"Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your traditions," (Mark 7:9).
Men should always be willing to give up their traditions and receive the teaching of the word of God. Observation has convinced me that most people are not offended as much when the word of God is refuted, as when their traditions are proven to be false. All matters of faith and practice must be proven by the word of God, (Rom. 14:23). This goes for all traditions in the religious world. I believe in Jesus Christ, but I do not believe in Christmas. I believe in the virgin birth, but I don't believe in Santa Claus. I believe Jesus Christ died on the tree of the cross, but I do not have a Christmas tree in my home. I believe Christ is the light of the world (Jn. 8:12), but I do not believe in Christmas tree lights. I do not consider myself an odd ball, yet I do not observe December 25th as a religious holiday. To me Christmas is as wrong as any other pagan worship. To say you are practicing Christmas in a non-religious way is self-deception. How in the world could you with a clear conscience, do something religiously in a non-religious way? Jesus Christ said, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men, (Matt. 15:8-9). If anything is the commandment and doctrine of men, Christmas is. You may say, "does not the special church services, the exchanging of gifts, and the merry-making of December 25th occur because Christ was born 1900 years ago? Did not the New Testament church celebrate the Christmas tradition?"
Very few mortals living today dare to investigate the Christmas tradition. Most people do not care where the practice came from. Millions of professing Christians have their minds made up, and are not concerned with the need of scriptural authority for their practice. Let us think seriously about these things for a moment, for the truth can be found if we are willing to search for it.
There is not a word in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, that tells us the exact time of Christ's birth; neither does history furnish us with any light on the matter. Not only are not sure of the month, but we are not sure of the year. Encyclopedias and other sources of information, including the Catholic Encyclopedia, will frankly tell you that Christ was not born, of all days, on December 25th, the year of 1 A.D.
Matthew's gospel tells us that, "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King," (Matt. 2:1). Other scriptures tell us that Herod was troubled to hear of his birth, (Matt. 2:3). When Joseph heard of Herod's plot to murder the young infant, he fled to Egypt by night, (Matt. 2:14). He remained there until Herod's death, (Matt. 2:14-15).
Even though there isn't any record that shows the exact date of Christ's birth, there is sufficient evidence in the Bible itself, that clearly reveals that His Birth was nowhere near the traditional date. A number of things in the Bible point in this direction.
We read in Luke 2:8, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." Anyone familiar with the climate conditions of Palestine during the month of December, knows there were no shepherds nor sheep in the open fields at this time of the year. December is an extremely cold and rainy month. In the hill country of Judea, where Christ was born, only during the warm months of summer and fall did the shepherds take their sheep into the open fields at night. From mid-October unto mid-April is the rainy season, (Songs of Solomon 2:11). During the rainy season the shepherds took their flocks into the shelter of the sheepfold at night. If the shepherds were in the field, it was not December.
Adam Clark writes, "It was a custom among the Jews to send out their sheep to the deserts, about the Passover, and bring them home at the commencement of the first rain: during the time they were out, the shepherds watched them night and day. As the Passover occurred in the spring, and the first rain began early in the month of Manchesvan, which answers to part of our October and November, we find that the sheep were kept out in the open country during the whole of the summer. And as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could he have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point," (commentary on the Bible, Vol.5, Pg.370).
We learn from the Gospel of Luke that the birth of Christ occurred during the first enrollment made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria, (Lk. 2:1-7). Every person was required to report to his tribal territory in order to be entered inn the registry. Since they had such a poor way of travel, it is doubtful that Emperor Augustus would have called for registration for being taxed in the dead of winter.
The Bible suggests that Christ's birth was in the autumn, sometime in September near the feast of the tabernacles. His ministry came to an end at the Passover which was in the spring of the year (April). Then three and one half years preceding this would mean His ministry started in autumn. The Gospel of Luke also tells us that Christ began His ministry just as He was approaching thirty years of age, (Lk. 3:23). His ministry lasted about three and one half years and ended at the Passover in April (Nison); therefore, it must have started in September, when He was thirty, (Lk. 3:23).
In the New Testament, we have another important feature which will show the season of Christ's birth. It concerns the time period in which the Levitical priesthood served in the temple, by comparing the prescribed times with certain New Testament references, we can arrive at a very close season. According to the Gospel of Luke, Zacharias was performing his services in the temple at Jerusalem, when an angel told him his wife Elizabeth was going to conceive and bear a son. The period in which Zacharias received this information was during the priestly course of Abijah, (Lk. 1:5). When the sacerdotal family grew so numerous, that all could not officiate together at the tabernacle, David divided them into twenty-four courses, that they might minister by turns, (1 Chron. 24:1), each family serving a whole week, (2 Kings 11:7-9; 2 Chron. 23:8). Elizabeth could not have conceived until about the ninth week after the beginning of God's first month, Nison (April). According to the Roman calendar, this would be about the first week of June. She must have conceived near this time, because when Zacharias came out of the temple, he could not speak, (Lk. 1:18-22), and remained speechless until John the Baptist was born. If we go forward nine months from June, we come to our month of March. From this we must conclude that John the Baptist was born in early Spring, in the month of March. Luke tells us that Christ was six months younger than John, (Lk. 1:26-36). By adding six months to the time of John's birth, we come to the month of September.
The true origin of Christmas is pre-Christian. It dates back thousands of years before the birth of Christ. It goes back to the time when the pagans honored Nimrod, the grandson of Noah. He was the man that encouraged the people to build the tower what would reach to heaven. He was also the founder of the kingdom that became the Babylonian Kingdom. The origin of Christmas dates back to a woman named Semiramis in the city of Babylon, building upon the primeval promise of the woman's seed who was to come. Semiramis bore a son whom she declared was miraculously conceived. When she presented him to the people he was hailed as the promised deliverer. This was Tammuz, whose worship Ezekiel protested against in the days of captivity; thus was introduced the mystery of mother and child, a form of idolatry that is older that any other known to man. All of this was Satan's effort to cloud the mind of mankind that he would not know the true seed of the woman when He can in the fullness of time, (Gal. 4:4). Before long, the Babylonian system spread throughout the known world. In the time of Jeremiah, the Lord condemned the Jews for indulging in the celebration of the birthday of Tammuz the son of the Queen of Heaven, (Jer. 7:17-20). Ezekiel makes reference to this idolatry in Ezek. 8:13-16, hear him:
"He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD'S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east,"
Most of the things connected with Christmas came from pagan sources. Christmas has its counterparts in the drunken festivals of Babylon. The lighting of candles on Christmas Eve was done by the pagans on the eve of the festival of the Babylonian gods. The Christmas tree came from the palm tree of Egypt, that denotes the pagan Messiah, known as Baal-Tamar. In Rome, it was the Fir tree of Baal-Berith. The yule log, depicted as the Sun God, was the dead stock of Nimrod, but cut down by his enemies. The mistletoe represented the Babylonian Messiah. The Christmas dinner, the goose and yule cake, were essentials in the worship of the Babylonians.
The American Encyclopedia says, "Christmas was not observed in the first centuries of the church: since the Christian usage was to celebrate the death of the remarkable person rather than their birth," (Vol.6, Pg.622).
There is not a single word in the New Testament or the entire Bible, telling us to observe Christmas. The inspired apostles of Christ and the early church knew nothing of Christmas. If God had wanted His people to celebrate the birth of Christ, why did He not command us to do so in the Bible? Why did he not tell us of the exact day of His Son's birth? The answer is, that God did not want us to do so.
Let us look at the word of Christmas for a moment. The name "Christmas" came from the term Christ's Mass. How blasphemous to link the name of Christ with the Roman Catholic Mass. How can Christians delight in using this term, since they do not believe in the Catholic Mass? Are some Christians truing to become Roman Catholics at this season of the year? For people to say, "Put Christ back in Christmas" is absurd, because Christ never was in Christmas. God forbid that I try to put Him in a heathen holiday.
The fact that God has not commanded this celebration is sufficient reason for all Bible-believers to not have any part in such practices. I do not celebrate Christmas because my Lord did not tell me to do so. I dare not go beyond what is written in His book of instructions, the Bible. The Bible is the safe and sufficient rule of faith and practice.
You may say, "I know Christmas is of pagan origin, but I still don't believe that it is wrong for a Christian to have a special time honoring Christ's birth." Since when do we have the right to add to the Bible? Is the church a legislative body, and does it make its own rules: are we to follow the Bible in faith and practice? Does not the Bible warn about adding to the word of God (Rev. 22:18; Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6)? If we have the right to add a special day, then we can add ten thousand other things, no better than the false cults of the Roman Catholics, who follow heathen traditions. In the Bible we are warned against doing this. Paul condemned the church of Galatia because they, "observed days, and months, and times and years," (Gal. 4:10).
The only day the church has a right to observe is the first day of the week, (Acts 20:7; cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2), to commemorate His death and suffering. The devil doesn't care if we celebrate His birthday, he wants to keep our minds away from His death and resurrection. He delights is all these festivities, programs and pageantries associated with the holiday season. Those who fail to see the adversary of souls in the clutter and confusion of such things, have a limited spiritual vision. Hear the weeping prophet Jeremiah, give a solemn charge to Israel about the custom of the heathen:
"Hear ye 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 signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 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. 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" (Jer. 10:1-5).
The custom of cutting a tree and decking it was prevalent in Jeremiah's time and was condemned by the prophet of God, as seen by the text. The custom to which Jeremiah makes reference was December 25th; it began in Babylon. The evergreen was the chosen symbol of Tammuz, and was set up in honor of his birth, when a boar's head was eaten in memory of his conflict and a yule log was burned with many mysterious observances. Jeremiah wanted God's people to realize that it is not possible to worship the true God by heathen ceremonies and customs.
Prior to Israel's conquest of Canaan, Moses warned them not to attempt to worship God after the custom of the Canaanites, (Deut. 12:30-31).
God is to be worshiped in the manner He has prescribed in His word, (Jn. 4:23-24). His children must not try to worship Him after the way of the custom of the heathen. Jeremiah said, "Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them," (Jer. 10:2). Why do Christians put an evergreen tree in their homes and deck it with bright lights during the Christmas celebration? What does a Christmas tree have to do with the virgin birth of Christ? Why do people engage in Babylonian custom and try to defend it by claiming such is done because Christ was born some nineteen hundred years ago?
Sometimes people ask me, "Why do you not have a Christmas tree in your home?" Without a moment's hesitation I tell them because the Bible forbids it, (Jer. 10). As a Christian I cannot honor Christ by going contrary to His written word. The Roman Catholics took the evergreen tree of Tammuz and made it into a Christmas tree. St. Boniface of Germany probably cut the first Christmas tree in the eight century. People borrowed the Christmas tree from the Roman Catholics. This is the real origin of the Christmas tree found in many religious homes and featured in many churches during the Christmas season each year.
People today are like the children of Israel who worshiped the golden calf.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," (Exo. 32:7-8).
At this season of the year, people tell their children, "you'd better watch out, you'd better not cry, you'd better not pout, I'm telling you why, 'cause Santa Claus is coming to town."
Many youngsters are living in great expectation of gifts left by Saint Nicholas on the night of December 24th. From early infancy these youngsters have been taught, that on this night, Santa Claus rides through the air on a sleigh pulled by reindeer, led by Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
They dream about jolly old Saint Nick coming down the chimney to place presents under the Christmas tree. Sooner or later, all children discover to their dismay that there is no real Santa Claus. They learn that it is their Mom and Dad who purchased and placed the gifts under the evergreen tree after the children are asleep. It is strange that parents would tell their children this lie, and give someone else the credit which they deserve. I wish someone would explain to me the connection there is between the birth of Christ and a gift-giving Roman monk. What does a whiskered fat man, dressed in a red suit, riding a sleigh across the sky have to do with the birth of Christ? Just how many people have seen a sleigh in the sky pulled by flying reindeer? Maybe these are the UFO's you hear so much about. Like the golden calf of Israel, parents take their trusting children to a fat man in a red suit with a false beard, who promised them all kinds of toys, which they usually never get. Why do parents want a whiskered clown to thrust their children into a maze of falsehoods to save their faces before Christmas idolaters? How can they expect their children to have any confidence in what they teach them, when they find their parents have lied to them about Santa Claus? Lied to them in the years when they were punished for lying to their parents. Is it right for parents to tell their trusting children a lie? Can a system of perpetual lying to little children be of God? Some will say, "We don't mean any harm, we tell the children there is a Santa Claus so they can have a good time." Must we engage in lies, deceit and paganism to give the kiddies a good time? Others say, "Everybody is doing this. It must be all right." The Bible says, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil..." (Exo. 23:2). It also says, "Woe unto them that call evil good..." (Isa. 5:20).
Christians are to walk by faith, (2 Cor. 5:7). "Faith comes by hearing the word of God," (Rom. 10:17). "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, (Rom. 14:23). "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God," (1 Pet. 4:11). Since God did not give us the date of Christ's birth, I know that He did not intend for us to keep it, but He did give us the first day of the week, (Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7) to commemorate His death and suffering. I beg of you to think seriously about this, (Phil. 4:8).
This study was presented by our dear brother, Emery McCallister.
If you have any questions or comments, or would like to study further, you can reach me through my Contact Page.