagan and the Christian aspects of the Festival. Some enjoy the Festival because of the beautiful carols
and music, some enjoy the exchange of the presents, others enjoy the feasting
and merrymaking, while others enjoy the increased feelings of friendship and
goodwill that people show to each other. It is true that at Christmas time people seem friendlier
and more relaxed with each other. But unfortunately this behavior does not last. Actually, this feeling of goodwill is a feature of most
pagan religious festivals. Irrespective of the positive aspects of Christmas, we
must remind people that: 1) There is no Biblical instruction for celebrating
Jesus' birthday 2) Jesus' birthdate is unknown 3) The celebration is pagan in origin 4) The associated customs and the excess is certainly not
Christian 5) Christians have no justification for associating with
anything of pagan or of clearly dubious origins. This is written so that all may study this matter further
and be satisfied in their own minds about the truth or error of their ways. CONCLUSION ON
THE FESTIVAL
What conclusion can we draw from the history of the
origin and practice of Christmas? 1) Christians were never instructed in the Bible or by
the Apostle or even by the so-called early church fathers to celebrate Jesus'
birthday. 2) Jesus' birthdate is unknown. 3) The first attempted celebration, namely the January
6th, Epiphany or Appearance was conceived in a serious error about Christ's
birth and his baptism. To suggest that the divine Christ and the man Jesus were
different and that the divine Christ' spirit only came down on a man named Jesus
at the Jordan River baptism is sinful. No wonder John did not mince words in
saying that it was the spirit of Antichrist that suggested Jesus did not truly
come in the flesh. 4) The church of Rome and its associates who started this
December 25th celebration never kept Christmas on a historically accurate date,
whether it was December 25th or January 6th. It was never important for the
church to commemorate a date at all. 5) The impulse to celebrate Christ's birthday did not
come from any desire among Christians to elevate Jesus' birthdate to any high
level. It came instead from the perceived need of the Roman church to counter
the feast of a competing Eastern church and to counter the birth of the sun
God's feast day of its chief religious rival, the Mithros cult. 6) The celebration was based on imitation of a pagan
festival, and the desire to politically counter an equally pagan and heretical
festival. The idea conceptualized by Rome seemed to have been
derived primarily from the pagan Solstice winter festival observed on January
6th, and certainly also from the festival of Mithros, the unconquered sun God
observed on December 25th. The choice of the dates, both Jan. 6th and Dec. 25th were
determined by the fact that both days were pagan festivals. Constantine's
attempt to combine the worship of the sun with the worship of Christ is
undeniable and is to be repudiated. It was an attempt to merge Christianity in a general
religious mixture, with the inevitable loss of the truth. . 7) The associated customs and the excesses of the
celebrations were anything but Christian in content. 8) The festival was not only at variance with the early
Christian and apostolic practice but ran counter to the central events in the
new Testaments story of Christ, that is, his death and resurrection. We are scripturally instructed to preach and baptize
others until he comes. His birth must be viewed in the light of his death and
resurrection and not the other way around. We must therefore concentrate on the death and
resurrection and face the prospect the King who will certainly come in power and
great glory. The Evangelists dealt with the birth of Christ certainly,
but showed the birth in the light of the fulfillment of the extensive prophecies
from the Old Testament. This child was the Promised One who came to fulfill the
Abrahamic and Davidic promise to both Jew and Gentile. The focus was therefore
always to be on his death and resurrection and subsequent introduction of the
Kingdom of Righteousness: 9) Christians have no biblical justification for
associating with anything of pagan or of clearly dubious origin. BIBLIOGRAPHY H.A. Grueber, Myth of Northern Lands Vol. 1, New York
1988, 61 ff. Walter A. Elwell. Ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church edited by
F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingston C.A. Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian
and Pagan (1912) L.W. Cowic and J.S. Cummer, The Christian Calendar. P.
Scholf, History of the Christian Church. pp.394-400 Mayme Krythe, All About Christmas. J.H. Barnett, The American Christmas: A Study in National
Culture, New York 1954 G.W. Bromley, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. NOTES 1. Solstice is either of two times a year when the sun is
at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. About June 21 when the sun
reaches its northern most point on the celestial sphere, or about Dec. 22 when
it reaches its southernmost point. 2. See A.T. Kraabi "The Roots of Christmas"
Dialog 21 (1982) 274-280 3. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church ed. by
F.L. Cross and E.A. 4. As above 5. All About Christmas, Mayme Krythe p.2 6. Commentary on Matthew XIV (ed. Klostermann, p 30) 7. As above 8. This was considered a heretical view according to
which Christ, a Divine
Being could not have entered a fleshly existence completely, but was only
temporarily united with the human Jesus from the time of his baptism when the
voice of God said: "Thou are my Beloved Son." These Basilides were Gnostic from Alexandra. This Jan. 6 Epiphany was the same days as: 1) The major feast of the God Dionysius. 2) The birth of the God Eion to the maiden Kore (Alexandrain
Deilus) 3) The day of the Egyptian Osiris. On the right before Jan. 6, the waters of the Nile were
said to possess special miraculous powers. The Jan. 6 festival was divided into two parts. The night
of Jan. 5-6 was the celebration of Jesus' birth and the day Jan. 6 was
celebrate as his Baptism day. This festival of the Christian sect made it very easy for
the pagan converts to relate to the new religion. 9. At the famous Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. the church
expressly condemn the doctrine that God himself did not become incarnate in
Jesus at his birth. See The Origin of Christmas pg. 29 in The Early Church,
Oscar Culman 10. The reasoning was as follows. In Genesis God at creation separated light from darkness.
This means that light and darkness forms equal parts. So the world was created
on a day where day and night were the same length. This occurs in the Vernal
Equinox on March 25 where day and night are same length. So the authors say this was the day of creation. The sun
was made on the 4th day, that is March 28. 11. Evangelical Dictionary of Theory, Walter A. Elwell
editor (section on Christmas) 12. See International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Ed G.W.
Broley (see Christmas) The deep-rooted pagan festival of the unconquered Sun God
did not disappear easily. Agustine Pope Leo E. Chrysostom (a great preacher) fought
to spread the Dec. 25 day in the face of stubborn resistance. "According to St. Chrysostom - at the request of St.
Cyrf of Jerusalem, Julius 1 (Pope or Bishop of Rome from A.D. 337 to 352)
investigated into the matter of the date ... In A.D. 350, Dec. 25 was set as the most
probable time." See all about Christmas, M. Krythe pg. 2. The tremendous influence of Sun God worship affected
everyone. The Emperor Constantine who officially stopped Christian persecution
and 'sponsored' the church, he did not attacked paganism in his active life
and did not renounce paganism until he received baptism on his deathbed. He did reform paganism through abolishing the pagan
system of oracles, the offering of private sacrifices and some grossly immoral
temple cults. He allowed himself to be represented in two statues as
the Sun God with shinning rays with the inscription on the pedestal, "To
Constantine, who brings light like the Sun." In 321 A.D. he introduced the Christian Lord's day as the
officially authorized weekly day of rest, for it coincided with a day dedicated
to the Sun God. 13. See The Origin of Christmas: The Early Church pg.
17-36 (Philadelphia 1956) 14. See C. A. Miles, Christmas in Ritual and Tradition,
Christian and Pagan (1912) 15. Same as above 16. G.A. Grueber, Myth of Northern Lands, Vol. 1, New
York 1895 and Handbook of Christian Feast and Customs, Francis
Weiser pg. 61
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