Let's begin our discussion about Christmas by looking at the early Church as described in the New Testament. Most Bible-believing Christians base their present worship model on how the original Believers in the early years following the death and resurrection of Jesus gathered and worshiped God. They did not celebrate Christmas. Why? To find that answer, we must look at the history of this holiday which actually predates the birth of Jesus.
History teaches us that the earliest known observance of any kind of Christmas celebration occurred over two hundred years after the birth of Christ. This celebration took place in December. It sought to merge the ancient Pagan celebrations known as Saturnalia (a Roman festival which took place each December 17th to 24th, celebrated the winter solstice and honored Saturn, the Roman god of sowing), the birth of Mithra (the Iranian sun god of righteousness born on December 25th) and a Roman feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun (which occurred around the same time as Saturnalia) with the idea of honoring or celebrating the birth of Jesus.
The celebration of Saturnalia was originally opposed by early Christians because it was a pagan holiday that involved the exchanging of gifts and was filled with all kinds of exaggerated behaviors involving food and drink, as well as rampant immorality. It was not until after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire that a Roman Emperor known as Justinian created the holiday known as Christmas. In doing so he replaced the worship of Saturn and the celebration of the birth of the Sun with the worship of the birth of Jesus.
It's important to understand that when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, it was not the Biblical Christianity that most Bible Believers accept today. It was an unholy marriage between many pagan beliefs and practices, and what the early church taught. This marriage produced a new religion. It was a perversion of Christianity which lead to many traditions and extra-Biblical practices that are not found in the Word of God being honored and accepted equally with Scripture. Bible Believers have always rejected this creation by the Roman Empire and continue to do so today.
Sometime after 500 A.D., the celebration now known as Christmas was mandated by the Roman Empire. People had to celebrate this holiday. The excesses of Saturnalia were retained and Bible Believers of that time were often shocked at the socially and morally depraved way that Romans celebrated the birth of the Savior. By this time additional pagan elements had been added to the holiday. These include various festival celebrations originally tied to the early days of January. This is why people celebrate Christmas and New Year's so closely together today.
January 1st was the Roman New Year. The celebrations surrounding this festival included the decorating of houses with candles, green plants and small trees. Gifts were given to children and the poor. Again, these festival traditions slowly became a part of the Roman Christmas celebration so that the festivals of Christmas and New Years merged. December 25th became the focal point of all these celebrations because the Roman Emperor Aurelian had much earlier declared that the pagan festival of natalis solis invicti (or birth of the un-conquered sun) should occur on that date beginning in the year 274 A.D. It was a popular festival and seemed to present an easy transition from celebrating the birth of the sun to celebrating the birth of God's Son.
Additional elements were added to the Roman Christmas after Germanic tribes infiltrated Rome, overran the empire and moved on into Gaul and Britain. Many in these tribes readily accepted and gravitated toward the Druid and Celtic traditions they encountered. German, Druid and Celtic traditions became intermingled and the celebration known as Yule was born. Elements of the Yule festivals were later added to the Roman Christmas celebration. Yule rites included the setting up of decorated celebration trees in the home, the yule log, and the exchanging of gifts.
The very idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus came from the pagan ritual of celebration the birth of great kings. For example, Middle Eastern Kings (like Herod) and whatever current Pharaoh of Egypt that was in power would have had birth celebrations every year of their rein. If early Christians celebrated anything, it tended to be the death of beloved martyrs or great leaders of their churches. They considered birth celebrations to be pagan.
Even the idea of Santa Claus does not entirely originate from a compilation of the life of Saint Nicholas or the various other Christian saints and theologians to which it is attributed by popular tradition. During the feast of Yule, the Germanic god known as Odin was said to ride through the skies on top of an eight legged horse or on a cart pulled by horses or reindeer. Children would leave their boots filled with carrots and straw for the animals, and sugar or food for Odin in their chimneys. Odin would acknowledge their offering by leaving candy or gifts in their boots.
After learning all this we are still left with the question of whether Bible-believing Christians should celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. The short answer is that we should not. There are many Biblical warnings against the celebration of holidays, feasts or festivals connected to false gods. In Jeremiah, chapter ten, we see a warning to Israel against astrology and the practice of setting up and decorating trees as the heathen do. Jesus himself told the Jews in Matthew 7:9 (KJV): "And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
Now things get a bit complicated when it comes to the question of how involved Bible Believers should be with celebrating Christmas. That's because although Christians are commended to come out from among the heathen and follow the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:17), we're also told in 1 Corinthians Chapter Eight that eating meat and other items offered to idols is a personal choice. If doing so means causing a weaker Christian to question our sincerity, we should not do it. However, Paul (the writer of the letters to the Corinthians) is quick to point out that the gods worshiped by others are not gods and that only one true God exists to us.
Paul presents us with the recurring theme of all his letters and the overall message of the New Testament of the Bible: Christians are free from the bondage of sin. It's a freedom that was bought and paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is not one to be taken lightly or flaunted in any way. However, Christians have been set free from the rules and regulations of the Mosaic Law. We live in the world, are a part of it and bound by whatever legal system services us. For example, chapter 13 in the book of Romans tells us to pay tributes, dues and customs fees to those they are due. We are not exempt from being good citizens, as long as that means we can still obey God and do his Will.
I believe that observing or celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday goes against what the Bible teaches. If we celebrate it as a national holiday (which it is in the USA), we are on safe ground as long as it does not present a poor witness of our Christianity to others. Thinking of it as a national or secular holiday allows us to participate in most of the public festivities without dishonoring the Lord, unless that would cause a Christian to sin in some way (Example: Alcohol consumption or partying among immoral revelers).
The truth is that Christians are constantly subjected to the influence of false gods. A good example of this is Saturday. The day of the week we call Saturday is named for the god Saturn. Should we refuse to observe Saturday? Or, change it to a name we like and confuse everyone? Of course not. That's not to say we should go to the other extreme and attend services at a church that does not believe or teach the Bible or presents a false gospel just because it offers midnight services on Christmas Eve.
We must remember that the Book of Luke tells us in chapter two that an angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds keeping watch over their sheep by night. Luke also tells us that, "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, good will toward men." The angel's announcement caused a heavenly celebration. This allows us at least some leeway when it comes to celebrating the birth of Jesus. So Christian and God-honoring church services and individual celebrations for the birth of Jesus, even in December, are alright in my book.
We use money with pagan symbols on it. We follow a calendar with days and months named after false gods. We pay taxes to governments that all probably use part of those funds for things that Christians disagree with and that the Bible teaches against. Still, we are told in the bible to pay our tributes, dues and customs fees. We have to live in the world, but do not have to be a part of it in terms of our personal choices, lifestyles and beliefs. So with all that in mind, I say "Merry Christmas" with no fear that I am dishonoring God.
