Is Christmas a Pagan festival?

[OakWood]

 

 

It is true that there are pagan origins to some of our Christmas traditions and even the date of December 25th was date of Saturnalia. However, I was talking to missionary to Japan and he had an interesting take on this.

He said that in Japan, they have their own pagan holidays and the missionaries and pastors in Japan often have religious holidays that coincide on the dates of Japanese holidays that coincide with pagan Japanese holidays because those who have converted to Christianity may end up going back to their old religion via those old celebrations of their holidays. He said that they needed Christian holidays that the new converts could celebrate as a substitute for the pagan days and it only made sense to have the Christian holidays on the same calendar dates.

That may have been the rationale of early Christians who needed a way to impede new converts from reverting back to their old paganism. This would involve borrowing some of the symbols that the pagans used so that the Christian holidays would still have something familiar to the converts. They took the things that were used to worship other gods and made them into Christian symbols.

Indeed. If Satan copies God and steals from him then why shouldn't Christians take everything back from Satan? All Pagan festivals were originally stolen from God.

That's a bit of a odd statement. I've nerver heard that "all pagan festivals were originally stolen from God"

Now in the spirit of full disclosure I am no expert in pagan festivals. But to say all were originally festivals for God, can you give some examples?? I'm curious to know.

Cheers

 

 

I didn't mean it that literally. What I mean is that any worship of false gods is theft of worship of the true God.

Every sacrifice to a false god, every holiday in a false god's name and every festival or tribute to a false god is stolen from the idea of worshipping the true God.

[Guest Judas Machabeus]

Oh! That makes more sense.

[rollinTHUNDER]

No matter who celebrated what, we need to keep Christ in Christmas!

Hi OneLight,

 

How can you keep Christ in Christmas, when He never was in it to begin with?  This has become a very long running tradition in most Christian homes and a very large percentage of unbelieving and atheist families around the world as well.  But the question is, when did this tradition begin?  Why didn't Christ' disciples celebrate Christmas?  The New Testament was written several years after Christ ascended back to heaven, so why is there no mention of the word "Christmas" anywhere in God's Word?  Christ, Himself, told His disciples to do one thing in remembrance of Him, and that one thing was not Christmas.  He left heaven and came into this world to die for the sins of the world.   

 

Not only did the Romans crucify our Lord and kill most of His disciples, they also hijacked the church for quite a while, which led the world into the dark ages.  Christians were kept in the dark, as there was no access to God's Word.  The Romans corrupted God's Word and used it for political purposes to gain power over the people and many believers were killed for their faith during that time.  It all started in the 4th century, when Constantine wrongly tried to Christianize the entire Roman empire, which is when the celebration of Christmas first began.  To accomplish this, they had to get those who worshipped pagan gods to worship Christ, so they took the fulfilled prophecies that foretold Christ' birth and introduced them into their pagan celebrations, mixing the two beliefs together.  But just as Christ told Peter, the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church. After more than a thousand years the reformation began, and before long Bibles were printed, bringing His light back into the world again.   But unfortunately, after hundreds of years, Christmas had become a long running tradition which is still running strong today.  Most believers still call it the christmas story, even though the word Christmas was never in God's Word.

 

Now don't get me wrong, I don't condemn anyone that celebrates Christmas, because most believers simply do not know the truth behind it.  I think most believers have been doing it for so long that most really don't even want to know the truth, even though some may suspect that some things just doesn't add up, so they keep looking for ways to defend this tradition of men.  I just thank God that His truth has set me free.  I quit celebrating Christmas about 22 years ago.  Hallelujah!!!  It simply is not biblical, no matter what any man says or believes.  

 

Jeremiah 10:2-4

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. 3 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. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

 

By the way, I don't celebrate Easter either.  Christ was resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits, not Easter.  I also don't celebrate Halloween, St. Patrick's Day, St. Valentines Day, Good Friday or any other pagan holidays recognized on Pope Gregory's modern calendar.   But Thanksgiving and the 4th of July are okay. 

 

 

Cheers

[Guest]

No matter who celebrated what, we need to keep Christ in Christmas!

 How can you keep Christ in Christmas, when He never was in it to begin with? 

 

 

Even As A Child, My Christmas Has Always Always Been

 

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1:21-23

 

A Light In This Dark And Hopeless World

 

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. Matthew 2:1-2

 

That Jesus The Christ Is Born

 

When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:10-11

 

So, Is It Any Wonder

 

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

 

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Luke 1:26-29

 

That The Whole World

 

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

 

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

 

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:32-37

 

Would Snuff The Christmas Lights

 

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:7-12

 

Forever

 

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. Luke 2:13-14

 

Out

[Guest shiloh357]

 

Jeremiah 10:2-4

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. 3 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. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

 

 

Those verses are usually cited in reference to the Christmas tree tradition, but the Christmas tree tradition is not a near eastern custom.  It originated in Germany during the Reformation and is generally attributed to Martin Luther.

 

The verses in Jeremiah that you cite above pertain to the old pagan custom of chopping down trees and carving the trunk into the form of one of their gods.  They would stand it up and they would plate the image with either gold or silver and then dress the idol in purple robes.

 

When we look at much later images of statues in ancient Greece  that depict their gods, all we see today is white marble, but back in ancient times, those statues were painted in hair and skin tones and clothed with royal robes and stuff.  

 

So those verses in Jeremiah really have nothing to do with Christmas.  Any connection there is spurious. 

[Guest shiloh357]

I would also add that I have noticed on Youtube and other such sites that there is no shortage of videos, basically  putting forth the same stuff slamming Christmas and Easter as pagan holidays.    But you don't see anyone slamming Buddhist holidays or Shinto holidays or Hindu holidays, Jewish holidays, and especially not Islamic holidays.

 

I think it is telling us something that the only holidays that get slammed is Christmas.  There are very few if any documentaries that set out to question the veracity of the claims of other religions with respect to their annual observances.  Christianity is unique in that way.  Only Christian holidays are slammed as pagan and its only on Christmas or Easter that  Atheists feel the need to put up billboards mocking our holiday.

 

It tells you where the truth is, when you see the enemy working so feverishly trying to discredit anything that gives glory to Jesus in any way shape or form.

[1to3]

It is true that there are pagan origins to some of our Christmas traditions and even the date of December 25th was date of Saturnalia.  However, I was talking to missionary to Japan and he had an interesting take on this.

 

He said that in Japan, they have their own pagan holidays and the missionaries and pastors in Japan often have religious holidays that coincide on the dates of Japanese holidays that coincide with pagan Japanese holidays because those who have converted to Christianity may end up going back to their old religion via those old celebrations of their holidays. He said that they needed Christian holidays that the new converts could celebrate as a substitute for the pagan days and it only made sense to have the Christian holidays on the same calendar dates.

 

That may have been the rationale of early Christians who needed a way to impede new converts from reverting back to their old paganism.  This would involve borrowing some of the symbols that the pagans used so that the Christian holidays would still have something familiar to the converts.  They took the things that were used to worship other gods and made them into Christian symbols.

 

 

Who were these early Christians?

[rollinTHUNDER]

Jeremiah 10:2-4

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. 3 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. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Those verses are usually cited in reference to the Christmas tree tradition, but the Christmas tree tradition is not a near eastern custom.  It originated in Germany during the Reformation and is generally attributed to Martin Luther.

 

The verses in Jeremiah that you cite above pertain to the old pagan custom of chopping down trees and carving the trunk into the form of one of their gods.  They would stand it up and they would plate the image with either gold or silver and then dress the idol in purple robes.

 

When we look at much later images of statues in ancient Greece  that depict their gods, all we see today is white marble, but back in ancient times, those statues were painted in hair and skin tones and clothed with royal robes and stuff.  

 

So those verses in Jeremiah really have nothing to do with Christmas.  Any connection there is spurious.

We could go on and on about the many rituals and traditions associated with this pagan festival. I'm sure all Catholics are on board with it, but that does not make it biblical. Christ came to die for our sins, and He told us to remember one thing, (His death until He comes). There is nothing in God's Word about remembering or celebrating His birth.

What company does truth have with lies? Think about it, if you were Christ, would you want to share your glory with a mythical fat man in a red suit? I think not. In fact, I'd be shocked if He does not put an end to Pope Gregory's Gregorian calendar when He returns. And we know from scripture that when He returns to reign in the millennium families from all nations will have to go to Jerusalem every year to worship Him, which takes us back to one of God's appointed times/festivals.

I don't know about you, but I see some big changes coming to this dark world, and Christmas will be one of them!

Cheers

[Guest shiloh357]

 

 

Jeremiah 10:2-4

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. 3 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. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.

Those verses are usually cited in reference to the Christmas tree tradition, but the Christmas tree tradition is not a near eastern custom.  It originated in Germany during the Reformation and is generally attributed to Martin Luther.

 

The verses in Jeremiah that you cite above pertain to the old pagan custom of chopping down trees and carving the trunk into the form of one of their gods.  They would stand it up and they would plate the image with either gold or silver and then dress the idol in purple robes.

 

When we look at much later images of statues in ancient Greece  that depict their gods, all we see today is white marble, but back in ancient times, those statues were painted in hair and skin tones and clothed with royal robes and stuff.  

 

So those verses in Jeremiah really have nothing to do with Christmas.  Any connection there is spurious.

 

We could go on and on about the many rituals and traditions associated with this pagan festival. I'm sure all Catholics are on board with it, but that does not make it biblical. Christ came to die for our sins, and He told us to remember one thing, (His death until He comes). There is nothing in God's Word about remembering or celebrating His birth.

What company does truth have with lies? Think about it, if you were Christ, would you want to share your glory with a mythical fat man in a red suit? I think not. In fact, I'd be shocked if He does not put an end to Pope Gregory's Gregorian calendar when He returns. And we know from scripture that when He returns to reign in the millennium families from all nations will have to go to Jerusalem every year to worship Him, which takes us back to one of God's appointed times/festivals.

I don't know about you, but I see some big changes coming to this dark world, and Christmas will be one of them!

Cheers

 

Actually the claim that Christmas is pagan is really a claim based on conspiracy theories and dubious "facts" and not really based on solid evidence or research.   One of most famous books is "The Two Babylons" by Alexander Hyslop" but that has been discovered to be a very erroneous book and much in it has been debunked.

 

There is nothing in the Bible about celebrating Jesus' birth, but there is also nothing commanded against celebrating His birth, either.  

[rollinTHUNDER]

There is nothing in the Bible about celebrating Jesus' birth, but there is also nothing commanded against celebrating His birth, either.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad He came to save us in the way that He did. I'm in no way trying to diminish His birth, but many believers don't even realize that He already existed before, and that nothing was created without Him. I think most people just blindly go along with their family's tradition, without giving much thought about its origins. This can be a very touchy subject and it's good that we have kept the peace in this discussion.

Cheers