The Anti-Christmas Spirit

Thirty years ago, a young man raised in communism told one of my friends that most Americans were living in shacks without enough food. When my friend explained that wasn't true, this young man stubbornly refused to listen. He’d read a communist article about the United States, and he knew it was true. 

I regularly encounter this “I-read-an-article” stubbornness when it comes to false teachings. Christmas is one of many examples. Satan hates Jesus and hates the celebration of His birth. John 10:10 explains why. 

Satan has done his best to secularize and commercialize Christmas. He’s made it illegal in anti-Christian countries. 

Now, even though Satan is the inspiration behind pagan beliefs, he’s willing to associate Christmas with paganism to persuade Christians to stop celebrating it. This teaching is growing and causing division. 

I’ve done thorough research, reading some of the hundreds of articles connecting Christmas to paganism and reading the articles that refute this pagan connection. I wanted to know the full truth, not half-truths. 

Some people caught up in false teachings refuse to read anything that doesn’t support their view, just like the young man and millions of others who believed communist propaganda. 

But others of you "who have ears to hear" will listen, and that’s important, not simply for this issue, but for your faith in general (Matthew 11:15). I’m seeing a dangerous trend in Christian thinking: Christians hear a teaching and refuse to do further research. 

That’s how Satan takes us captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26). Let’s refuse that "I-read-an-article" mentality.  See 2 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Peter 5:8. 

If you have any questions about Christmas, and you are open to studying the full truth, you will find thorough resources below.  

Note: If we are aware of a Christian who is worshiping their Christmas tree or mimicking pagan ceremonies at Christmas, we should lovingly warn them. But claiming that those who celebrate Christ’s birth are involved in paganism is not biblical, honest, or loving. 

In addition, I’d ask those who choose not to celebrate Christmas if it has drawn you closer to the Lord and made you more loving and kind. I regularly encounter anti-Christmas Christians on social media and their rhetoric is neither loving nor gracious. It’s condemning, ad hominem, and proud. I’m sure they don’t represent all anti-Christmas Christians, but many of the anti-Christian websites/articles also have this arrogant tone to them. 

 

Article: Is Christmas a pagan holiday?  

Click the link above and read the full article. Excerpt from article: 

“The pagan origins of Christmas are far from certain. The winter solstice, often tied with Christmas, never falls on December 25. Likewise, Saturnalia, which has also been proposed an origin of Christmas, was never celebrated on December 25. Other Christmas symbols, such as trees and candles, may have had some pagan connotations, but these are so common in human experience that it can hardly be claimed that their use was ever exclusive to paganism… If what we know as Christmas originally started out as a pagan celebration, then it has been so successfully co-opted by Christians that any self-respecting pagan would be distressed at what Christians have done to it. Christmas celebrations are so completely the opposite of paganism that any suggested link between the two can be disregarded.” 

 

Article: What about Santa Claus?  

Click the link above and read the full article. Excerpt from article:

“Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he distributed to the poor. He became a priest at a young age and was well-known for his compassion and generosity. He had a reputation for giving gifts anonymously, and he would throw bags of money into people’s homes (and sometimes down their chimneys) under the cover of night to avoid being spotted.” 

Article: Is calling Christmas “Xmas” an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas?  

Click the link above and read the full article. Excerpt from article: 

“In Greek, the original language of the New Testament, the word for 'Christ' is Χριστός, which begins with the Greek letter that is essentially the same letter as the English letter X. So, originally, Xmas was simply an abbreviation of Christmas. No grand conspiracy to take Christ out of Christmas. Just an abbreviation.” 

Article: Was Jesus born on December 25th? 

Click the link above and read the full article. Excerpt from article: 

“The truth is we simply don’t know the exact date of our Savior’s birth. In fact, we don’t even know for sure the year in which He was born. Scholars believe it was somewhere between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C. One thing is clear: if God felt it was important for us to know the exact date of the Savior’s birth, He certainly would have told us in His Word. The Gospel of Luke gives very specific details about the event, even down to what the baby was wearing – 'swaddling clothes'—and where he slept—'in a manger' (Luke 2:12). These details are important because they speak of His nature and character, meek and lowly. But the exact date of His birth has no significance whatsoever, which may be why God chose not to mention it.” 

Article: Should Christians celebrate birthdays?  

Click the link above and read the full article. Excerpt from article:

“There is no prohibition against a Christian celebrating birthdays in Scripture, nor is there anything to indicate we are required to celebrate them. Scripturally speaking, a Christian’s celebrating a birthday is a non-issue. The Bible does mention two individuals celebrating birthdays: the Egyptian Pharaoh in Joseph’s time (Genesis 40:20) and King Herod in Jesus’ time (Matthew 14:6; Mark 6:21). Some point to these references as evidence that celebrating birthdays is wrong; since both men were non-believing individuals, their birthday celebrations are seen as some form of pagan ritual. However, that conclusion is not readily drawn from either passage. The Bible does not even hint that it was wrong for Pharaoh or Herod to celebrate his birthday. Neither does Scripture anywhere discourage a Christian from celebrating a birthday.”

My note on this subject: All things can be used for good or evil depending on the intent of the heart: eating, sexual intimacy, friendships, etc. If we forbid things that have bad examples in Scripture, we are going to have a very long list of things to avoid. And we definitely have positive New Testament examples for celebrating special events: The father celebrated the return of the Prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Levi the tax collector threw a banquet for Jesus, and Jesus attended (Luke 5:29). 

 

Are Christmas trees pagan and condemned in Jeremiah 10?

Pagans pray to false gods, but that doesn’t make prayer evil. God created trees for our pleasure and enjoyment, and His Word is full of rich symbolism using trees. 

We call them "Christmas" trees—they don't have a pagan name, and we don't use them to mimic pagan rituals. If any aspect of the Christmas tree had pagan roots (which isn't verified), it lost that meaning hundreds of years ago.

People who oppose Christmas and Christmas trees usually claim the practice originated in the pagan festival of Saturnalia. However, if you study that festival carefully, you will find that they decorated trees outside with symbols of the sun god and only brought branches and greenery into their homes. In addition, this pagan holiday was celebrated on December 17th, not the 25th. 

Other people claim that Christmas mimics the holiday of Winter Solstice, which was called “the Yule” in Germanic countries. It’s true that they felt the evergreen tree was a symbol of life in the winter, but they didn’t cut trees down and bring them inside to decorate.

There is also a widely held belief that Martin Luther began the practice of decorating trees with candles at Christmas time. We can’t prove this Luther connection, nor can we prove the pagan connections.

Is it possible that the Christmas tree is loosely related to some pagan practice? It’s possible. Is it possible that the Christmas tree tradition originated with Luther? It's possible.

God created all things, including evergreen trees (Romans 11:36). Just because something is used by pagans, it doesn't mean it cannot be used for God. Pagans pray and sing but we don’t call singing and praying pagan practices. However, there are some pagan practices that Christians must avoid. See 3 Ways of Looking at Popular Pagan Practices.

We need to ask ourselves what the tree symbolizes for us when we put it in our living room. If a person associates it with its pagan roots, they are honoring God by not having a tree. If we associate it with its Christian roots, we are honoring God by having one.

See 6 Ways to Determine if a Scripture is Used Correctly.

This article addresses the false teaching that Jeremiah 10:2-5 condemns the use of Christmas trees.

These articles offer more details: 

Should we have a Christmas tree?  

Do Christmas Trees Have Pagan Roots? 

Additional note: Can we only do things specifically mentioned in Scripture?

A reader wrote telling me that we should not celebrate Christmas because the early church did not celebrate it. However, Scripture doesn't record all that Christ did, so we can be sure it does not record everything the early church did (John 21:25). If we are supposed to limit ourselves to things specifically mentioned in Scripture, churches must meet in private homes or synagogues, they must only take up collections for missionaries and member needs, they cannot have youth programs, church secretaries, hymnals, a church nursery, devotional books, children's Sunday school classes, etc. In addition, if we follow this belief, we cannot be sure if Christians should be using modern inventions like air travel, the internet, and computers. The bottom line: Nowhere in Scripture are we told that we must only do things specifically mentioned in Scripture.

See also:

4 Misconceptions About Christmas

Christmas Confusion

Why Celebrate Christmas?

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