I want to take a little time and talk about what may well be the most popular event in the entire world today: Christmas. Every year this is a hot topic among those with a Messianic, Hebrew Roots, or otherwise Torah-positive faith practice, as we have all recognized some particularly valid reasons for concern with this holiday that is found nowhere in The Bible.
Now, over the years I have published several written studies on the holiday of Christmas, and you can find these studies on my website at TruthIgnited.com. My objective here is not to do another lengthy and detailed study of the points I have made in those teachings, but to go through and highlight the key elements that seem to best support the argument about why a follower of Yeshua should avoid the celebration of Christmas and what we can do, biblically, instead.
Before getting into the many good arguments against Christmas, I want to mention the work of a man named Alexander Hislop titled The Two Babylons that has caused a lot of problems and created a lot of confusion over the years. This is a work that seems to have been heavily debunked, however, there is an old saying that a broken clock is right twice a day and it does appear that at least some of the things Hislop said in his book may be true statements. But this doesn’t mean you should rush out and buy a copy of this book just because there may still be some truth contained in it. Most people should not, because they are not properly trained to identify what can be confirmed as truth from what cannot.
This work by Hislop has spawned a lot of really, really bad information since it was published in 1858. Today there are still a lot of large and influential anti-Christmas ministries who parrot the statements of Hislop that have been proven untrue, but just as with “Christians” who insist on celebrating Christmas despite the valid strikes against it—which we will get into in a moment—there are many who once they have concluded that Christmas is wrong seem to believe that the end justifies the means. But I will remind you that The Bible tells us not to bear false witness, so the end does not justify the means if the means is to use outright lies and false claims.
As I share with those who ask me about Alexander Hislop, we do not need Hislop to make the case against Christmas. There are much, much easier ways to contest this holiday with credible information. Thus, the bottom line on the claims of Hislop regarding Christmas—or really anything else, as his reputation is heavily soiled—is that he and his teaching are best left out of these discussions. Thus, I will not make any further references to Hislop in this message.
Now turning our attention to the matter at hand, the first thing we must discuss is the claims that Christmas is pagan and Christmas is not pagan. So, we need to start with a basic understanding of what the word “pagan” refers to in a religious context. In the past I have had people present to me modernized definitions of this word, including one Messianic or Hebrew Roots type group who decided to deem Christmas to not be pagan where they literally fabricated a definition to support their claim—and this definition deviated drastically from the historic meaning of the word. I can’t take the time to go into detail about that here, but they sent me a draft of a statement they had planned to released—I do not know if they ever actually published it, but I do know it was appalling how dishonest they were being in their effort to deem Christmas “not pagan”.
From a religious basis, the word “pagan” is historically a reference to polytheistic religion. These are religions like the old Greek and Roman beliefs, the old Norse religion, Hinduism, Shintoism, and others with a pantheon of many gods and goddesses. So, in order to determine if it is accurate to deem Christmas a “pagan” holiday we must determine if, at its point of origin, it is connected to a pagan religion.
To do this, many have tried to link it to the Roman Saturnalia festival, which of course is an absolutely pagan celebration of the god Saturn. The problem people run into with this, however, is that despite a lot of strong circumstantial evidence of a connection and even statements made by early writers like Tertullian, there seems to be no one absolute piece of evidence that would solidify a direct connection between this festival and the origin of Christmas. This doesn’t mean this argument should be dismissed, but it does mean it is best to look elsewhere.
The undeniable fact of the matter is that Christmas is the invention of the Roman Catholic religion. So, what if the case is made that Roman Catholicism is in fact a pagan religion, or even that it’s the old Roman religion rebranded and repackaged to give it the appearance of being a form of “Christianity”? It is not my intent to start a conspiracy theory, but consider the following characteristics that tend to be true of at least most pagan religions:
1. Multiplicity: Pagan religions involve a pantheon of gods and goddesses, representing various aspects of existence, nature, and human experience. Each deity typically has a specific role or function.
2. Specialization: Gods within a polytheistic system often specialize in particular domains such as love, war, fertility, wisdom, or nature. This specialization reflects the diverse aspects of life and the universe.
3. Anthropomorphism: Many pagan deities are depicted with human-like qualities, emotions, and behaviors. This allows worshippers to relate to and understand the gods in more familiar terms.
4. Mythology: Pagan religions often have rich mythologies and stories that explain the origin of the gods, the creation of the world, and significant events. These myths provide a framework for understanding the religious cosmology and moral values.
5. Ceremonies and Rituals: Worship in polytheistic religions involves various ceremonies, rituals, and festivals dedicated to specific deities.
6. Symbolism and Sacred Objects: Deities are often associated with specific symbols, animals, or sacred objects. These symbols serve as representations of the divine and are used in religious rites and iconography.
7. Accessibility: Polytheistic gods may be perceived as more approachable or accessible to humans. Worshipers can choose to focus on particular deities based on personal needs, preferences, or circumstances.
8. Statues and Idols: Typically, the gods of polytheistic or pagan religion are depicted by statues or idols that are used in their worship. These statues are typically displayed in shrines or temples dedicated to a particular god.
What’s most fascinating here is that all of these characteristics are true of the veneration of “saints” in the Roman Catholic religion. While often denied, the reality is that the similarity between the pantheon of gods in a religion accepted as pagan and the “saints” of the Roman Catholic religion is entirely too strong to simply be ignored. Roman Catholics pray to their “saints”, wear medallions and erect statues of their “saints”, hold festivals for their “saints”, assign positions of divine authority to their “saints”, and give mythologies to their “saints”. They have essentially deified their “saints” into a pantheon of gods and goddesses under a different name.
Then when you add to this the veneration of popes where they are ultimately deified as the “Vicar of Christ”, much like the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt and the Emperors of ancient Rome through the imperial cult, there is really no denying that Roman Catholicism is a totally idolatrous pagan religion. And if Roman Catholicism is a pagan religion, then so are its holidays.
Some Important Points To Consider
In the past I have taken a more specific argument as to why it is best for a true follower of Yeshua to avoid the Christmas holiday and gone into some depth of exploring these arguments. Here I want to go through a number of points in more of an overview format. I hope that by doing this you can see in a single message the magnitude of the weight of these arguments and why any true follower of Yeshua would want nothing to do with this holiday. So, let’s begin by going through these points, all of which I have covered in greater detail in other messages, which again are available at TruthIgnited.com.
1. There are many religious and secular resources available that speak on the origins and evolution of Christmas and its proposed connection with such things as the Roman Saturnalia festival and the Norse Pagan Yule festival, as well as other aspects of the holiday that should be of concern. These resources include The Zondervan Encyclopedia Of The Bible, The Christian Encyclopedia, Unger’s Bible Dictionary, The New International Dictionary Of The Christian Church, The Layman’s Bible Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, The Encyclopedia Americana, The New Standard Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia International, The History Channel website, and certainly many others.
2. There is a longstanding history of Protestant Christian opposition to celebrating Christmas, with documented statements from some of the most highly regarded ministers of the Protestant tradition against the celebration of Christmas that includes such names as Charles H. Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, A.W. Tozer, and others. This is not a new matter, it has existed by Christians who oppose the “church of Rome” for as long as Christmas has existed.
3. The Christmas holiday and its many traditions are not mentioned in The Bible, but they are highlighted in numerous Wiccan books on witchcraft, as this holiday is sacred to the Wiccan tradition and its predecessors, such as The Old Norse Pagan religion. Some of the Wiccan books that speak of the importance of Christmas (or Yule) to the practice of witchcraft are Wicca and Witchcraft by Denise Zimmerman and Katherine Gleason, Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham, The Wicca Bible by Judy Gallagher, Wicca by Harmony Nice, The Old Magic of Christmas by Linda Raedisch, Yule: A Celebration Of Light And Warmth by Dorothy Morrison, Wheel Of The Year by Pauline Campanelli, and The Book Of Spells: The Magick Of Witchcraft by Jamie Della.
4. There was an actual time in history where Christians in the United States deemed it illegal to celebrate Christmas. While this appears to be isolated to communities that were heavily Puritan, it also demonstrates the same longstanding history of Christian opposition to the holiday.
5. The character known today as Santa Claus is treated as a literal “god” of the Christmas holiday. This character appears to have historical ties to the Norse god Odin. The indications from my research into this is that the use of “Saint” Nicholas was the result of something at least similar to the old Roman practice of interpretatio Romana where the characteristics of an existing deity were absorbed into a Roman god. It seems that a lot of the characteristics of Odin became the characteristic of Santa Claus. In addition to this, there is a Krampus devil and a black slave named Zwarte Piet (or Black Peter in English) as part of the extended history of the Santa Claus character. Also, the act of placing a child on the lap of Santa Claus to tell him what they want to receive may have loose similarities to ancient pagan rituals like the dedication of children to Molech—which, contrary to popular belief, probably did not involve child sacrifice in the form of burning children alive but was much more like “baby dedications” in churches and this act of putting a child on the lap of Santa Claus.
6. “Christians” today love to say that everywhere you go during the holiday season you hear songs about Yeshua and The Bible. But how true is that, honestly? You may hear an occasional Silent Night or Joy To The World, but these are mixed with a lot more songs worshiping Santa Claus and Christmas trees (I’ll talk a little more about the tree issue in a moment), along with a host of secular songs that have nothing to do with The Bible, like Jingle Bells or White Christmas. At best the addition of a few “Christian” songs playing in secular shopping malls and other public areas are telling the world that it’s perfectly OK to embrace a mixture of religion and worldliness, but really this is all just telling “Christians” that it’s OK to practice idolatry so long as you “believe in Jesus”.
Tree Talk
I want to take a little time now and focus in on the tradition of the Christmas tree. I want to do this separate from the previous segment because I think there are several points regarding the tree issue specifically that must be considered.
1. The closest thing resembling a description of what we know today as Christmas trees is found in Jeremiah 10:1-5. This passage causes a lot of debate and confusion, since it can’t possibly be literally describing Christmas trees as those didn’t exist prior to the 1800s A.D. and Jeremiah lived thousands of years before that. What Jeremiah described was most likely an Asherah tree, which leads to the question: Can there be a link between Asherah trees and Christmas trees?
2. The Talmudic writing called Avodah Zarah discusses aspects of idolatry, and it states that an Asherah is any tree that is used in an idolatrous or pagan religious manner. A Rabbi named Shimon is documented as stating that an Asherah is “Any tree that people worship.” If we consider this, along with the passage from Jeremiah 10, and examine the practice of the Christmas tree—especially when people sing songs of worship to it like “Oh, Christmas Tree” and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”—it would seem quite reasonable to conclude that these are trees used for idolatry and that people worship. Thus, we do have a valid path between Christmas trees and Jeremiah 10, as well as any direct references to Asherah trees in The Bible.
3. There are a lot of examples of trees being used in various religions around the world. In Hinduism there is the Peepal Trees, which are decorated and gifts to the spirit of a goddess believed to live in the tree are placed around the base of the tree. During the Japanese festival of Tanabata, which celebrates the meeting of two star deities, ornaments and papers with wishes on them are hung on bamboo. There are plenty of examples to be found of sacred trees being decorated for religious purposes.
4. In some of the religious uses of trees the belief is that a goddess lives at the top of the tree. This is seen in the Peepal Trees of the Hindu religion, the Asherah Trees spoken of in The Bible, and many others. This is something to think on when a star or an angel is placed on the top of a Christmas tree.
Yeshua Was Not Born On December 25th
Among the statements made by Charles Spurgeon against Christmas, he once said, “…if there be any day in the year, of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Saviour was born, it is the twenty-fifth of December.” There is not one reference to this date in the entire Bible, let alone connecting it to the birth of Yeshua. In fact, the only thing in The Bible that happened on “the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month” was the release of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from a Babylonian prison—but that would have been the twelfth month of the Hebrew year, the month of Adar, which is not December and not in the middle of winter (see Jeremiah 52:31-34).
The fact of the matter is we know when Yeshua was born. There are many factors we can use from The Bible, historical records from the time period of Yeshua outside of The Bible, and other resources that all factor in. When we overlap these points, they all combine and lead to the biblical Fall Feast Season being the only period of time that fits. Some believe He was born on Yom Teruah, the day highlighted by the blowing of the shofars. Others say He was born on the first day of Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles). Regardless, we can be certain this is the time He was born. Consider these points, which I go into greater detail on in a message titled He Tabernacled Among Us.
1. A lot of people reference the order of Abijah, one of the priestly rotations, as this is when Zechariah, father of John the Immerser, would have served in the Temple. This rotation would place the birth of John either in the spring around Passover or the fall around Tabernacles, with Yeshua being at the other as they were born six months apart.
2. The shepherds were living in distant pastures, and the Talmud tells us that this practice was done between early spring, probably no more than a month before Passover, and late fall, roughly a month after Tabernacles. This gives us a window of time that Yeshua had to be born in, and winter is completely outside of this window—but the spring and fall appointed Feast Days are both within it.
3. A lot of people talk about lambing seasons and how this would prophetically apply to the birth of Yeshua. There were three primary lambing seasons according to the Jewish Mishnah, and these were in the spring, summer, and fall. So, again, all within a window of time that excludes winter.
4. A Jewish writing called The Tale Of Simon Peter accurately states that the earliest followers of Yeshua connected His death with Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and His ascension with the Feast of Shavuot, or what many know today as the Day of Pentecost. Then it links His birth with the Feast of Sukkot. Since the first two continue to this day as connected, it stands to reason that this reveals a very early but today mostly lost association of the birth of Yeshua with the Feast of Tabernacles.
5. Language used in The Bible gives the indication that Yeshua was born in a sukkah, which is a temporary structure commonly associated with the Feast of Sukkot. This doesn’t mean He was born in a traditional sukkah as used during the Feast, but this word held broader use and would fit with the structure described in The Bible where His birth took place. Additionally, there is a striking and undeniable similarity between a traditional sukkah and the design of a traditional nativity scene, they are practically identical.
6. The Bible tells us that the event of Yeshua’s birth took place during a Roman census, and indications are that the Romans conducted these censuses between August and October, as this did not interfere with the spring planting season and was not during the colder months in the winter. This narrows the window and only allows the Fall Feast Season to be the time when Yeshua was born.
These six points tell us that Yeshua was almost certainly born in the fall connected in some way to the biblically commanded celebration of Sukkot. They also tell us that it is a biblical impossibility for His birth to have been in the winter, whether December 25th or January 6th or any other date people may want to come up with. This begs the question at this point: If we know He was not born during the Roman Catholic date of December 25th and we know He was born during the biblically commanded Feast, shouldn’t we then be commemorating His birth during the Feast of Tabernacles, which we are supposed to be celebrating anyway? And when we do that, there is absolutely nothing left in Christmas except Roman Catholic paganism and idolatry, a whole lot of worldliness, and traditions that trace back to witchcraft rituals.
Yeshua Celebrated Hanukkah
John 10:22-23 tells us that when it was winter in Jerusalem Yeshua was at the Temple during the celebration of Hanukkah. This is the only reference to a mid-winter holiday in the entire Bible, and it takes place in the life of our Messiah—who we are supposed to follow. There is some debate about what He was doing there; was He celebrating or was He not celebrating? I believe He was celebrating Hanukkah on this occasion. Consider these points.
1. He made the journey from the Galilee to Jerusalem during the most inclement part of the year.
2. It was in this setting of Hanukkah that Yeshua declared that He and The Father are one, which was a clear declaration of His deity that caused an uproar as He essentially called Himself “God”.
3. If He was there to oppose the celebration of Hanukkah, as some people contend, He sure was quiet about it. No flipping over tables. No chasing people with a whip. No yelling at people. No calling people things like “blind fools” or “brood of vipers” or any of the other harsh words He used when He was opposing certain practices at The Temple. It seems a peaceful scenario up until some people got upset with Him over the declaration of His deity.
The plain reality of the situation is that there is no indication He was against Hanukkah and strong indications He approved of Hanukkah. This would indicate that we, His followers, should also celebrate Hanukkah. After all, if we believe we are supposed to do what He did and walk as He walked (1 John 2:6) then that would include celebrating Hanukkah.
Some people argue that He was not there to celebrate Hanukkah. They have several alternate theories about why He was there. But to these people I would say, again, that we are to do what He did and walk as He walked. So, if your belief is that He was not there to celebrate Hanukkah, but was simply walking around the Temple for some other reason, then my advice is that you should do what you believe He did, walk how you believe He walked, and every year during the eight days of Hanukkah you should go to Jerusalem and aimlessly walk around the Temple mount area.
I have also heard some people, including at least one popular Messianic teacher, say that if we conclude that Yeshua placed His stamp of approval on Hanukkah then we can conclude that He’d do the same for Christmas. But this is comparing apples and oranges. With Hanukkah we have both the testimony of Scripture approving it and we know the history of its origin. Despite parts of the story that may only be legend, we do know that this holiday commemorates the rededication of the Temple after it was defiled by the pagan Greek king Antiochus. There is nothing questionable, pagan, idolatrous, or in any other way wrong or sinful in celebrating Hanukkah. We cannot say the same for Christmas, as it is well established that Christmas is the creation of the pagan and idolatrous Roman Catholic religion. There is no way Yeshua would approve of Christmas. If He were here today, while He didn’t do it with Hanukkah, I am certain He would be walking into all these “Christian” churches on December 25 to flip over the tables, chase people with a whip while yelling at them, and calling the pastors: “brood of vipers, blind fools, and whitewashed tombs filled with the bones of the dead.”
It’s Just Common Sense!
Deuteronomy 32:28, from the Complete Jewish Bible translation, says: “They are a nation without common sense, utterly lacking in discernment.” Proverbs 21:6, from the same translation, says: “The person who strays from the way of common sense will come to rest in the company of the dead.” And 1 Chronicles 22:12 says, “May Adonai give you common sense and understanding, and may he give you his orders concerning Isra’el, so that you will observe the Torah of Adonai your God.”
At some point you have to decide what actually makes sense regarding biblical faith. An honest and complete study of Christmas will simply never be able to justify it as a practice someone who truly wants to follow The Bible should engage in. At its most extreme it seems to be a direct violation of the commandment of God as given in Deuteronomy 12:29-31 where we are told quite emphatically not to appropriate from the rites, rituals, ceremonies, and festivals of pagan and idolatrous religion. Regardless of any potential connections with the old Roman Saturnalia or later appropriations from the Norse Yule, the fact is that as a Roman Catholic creation alone we can deem Christmas a completely and totally pagan and idolatrous festival. We are not to appropriate that into our faith practice and worship of Yah or Yeshua.
Additionally, it makes more sense to celebrate or commemorate His birth, should one choose to do so, in association with the biblical Feast of Sukkot. Not only is keeping this Feast time also the commandment of God, but all indications through all available factors from The Bible, history, and archaeology tell us that this is the time He was actually born. So, this is the appropriate time to celebrate or commemorate His birth. Now, some people do not believe His birth should be celebrated at all, and it is true that nowhere does The Bible indicate that we are in any way mandated to celebrate His birth. But we are commanded to celebrate the Feast of Sukkot, so if you are going to celebrate or commemorate His birth, that would be the biblical time to do so.
Finally, we have Yeshua celebrating Hanukkah in the wintertime. If He wasn’t there to celebrate it, He wasn’t there to oppose it and I already covered what people who think He was just wandering around the Temple should do. While Hanukkah is not directly commanded in The Torah, following Yeshua and doing what He did is (see Deuteronomy 18:15-19). Additionally, the apostolic charge is that we must walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). Thus, common sense would say that we too should celebrate Hanukkah. After all, Hanukkah in no way violates anything in The Torah or any other part of The Bible, it’s not pagan and idolatrous like Christmas is. Therefore, we are safe in celebrating it. And that combined with at least the probability that Yeshua was celebrating it means that the common-sense thing to do is to celebrate it also.
One of the great things about celebrating Hanukkah as a follower of Yeshua—whether you identify as a Christian, a Messianic, part of the more controversial Hebrew Roots Movement, a Torah-positive Believer, or anything else—is that you can do a lot of the same things that people do for Christmas that have no real connection with paganism or idolatry. Many people exchange gifts for Hanukkah, decorate their homes in a festive way, put Hanukkah themed lights on their house, make cookies and other holiday treats, and numerous other things. None of these things go against The Bible, and so there is nothing wrong with them. Some people take exception with such practices, saying that it’s just trying to be like Christmas, but a few shared traditions that do not go against The Torah and don’t originate from witchcraft or paganism are harmless and often help people cope with doing what is actually different from the ways of the world. To those who think that these things make Hanukkah too much like Christmas, I would say stop overthinking it, loosen up, and enjoy this biblical winter holiday.
They say that common sense isn’t very common, but it doesn’t have to be that way, especially with regard to holidays and Holy Days. Common sense says that we do not do what goes against The Bible. It shouldn’t matter if practically all “Christians” worldwide are celebrating a holiday that goes against their Bible, their God, and their Messiah. Common sense says that we don’t do it. Common sense also says that if there is a holiday that does not violate The Torah in any way and there is even a slight indication that Yeshua celebrated it, that’s what we as true followers of Yeshua should celebrate.
I understand that this is hard for a lot of people. Christmas may well be the second largest stronghold in popular “Christian” religion, right below trying to convince people that we are still supposed to follow the Leviticus 11 food laws—which is a topic for another day. But if you have gone through this study with me, the wheels have to be turning in your head and you must be thinking that what I have said makes a whole lot of sense. So, I will ask you this simple question:
Do you want to follow Yeshua and The Bible, or do you want to follow “Christianity”?
Because it seems that in this day and age, you cannot do both as true biblical faith practice and popular mainstream “Christianity” are mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed to each other.
Blessings and Shalom
©2023 Truth Ignited Ministry
