crossroads... continued from 12/7
Now that it's post Christmas, here is some food for thought. Below was written by my cousin. It is a draft of a paper he and I are slowly writing.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are of Christmas and the holiday season. Everyone and everyplace you look you’re encouraged to partake. Certainly the commercialized aspects of Christmas nag at us. Certainly the season is not about buying and shopping, but instead keeping with the so called “sprit of Christmas” that involves helping those in need.
As I turn to the bible for direction about how to celebrate Christmas God’s way, I discover that there is no mention of the word Christmas anywhere in the bible. Perhaps it’s just a new name for the festival that Christians observed when celebrating the birth of our Savior. Nope, wrong again. In zero places does anybody in the bible celebrate Christ’s birth. Not the Jews, the Apostles, or the Gentiles.
What’s going on? Why is our “most important”-Christian holiday never observed in the Bible? Sadly, it appears that Satan has been doing what he does best and has convinced many of us, those who try to be faithful followers of Jesus to follow pagan rituals and celebrations and break God’s commandments.
Christ’s Birth Date
Let’s start at the beginning. When was Christ born? As we look to scripture, we find that it’s impossible to know the exact date, but it seems unlikely that he was born at the end of December for two reasons. First, Luke 2:7-8 says that the shepherds were watching their flocks at the time of Jesus’ birth. December is cold (average low 34 Fahrenheit) and rainy (average 4.3” in December) in Bethlehem, and generally Shepherds would have sought shelter for themselves and their flocks during the winter months. Secondly, we know that Jesus’ parents went to Bethlehem because of the census that Caesar Augustus ordered. As the orders were given, each man was to return to his hometown to register for the census. Because of the weather conditions that winter brings, it is unlikely that the Romans would have ordered these migrations to occur due to poor traveling conditions.
We find more information in the first chapter of Luke. John’s mother was in her 6th month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (verses 26 & 36). We know that an Angel visited Zechariah (John’s father) while he was serving in Jerusalem temple during the course of Abija, and when he returned home John was conceived. First Chronicles 24:10 shows that Abija was the eighth course of the son’s of Aaron. Each course would serve one week from Sabbath to Sabbath. There are two times for each course to serve every year. In one case (that he served just before Pentecost in the 3rd month), Zachariah would have served in late May/early June, which would mean that Jesus was born in September or October. In the other case (that he served after Tabernacles in the 7th month) he served in November or December, which means that Jesus would have been born in March or April. Most scholars tend to favor that he was born in the fall, but I’m not at all interested in speculation when it comes to matters of my eternal life. What I do know is that I can’t determine a method to have Jesus born near the beginning of the year, let alone the 25th day of December.
So where does this date come from? Sadly, it appears that the politicians and church leaders of ancient Rome were not all that different from so many in our society today. They were willing to sacrifice truth and justice for the sake of tolerance and diversity.
The answer lies in ancient Roman mythology. Most of our planets are named after Roman gods and Saturn was “honored” in a festival called Saturnalia which began in mid-December. These people were aware that December 22nd was the shortest day of the year and they attributed this fact to the death of the sun god. Three days later, they began to notice an increase in daylight and celebrated the resurrection of the sun god on 12/25. They celebrated with gift giving as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs (wreaths) in a parade.
A similar festival was held in Scandinavia. The sun would disappear (or nearly disappear) as a result of the winter solstice. They believed that it may not reappear. So, they would send scouts to the mountain tops to look for the reappearance of the sun. When they returned, they celebrated with a great festival called yuletide. They would also burn a Yule Log around which the great feast would be served to celebrate the return of the sun.
In Germany, they too celebrated yuletide and added the evergreen trees to their festivals. The evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the Yule god, in observance of the resurrected sun god. The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.
So there are a few of our fun holiday traditions with origins rooted firmly in the worship of a pagan sun god. It gets worse, look where the rest of our festivities originate:
Witches and other pagans believed that the red holly was a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, sometimes referred to as Diana. The wood from the holly was used by witches to make wands. Similarly, the white berries of mistletoe were believed to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god. As a result, both of the berries were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.
It enrages me that I was taught these things so innocently. How can we continue to teach this stuff to our children? It’s really nothing more than pagan pornography and witchcraft. Perhaps those of us who spend time worrying about Harry Potter and his influence on young children need to step back and realize the depth at which Satan has embedded himself into our culture.
We find more information in the first chapter of Luke. John’s mother was in her 6th month of pregnancy when Jesus was conceived (verses 26 & 36). We know that an Angel visited Zechariah (John’s father) while he was serving in Jerusalem temple during the course of Abija, and when he returned home John was conceived. First Chronicles 24:10 shows that Abija was the eighth course of the son’s of Aaron. Each course would serve one week from Sabbath to Sabbath. There are two times for each course to serve every year. In one case (that he served just before Pentecost in the 3rd month), Zachariah would have served in late May/early June, which would mean that Jesus was born in September or October. In the other case (that he served after Tabernacles in the 7th month) he served in November or December, which means that Jesus would have been born in March or April. Most scholars tend to favor that he was born in the fall, but I’m not at all interested in speculation when it comes to matters of my eternal life. What I do know is that I can’t determine a method to have Jesus born near the beginning of the year, let alone the 25th day of December.
So where does this date come from? Sadly, it appears that the politicians and church leaders of ancient Rome were not all that different from so many in our society today. They were willing to sacrifice truth and justice for the sake of tolerance and diversity.
The answer lies in ancient Roman mythology. Most of our planets are named after Roman gods and Saturn was “honored” in a festival called Saturnalia which began in mid-December. These people were aware that December 22nd was the shortest day of the year and they attributed this fact to the death of the sun god. Three days later, they began to notice an increase in daylight and celebrated the resurrection of the sun god on 12/25. They celebrated with gift giving as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs (wreaths) in a parade.
A similar festival was held in Scandinavia. The sun would disappear (or nearly disappear) as a result of the winter solstice. They believed that it may not reappear. So, they would send scouts to the mountain tops to look for the reappearance of the sun. When they returned, they celebrated with a great festival called yuletide. They would also burn a Yule Log around which the great feast would be served to celebrate the return of the sun.
In Germany, they too celebrated yuletide and added the evergreen trees to their festivals. The evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the Yule god, in observance of the resurrected sun god. The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.
So there are a few of our fun holiday traditions with origins rooted firmly in the worship of a pagan sun god. It gets worse, look where the rest of our festivities originate:
Witches and other pagans believed that the red holly was a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, sometimes referred to as Diana. The wood from the holly was used by witches to make wands. Similarly, the white berries of mistletoe were believed to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god. As a result, both of the berries were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.
It enrages me that I was taught these things so innocently. How can we continue to teach this stuff to our children? It’s really nothing more than pagan pornography and witchcraft. Perhaps those of us who spend time worrying about Harry Potter and his influence on young children need to step back and realize the depth at which Satan has embedded himself into our culture.
The spread of Paganism
How did all of these customs find their way into our so-called Christian culture? The answer is easy to guess given that the word is literally the combination of the words Christ and mass. The word “mass” is only used by the Roman Catholic church, so I begin my search there.
As the Roman Catholic Church spread throughout the empire it absorbed the customs and traditions of each culture in effort to increase the number of people under their control. To keep their Christian roots, they invented new names for these festivals that could be based on something biblical. Christmas and its many traditions are nothing but the same.
Originally, the church banned the celebration of Saturnalia and all of the reveling that surrounded it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the pagans to give up their devil worshipping customs during the winter solstice so they kept all of the festivities in place and changed the name from sun-god worship to birthday celebration.
The church of the day continued this practice of adopting pagan practices and adapting them to events in the life of Christ until the fourth century. At that time there were so many heathen festivals that they were running out of days in the year and so they began to reduce the number of festivals. More and more traditions were folded into fewer and fewer festivals until sometime between 350 and 355 AD during the reign of Pope Julius I. The date of December 25th was chosen as the observance of Christmas.
Interestingly, it was more than 200 years earlier (in 137 AD) that the bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of Jesus be celebrated as a solemn feast. Many during the period believed that nativity took place on the 25th of the month, but which month was uncertain. Many at the time believed that it was March instead of December, which happened to be the pagan festival of spring. So, the church adopted this Spring-time date as that of Mary's visit by the angel Gabriel, and added nine months to it to come of with December 25th as the day of Jesus' birth.
As the Roman Catholic Church spread throughout the empire it absorbed the customs and traditions of each culture in effort to increase the number of people under their control. To keep their Christian roots, they invented new names for these festivals that could be based on something biblical. Christmas and its many traditions are nothing but the same.
Originally, the church banned the celebration of Saturnalia and all of the reveling that surrounded it. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get the pagans to give up their devil worshipping customs during the winter solstice so they kept all of the festivities in place and changed the name from sun-god worship to birthday celebration.
The church of the day continued this practice of adopting pagan practices and adapting them to events in the life of Christ until the fourth century. At that time there were so many heathen festivals that they were running out of days in the year and so they began to reduce the number of festivals. More and more traditions were folded into fewer and fewer festivals until sometime between 350 and 355 AD during the reign of Pope Julius I. The date of December 25th was chosen as the observance of Christmas.
Interestingly, it was more than 200 years earlier (in 137 AD) that the bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of Jesus be celebrated as a solemn feast. Many during the period believed that nativity took place on the 25th of the month, but which month was uncertain. Many at the time believed that it was March instead of December, which happened to be the pagan festival of spring. So, the church adopted this Spring-time date as that of Mary's visit by the angel Gabriel, and added nine months to it to come of with December 25th as the day of Jesus' birth.
Bringing Christmas to the USA
In 1517, when Martin Luther started the reformation, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome and in their beliefs. They knew the catholic doctrine was missing pieces, but they couldn’t remove themselves from all of the false-teachings that were so ingrained within themselves.
In England the reformation continued and in 1611, King James II decreed that the authorized Bible become available to the common people more people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.
As the Puritans left England and headed to the Massachusetts Colony, they outlawed the celebration of Christmas as witchcraft. Here’s the exact law (emphasis is mine):
I also found this Puritan Pastor’s quote (from 1687) which summed up the then commonplace beliefs succinctly:
Most people will find it amazing that many states didn’t officially recognize Christmas until late into the 1800s. In fact it was not until the early 19th century that we had a nationwide interest in celebrating Christmas.
In England the reformation continued and in 1611, King James II decreed that the authorized Bible become available to the common people more people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.
As the Puritans left England and headed to the Massachusetts Colony, they outlawed the celebration of Christmas as witchcraft. Here’s the exact law (emphasis is mine):
For preventing disorders, arising in several places within this jurisdiction by reason of some still observing such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other communities, to the great dishonor of God and offense of others: it is therefore ordered by this court and the authority thereof that whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas or the like, either by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way, upon any such account as aforesaid, every such person so offending shall pay for every such offence five shilling as a fine to the county."
I also found this Puritan Pastor’s quote (from 1687) which summed up the then commonplace beliefs succinctly:
"The generality of Christmas-keepers observe that festival after such a manner as is highly dishonourable to the name of Christ. How few are there comparatively that spend those holidays (as they are called) after an holy manner. But they are consumed in Compotations, in Interludes, in playing at Cards, in Revellings, in excess of Wine, in mad Mirth ..."
Most people will find it amazing that many states didn’t officially recognize Christmas until late into the 1800s. In fact it was not until the early 19th century that we had a nationwide interest in celebrating Christmas.
The Clear Conclusion
Jeremiah 10:2-4 says, "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not."
Christmas is clearly a culmination of pagan practices and celebrations of the winter solstice. Every single origin of this day that I can find is based on paganism. As a result of learning this, many of us will want to say that we just choose to worship our Lord and Savior on this day and don’t pay any homage to the pagan gods. I too have had these thoughts but will advise caution.
God’s First Commandment to us is to put no other gods before him. Exodus 20:3-5:
So, when you decorate your house with pagan symbolism keep this commandment in mind. When you wish people “Merry Christmas”, what are you really wishing them?
To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie; remember that we are commanded not to lie. To say that trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe are Christian symbols is no truer than to choose Hitler’s swastika symbol. Our Lord Jesus commanded us to remember His sacrifice and His death, which provided us with an opportunity for eternal life. He never spoke of celebrating the day of his birth. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:1 says that the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
What we are forced to decide, each for himself is can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves in traditions which God forbade as idolatry? Can we each convince “our” God to make these pagan practices acceptable? Maybe we could try the same line of reasoning with adultery or murder. We cannot obey through disobedience.
Christmas is clearly a culmination of pagan practices and celebrations of the winter solstice. Every single origin of this day that I can find is based on paganism. As a result of learning this, many of us will want to say that we just choose to worship our Lord and Savior on this day and don’t pay any homage to the pagan gods. I too have had these thoughts but will advise caution.
God’s First Commandment to us is to put no other gods before him. Exodus 20:3-5:
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy god am a jealous god, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
So, when you decorate your house with pagan symbolism keep this commandment in mind. When you wish people “Merry Christmas”, what are you really wishing them?
To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie; remember that we are commanded not to lie. To say that trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe are Christian symbols is no truer than to choose Hitler’s swastika symbol. Our Lord Jesus commanded us to remember His sacrifice and His death, which provided us with an opportunity for eternal life. He never spoke of celebrating the day of his birth. In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:1 says that the day of death is better than the day of one’s birth.
What we are forced to decide, each for himself is can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves in traditions which God forbade as idolatry? Can we each convince “our” God to make these pagan practices acceptable? Maybe we could try the same line of reasoning with adultery or murder. We cannot obey through disobedience.
