As a child I grew up loving Christmas, I never was taught about the importance of the day. All I knew was Santa Claus, food and family. When I had reached the age of 19, I began to question the traditions of Christmas and what did they have to do with the birth of Jesus. At the age of 22 I started studying Egyptology and Islam. After much study, I discovered that much of what we do on Christmas isn’t of God. When I rededicated my life to Christ in 1997, I still had many questions about Christmas. The Holy Spirit has been instructing me for the past three weeks to shed the light of Christ on this holiday and expose the enemy. I know this holiday is precious to many people, but I must not grieve the Holy Spirit. So as I submit to Him, I pray that this is received in love. I also pray that this article will spark you to question and research these traditions. Some of the information that I share will be referenced, so that you can study for yourself (2 Timothy 2:15). I don’t have the time to exhaust everything, so I will try to address as much as possible.

When you deal with a subject like Christmas, many people will turn you off before you even say a word. A Christian sister asked me one day, “Why don’t you just fit in?” Also I have been told to, “Pick my battles, this isn’t that serious!” Oh it’s not serious when many Christians every year go into financial debt for this holiday? It’s not serious when many Christian children have bad attitudes towards their parents and God for not getting what they want? It’s not serious when many Christian parents get depressed and discouraged because they cannot afford to buy their children the toys they wish for? And I guess it’s not serious when many Christian parents participate in illegitimate money schemes to obtain them?

“ Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven.”
– Jeremiah 10:2

You often hear Christians say, “Let’s put the Christ back in Christmas.” But maybe we need to research how Christ got into Christmas in the first place. The only time I hear Christ’s name on Christmas Day is right before dinner in prayer. If we continue to close our eyes to what’s really going on, the life of Christ will eventually be just a fairy tale. We must stand firm on the teachings of the Bible, not the world. Yeah, yeah, I know, we (Christians) do not worship pagan gods on December 25th and of course, we (Christians) don’t look to Christmas trees as gods. The purpose of this article is to get us to think on the things we do religiously that are not biblical. Nowhere in the bible is it written that people observed a special day to celebrate Jesus' birthday and or, we today are required to acknowledge Him on his birthday. Where did this tradition come from? Is the origin of this day wicked and ungodly?

Here’s an example to ponder: Let’s say Klu Klux Klan uniforms became fashionable in the year 2020, would you let your children rock them? Prayerfully your answer was no, because of what those uniforms once represented. Before we explore Christmas and its’ traditions, let’s first take a look at the day itself.

December 25th?

“I remember, wasn’t it December… that’s the wrong date, but it did put a end to our long wait.”
– Cross Movement/Wisemen

Many pagan festivals were held during the month of December. Actually, December 25 was the date on which the many Romans celebrated the birth of the sun god.

During the forth & fifth century, the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine selected December 25th for Christmas to compete with and overshadow the pagan customs. In trying to make Christianity appealing to the pagans, the Roman church simply took the Festival of Saturnalia and implemented it into Christianity. Eventually many of the associated pagan symbols, forms, customs, and traditions were reinterpreted ("Christianized") in ways acceptable to the Christian faith and practice…

“ The pagans flocked into the Catholic places of worship, because they were still able to worship their old gods, only now under different names. It mattered not to them whether they worshiped the Goddess-mother and her Child under the old names (Isis and Horus), or under the names of the "Virgin Mary" and the "Christ-child." Either way, it was the same old idol-religion.”
- Rick Miesel / Bible Discernment Ministries

The Christmas Tree

“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 10:3-4

The Prophet Jeremiah condemned the pagan practice of cutting down trees, bringing them into the home and decorating them. Many Christians try and debate that the tree mentioned in Jeremiah 10 isn’t a Christmas tree, and that Christmas wasn’t celebrated during those days. Well to me, that’s not news breaking or a revelation. Every Christian should know that when the book of Jeremiah was written, Christ wasn’t born yet. So for arguments sake, let’s just call it a “decorated pine tree”. Being a partaker in many of these discussions, I went to my Strong’s Concordance for help.

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance/ Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary Pg. 90

There are many translations of the word tree in that verse, but only one describes what kind of tree it was. PINE. The only pine tree that I know of, that’s decorated with silver and gold, is the Christmas tree. As I stated in the before, the “decorated pine tree” in Jeremiah 10:3-4 was not called a “Christmas tree” and neither was Christmas celebrated during the day of Jeremiah (Jesus wasn’t born yet). When you do an exhaustive study, you will find that the “decorated pine tree” predates the book of Jeremiah, leading to the reason why Jeremiah had to address this serious issue in the first place.

Two key figures in the origin of the Christmas tree are Nimrod, a great grandson of Noah, and his mother and wife, Semiramis, also known as Ishtar and Isis. Nimrod, known in Egypt as Osiris, was the founder of the first world empire at Babel, later known as Babylon (Genesis 10:8-12; 11:1-9). From ancient sources such as the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and records unearthed by archeologists from long-ruined Mesopotamian and Egyptian cities, we can reconstruct subsequent events.

After Nimrod's death (c. 2167 BC), Semiramis promoted the belief that he was a god. She claimed that she saw a full-grown evergreen tree spring out of the roots of a dead tree stump, symbolizing the springing forth of new life for Nimrod. On the anniversary of his birth, she said, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts under it. His birthday fell on the winter solstice at the end of December.

Listen saints, I never want to major in the minors; every man/woman must act according to his/her own convictions. So if you wanna have a “decorated pine tree” for Christmas, I feel you, do ya thing, but let’s not twist the obvious truth into a lie. The “decorated pine tree” in Jeremiah 10:3-4 was an idol/god to many and was the womb that birthed what’s called today the Christmas tree. If that isn’t enough to make you re-think some things, ask yourself this simple question: What does a “decorated pine tree” have to do with the birth of Christ Jesus?

“What’s the tree for with the ornaments? I remember one broke and mom dukes caught a fit. It’s porcelain, HE’s flesh and blood, we can purchase them, HE came to purchase us.”
– J Silas / Song: Read the Book

Reference – WWW.BIBLETOOLS.COM

Gift Giving

"The interchanging of presents between friends is alike characteristic of Christmas and the Saturnalia, and must have been adopted by Christians from the Pagans, as the admonition of Tertullian plainly shows."
- Bibliotheca Sacra, volume 12, pages 153-155

This tradition is what makes a businessperson love Christmas. Not only do people have the tendency to buy the most expensive gifts, but also the pressure in doing so almost guarantees sales! Thus leading many Christians into financial debt, which often leads to depression, crime or suicide. We have been “hoodwinked” into an economic system that was designed to keep the money flowing in this world. Now, does this sound like it’s of God? The wise men or Magi’s gave gifts to Jesus; they didn’t receive anything in return…

“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 2:11

Why didn’t Mary and Joseph receive gifts? Were they upset at the Magi’s? The Bible clearly says that the Magi’s gave gifts to HIM. Not because it was Jesus birthday, but because He was King, praise God! The custom of trading gifts back and forth did not originate from the birth of Christ. The custom of gift giving on Christmas goes back again to the Roman festivals of Saturnalia. It went from very simple items such as twigs from a sacred grove as good luck emblems to food, small items of jewelry, candles, and statues of false gods. To the early Church, gift giving was a pagan holdover and therefore severely frowned upon.

FOOD FOR ACTION: This year, test your motives and give gifts to the needy or people who can’t afford to give you anything. Challenge your family to give a sacrificial offering to a church or ministries like the Salvation Army before they buy gifts for each other.

“…Remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35

Renewing Our Minds

Now lets take a look at how we as Christians may have dropped the ball in training our children to not be conformed to this world.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
- Romans 12:1-2

It often blows me away when I hear Christian parents say, “What happened to my child?” “Why do he/she act this way?” “I give them what they want”, “ I take them to church every Sunday.” These are habitual activities that will not necessary produce spiritual maturity in a young person. How can you expect a godly change, when you’re not willing to make a true godly sacrifice? How will your child ever be turned off at things of the world, when you constantly give them negative things that the world promotes? Many Christians every year purchase CDs as Christmas gifts but how many of the CDs are Christian? There are thousands of Christian homes where children have no clue who Lecrae is, but under their Christmas tree you will find the latest Jay Z or 50 Cent CD. What’s wrong with that picture? The main excuse you hear parents use is, “If I only let my child listen to gospel hip hop, they will go “buck wild” when they get from under my roof.” That may have been true when I grew up, but now there is an alternative. Now, the quality of Gospel music and hip hop is better than what the world has to offer. I praise God for Lecrae, Mahogany Jones, Lisa Mac, Corey Red, Fred Hammond, etc.

“Back in the day, parents never sat down and told us why we shouldn’t listen to certain secular music. They never trained us in the way to go. My Grandmother would just tell me it was evil and cut it off.”
– Precise

Be Observant
of the Gifts You Do Give

Training requires a sacrifice of our time and love. We as parents have become stumbling blocks and our fear to stand firm on what God has instructed us to do has caused our children to have a “boogie man” prospective of Him. I remember one year my daughter wanted a Bratz doll for Christmas. When I went out and saw what one looked like, I was grieved. First off the word “BRAT” will never be used to describe a child of God. Secondly, the immodest dress and the emphasis stressed on their outward appearance contradicts what's taught in the word of God.

Their “down for whatever” look should alarm any Christian parent. It’s already a challenge to raise a godly seed in this generation without “toys” that promote attitudes that contradict Christian values. A toy is not supposed to undermine a parents training. Proverbs 22:6, it says, “Train up a child” not compromise or conform! Training for life is serious and requires discipline from both the teacher and student.

We as parents and mentors have to start sacrificing more of our time to train our children to be godly. We must examine the toys and music our children desire and not let our fear of disappointing them compromise our Christian values.

Since “Christmas” is here to stay, the apparent purpose of this day should be about the greatest sacrifice ever made, Jesus. So, this Christmas before you open your gifts, open the Bible and have a 30 min to an hour devotion with your family and/or friends about the life, death and resurrection of the greatest gift…our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. He’s the reason for any season!

Merry CHRISTmas – Maji