God’s Plan For You!

Many major Christian holidays have customs and celebrations that are not closely linked to biblical events. These holidays are not directly mentioned in the Bible. The early New Testament Church celebrated different religious festivals with significant meanings. Understanding these biblical festivals today can reveal a vast, often overlooked eternal plan.

Christmas: What Would Christ Want You to Do for His Birthday?

Today’s Christmas traditions, like Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and gifts, don’t really connect to the Bible. It mentions that the Bible doesn’t say when Jesus was born, the early Christians didn’t celebrate Christmas, the Puritans in New England banned it, and some Christians today avoid Christmas for religious reasons.

Pagan Roots

The roots of Christmas come from pagan religious practices rather than Christian ones. The first mention of Christmas was in 336 AD, over 300 years after Jesus’s time, and December 25 was chosen because of existing pagan festivals. Ancient Romans celebrated their gods Saturn and Mithras, and northern Europeans had mid-December harvest festivals. These pagan customs blended into Christmas traditions. Church leaders in Rome chose December 25 to align with the winter solstice celebrations, hoping to Christianize these pagan festivities, but the pagan traditions largely persisted.

“An affront to the grace of God”

Christmas has a history of being a time of wild partying, similar to Mardi Gras or New Year’s Eve, rather than a peaceful holy night. In colonial America, Puritans even banned Christmas due to its rowdy reputation. By the 19th century, cities like New York had to create police forces to handle Christmas riots. Eventually, Christmas celebrations shifted to being family-oriented and centered around gift-giving, driven largely by advertising and commercial interests. Despite modern efforts to emphasize the Christian aspect of Christmas, many of its customs, such as gift-giving and the myth of Santa Claus, have pagan origins. Dec. 25 itself is linked more to ancient Roman and Babylonian festivals than to the birth of Jesus.

What about Jesus Christ’s birth?

Christmas, as traditionally celebrated on December 25, is not based on biblical facts. It highlights that the Bible does not mention the exact date of Jesus' birth, and the chosen date was likely influenced by pagan holidays. The account in Luke 2:8-11, describing shepherds in the fields, suggests Jesus was not born in winter since shepherds would not have been out at night. Commentaries support this view, indicating Jesus' birth likely did not occur in December. Additionally, it challenges the common belief that three wise men visited Jesus at his birth. The Bible does not specify the number of wise men and states they visited Jesus in a house, not a manger. It emphasizes that the Bible does not instruct Christians to celebrate Jesus' birth but instead to remember His death and its significance.

What difference does it make?

The passage argues that adopting pagan customs with Christian meanings is not acceptable to God. It cites Deuteronomy 12:29-32 and Mark 7:6-9 to support the view that God rejects the use of pagan practices and human traditions in worship. The passage emphasizes that God desires worship according to His specific instructions and not through traditions added by people over time. Consequently, the text asserts that Christmas, being rooted in pagan customs, is not an appropriate way to worship Christ.