As a child, Christmas was always my favorite day of the year – a time when we received beautifully wrapped presents, ate great food, and our family got along exceptionally well. Growing up in the stunning rural landscape of Vermont, Christmas often meant a cold, white holiday providing the perfect excuse to cozy up with our gifts, spend time with family, enjoy good music, relax, and temporarily forget about the outside world.
Christmas music, Church plays, movies, TV shows, and more were given a bit of leeway in the culture of my earlier days; allowed to speak more to the public and tell the message of Christmas and why God became a man and was born to poor parents in a backwater town of Nazareth.
But in recent years I’ve met more than a few Christians, who feel Christians should not celebrate Christmas, saying it is unbiblical–even pagan.
But is this so?
Where is it in the Bible?
Some Christians say we should not celebrate Christmas since it is not found in the Bible. Yet most things existing in their lives, whether politics, economics, education, diet, work, and more, contradict or are at least neutral to what the Bible advises. Modern life is just not found there. Jesus himself did things not found in the Bible. It does not cover every aspect of what we should or should not do. It does not speak to driving cars, but we do. In America, many Christians celebrate Independence Day, Veterans Day, Halloween, Presidents Day, and many other secular “state” holy days without blinking an eye – none are found in the Bible. Further we cannot Biblically condemn Christmas as it is not strictly prohibited, as are “pagan practices.”
However, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, which is not done as part of the Catholic/Protestant/Evangelical tradition. According to the Talmud, the record of “man’s traditions,” the Menorah is lit for eight days to remember the miracle God did, something Jesus celebrated.
Further, Christmas is in the Bible! “Christ” and “mas” = Christ-celebration. Thus, Christmas is a celebration of Christ. The first Christmas celebration was at the birth of Christ.
“And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2: 12-14).
“Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (Luke 2: 20).
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2: 10-11).
But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: “Let all the angels of God worship Him” (Hebrews 1: 6).
When Jesus was born, the angels in heaven celebrated and praised God, proclaiming the arrival with great joy. The shepherds glorified God, and the wise men rejoiced immensely. Everyone who loves Jesus and appreciates the gift He gave to humanity should overflow with joy in the Son of God’s entrance into our world. The event is a fulfillment of prophecy—an occasion to celebrate arrival of the long-awaited Savior, promised so long ago (Genesis 3: 15, Isaiah 7: 14; 9: 6 and many more).
Celebrating the birth of the Messiah also honors his sinless life and work on the cross, two of the purposes for which he was sent into the world. At his birth, Jesus was wrapped in a swaddling cloth, paralleling how he would later be wrapped in a burial cloth at his death. The wise men brought him gifts: gold indicating his exceeding value, and frankincense and myrrh, two spices used for burial, symbolizing the baby born to die on the cross in payment of sin for those who believe (see, Philippians 2: 5-8).
“Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2: 10-11).
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1: 21).
Why December 25th?
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14: 5).
Some Christians claim Jesus was not born on December 25th, so we should not celebrate it as his birthday. Yet, as early as 221, church fathers such as Sextus Africanus mentioned December 25th as the day of Christmas. The early church calculated the date based on his conception birth date, which was supposed to have been March 25th (translated to the Roman calendar from Jewish). Others calculated the same.
“For the first advent of our Lord in the flesh, when he was born in Bethlehem, eight days before the kalends of January [December 25th], the 4th day of the week [Wednesday], while Augustus was in his forty-second year, [2 or 3BC] but from Adam five thousand and five hundred years. He suffered in the thirty third year, 8 days before the kalends of April [March 25th], the Day of Preparation, the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar [29 or 30 AD], while Rufus and Roubellion and Gaius Caesar, for the 4th time, and Gaius Cestius Saturninus were Consuls” (Hippolytus, Commentary on Daniel, A.D. 170-240).
But even if he was not born on December 25th, anyone with family, a busy schedule and multiple time demands knows sometimes you must observe a birthday on a more accessible day due to scheduling. But also, when is it not a good day to celebrate what God has done? Do evangelicals only share the gospel on the day Jesus was crucified? Or resurrected? Or on the day he ascended?
Is December 25th a Pagan Holiday?
Some Christians claim the celebration of Christmas is derived from a pagan festival called Saturnalian. However, this is not so; that festival was celebrated December 17-23, and Christmas was firmly established long before any Norse holiday could have influenced it. The Roman “Sol Invictus” started 72 years after Christmas was being celebrated, in 274 A.D. Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136AD, declared Church services should be held during December to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Savior.” Seemingly, the pagan festivals were a response to December celebration, not the other way around!
The early Church calculated the date not to overturn or repurpose some pagan festival—what part of the calendar did not have a pagan festival nearby—but simply to celebrate when Christ was born.
“Whether Christmas happens to occur at the same time or close to the same time as a pagan holiday is irrelevant. There is nothing inherently wrong with celebrating a christian holiday at the same time as pagans celebrate” (Bodie Hodge, The War on Christmas).
Christians also argue using the Bible to show December 25th could not have been the day Jesus was born because shepherds would not keep watch over their flocks outside in the winter!
Kirk Cameron interviewed professor, theologian, evangelical pastor, and author Doug Wilson (writer of the book, God Rest Ye) about this question. Wilson points out the temple operated year-round, and they needed sheep. These were kept nearby in the fields, so someone had to watch them. Catholic apologist Jimmy Akin, in an article titled, “The Timing of Christmas,” wrote, “Ancient Jews did not have large indoor spaces for housing sheep. Flocks were kept outdoors during winter in Judaea, as they are elsewhere in the world today, including in places where snow is common. Sheep are adapted to life outdoors. That’s why they have wool, which keeps body heat in and moisture out. Sheep are kept outdoors in winter in Israel today:”
But even if Christians had selected a date to overturn or repurpose a pagan holiday, is there something wrong with transforming an evil into something to honor God? Every saved sinner is transformed for the same purpose. Sunday, named after and set as the day to worship the pagan sun god, Should Christians avoid Church on Sunday then?
Just because a pagan does something on a certain day does not make the day theirs. God made the days—all of them! Evangelicals always choose to be on the defensive, allowing a pagan or modern secular society to dictate to us what we can or cannot do, forgetting “The earth is the Lord’s” (Psalm 24: 1).
The Christian is in the world, but not of the world, and is instructed “Do not love the world, nor the things of the world” (1 John 2: 15). What better way to demonstrate lack of love for the world, than to repurpose its folly, turning it to the glory of God?
The Christian is told to “redeem the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5: 16; Colossians 4: 5). Days are a measure of time, and time is the only thing God has given to the Christian to redeem.
The Greek word translated “redeem” meant “to buy out from its current use, and put to an entirely new use.” It was frequently applied to the buyout of a booth in the marketplace with all its wares and accessories, and completely rework it for delivery of different goods. What better way for the Christian to “redeem” the time—a pagan day—than in the repurposing of it for God’s work?
Did Jeremiah Condemn Christmas Trees?
“Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest,The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple” (Jeremiah 10: 2-5).
Long before a special baby was born in Bethlehem or before anyone celebrated Christmas, the prophet Jeremiah condemned the use of Christmas trees—so some interpret this biblical passage to say. However, it cannot be about Christmas trees, as it was written 2,000 years before Christ. It is clear from context and the surrounding chapters, Jeremiah condemned the creation of idols for worship.
[Read, “The Christmas Tree is NOT Pagan”]
A closer look at the passage reveals that in verse 3, a craftsman shapes this idol. This is a crafted idol, not simply a tree. Verse 5 says the idols cannot speak (as God can) and V8 says, “But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; a wooden idol is a worthless doctrine.” Verses 9-11 speak of God as the creator vs. false idols. Verses 14-15 speak of worthless idols and images that are only objects of mockery. Passages in Isaiah 40: 19-20 and 44: 14-17 both speak of idols made from trees and decorated, and both Isaiah and Jeremiah declare how foolish it is to worship such crafted objects.
“But they are altogether stupid and foolish in their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Violet and purple are their clothing; They are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King” (Jeremiah 10: 8-10).
“Surely he cuts cedars for himself, and takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow. Then it becomes something for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also makes a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god and worships it; he makes it a graven image and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat as he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, ‘Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.’ But the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He falls down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god” (Isaiah 44: 14-17).
So, while it is true pagans misused trees in the past, they also misuse music, science, sex, and many other things, but that does not give them a monopoly on those objects. God is the creator of the trees and all things, and he declared all creation “good” (Genesis 1). A pagan cannot make something God has made good inherently evil. He can misuse it and corrupt the original for evil purposes, but he cannot remake an object created by God and redefine its essence or usurp its ownership.
As Kirk Cameron points out in Saving Christmas, God loves trees and decorates them with fruit, beautiful leaves, and flowers. Trees play a vital role in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and God uses trees to decorate his house, the temple.
“The walls of his temple were frescoed with images of trees, the lamp stand in his tabernacle was an almond tree and guess what he placed on the branches of the tree in his house? Lights!!….beautiful green trees decorated with fruit in his house. That’s God’s idea not the druids” (Kirk Cameron, Saving Christmas).
Many today use their Christmas tree as a symbol of God’s greatest gift to us, which was given on a tree.
“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2: 24).
“Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb” (Acts 13: 29).
Origin of Christmas Traditions
The Christmas tree did not originate from pagan worship during the time of Jeremiah or even in the earliest centuries of Christmas celebrations; rather, it was a later development. The first Christmas tree is believed to have appeared in the 7th century due to an English missionary named Winfrid, who later became known as Saint Boniface. He used the tree’s triangular shape to teach the concept of the Trinity to the pagans. According to legend, he encountered a group of pagans preparing to sacrifice to an oak tree in their worship. Outraged, the missionary swung his axe and, in one stroke, cut down the tree. Subsequently, a fir tree grew from the stump of the oak. The missionary proclaimed that this fir tree symbolized Jesus’s victory over paganism and death.
In medieval Europe, plays based on various biblical characters were performed throughout the year. December 24th was declared Adam and Eve’s Day, with the setting in the Garden of Eden. The show’s center was a decorated evergreen tree with fruit representing the tree in the original garden. German families began decorating evergreen trees with fruit in their houses and called them “paradise trees.” As time passed, they added decorations—gingerbread cookies, nuts, candy, and the most important ornaments—tiny round wafers of bread (eucharist) hidden among the forbidden fruit (decorations on the paradise tree). These thin biscuits represented the body of Christ that was broken on the cross for our sins and through which we gained eternal life.
During the Medieval plays, children were kept calm through pacification. They were given pieces of minted candy to suck on, which represented the gift of frankincense. Later, the candy was shaped like a staff to honor the shepherd’s staff.
In modern times, an Indiana candy maker wanted to make candy for Christmas. He took the previous sugar cane and added a large red stripe as a symbol for the blood of Christ on the cross. The smaller red stripes were added for the lashes Jesus received and the promise that “by his stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53: 5). The white color was to remind children that Jesus lived without sin. The peppermint flavor was added to remind of hyssop, the Old Testament plant used for Jesus’ sacrifice. The hardness of the candy represents Jesus, the rock of our salvation. The bent candy was a shepherd’s staff, the first to hear the Christmas message to “taste and see the lord is good” (Psalm 34: 8).
Other decorations have biblical symbolism. For example, the star on top of the tree represents the star of Bethlehem, which led the magi to Christ as a child.
Christmas gift-giving originated from Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Bishop well-known for giving gifts, especially to the poor. Also, Epiphany, a celebration in early January on the day the Magi brought gifts to Jesus, was eventually incorporated and included into normal Christmas (December 25th) celebrations.
And as Cameron points out, God also gives gifts at the base of trees. Abraham was given the gift of his son at the Oaks of Mamre. The gift of salvation was given at the base of a tree, the cross. Christmas is all about God, the great gift giver sending a gift to mankind (Isaiah 9: 6 Luke 2: 11-12). Gifts are given at Christmas to remember God’s gift to us in his son. When we are given an undeserved gift (the savior of the world), it leads us to want to do the same for others. The wise men were so excited that they gave Jesus gifts, not even realizing they were fulfilling prophecy made centuries before. (Isaiah 59: 20; 60: 6)
Gifts are biblical; our excessive materialism abuses them in the same way some abuse alcohol or food, but that does not mean we should not ever eat or drink wine; after all, Jesus turned water into wine.
Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas
The legend of Santa Claus has evolved from the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, a bishop in modern-day Turkey known for his kindness to the poor and his practice of secretly giving gifts to children. Saint Nicholas was known for wearing long red robes. According to legend, he once dropped money down the chimney as a gift for two sisters who had left their stockings hanging by the fire to dry.
Saint Nicholas is also remembered for his role at the Council of Nicaea, which established the core doctrines of Christianity still agreed upon today. Some at the council denied the full divinity of Jesus, and Nicholas debated and embarrassed his opponents with logic and scripture usage. He even struck one of the “heretics” in the face, was removed from his position as bishop for his aggressive actions, but was later reinstated because of his popularity and sainted as a defender of the faith.
In Conclusion
Regarding Christmas, we do well to remember “…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16: 7).
Featured: Children by the Christmas Tree, Leopold Graf von Kalckreuth; painted ca. early 20th century.
