From the book, “What People Ask About The Church,” by Dale A. Robbins — 67 — Historically, Christmas has been an object of debate and controversy
by church leaders, largely because its celebration did not originate in the Bible, and
because many of its customs contain a mixture of non-Christian ideas which evolved from
various secular and pagan cultures over a period of centuries. In fact, Christmas was
actually outlawed in colonial New England, from 1649 to 1658, by the influence of Oliver
Cromwell and the Puritans, who cited the "heathenistic traditions" involved in
the celebration. It took two centuries for the celebration to gradually gain acceptance in
the New World. Massachusetts was the first American state to recognize Christmas as a
legal holiday in 1856. Christmas was never mentioned in the New Testament, and we have no
evidence that it was ever celebrated by the earliest believers. However, this fact alone
does not invalidate its place in Christian worship. Since the birth of Christ is a
Biblical truth, we are at liberty to celebrate His birth anytime we wish, especially once
a year set aside for this purpose. The annual celebration of Christ's birth can be traced back to at
least 336 A.D., when it was observed by western churches on December 25th. Since the event
was honored in the form of a religious service, the term "Christmas" came from
the Old English term Cristes Maesse, meaning "Christ's Mass." The original date of Jesus' birth was never known for certain, as it
remains today. But toward the end of the second century, Clement of Alexandria was known
to have cited various opinions of concerning Christ's birth date, the two most prominent
of which were January 6th and December 25th. Later in the fifth century, Augustine
commented: "For He is believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March, upon
which day He also suffered... but He was born according to tradition upon December
25th."¹ It's strongly speculated that December 25th was selected for the
Christmas celebration as an effort to bridge the gap between Christian and pagan
traditions. Such mergers became common practice for Constantine, Emperor of Rome
(306-337), after his controversial conversion to Christ. He legalized Christianity, and by
decree, combined numerous pagan customs with state Christianity — which provided many
of the traditions observed by the church of that era. In Rome, the supposed birthday of
the pagan sun god was on December 25th, and the pagan winter feast of Saturnalia was
celebrated for seven days from December 17th to the 24th, marked by a spirit of merriment,
gift giving to children, and various forms of entertainment. It seems likely the latter
was the basis for modern day Christmas gift traditions. Later, the cultures of such
nations as the Germans, French, English, Scandinavians and others, eventually influenced
the celebration by their added traditions. The Christmas tree has especially been a major source of
controversy, as it has sometimes been associated with an idol, described in Jeremiah:
"Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the
signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are
futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with
the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so
that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they
must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they
cannot do evil, nor can they do any good" (Jer. 10:2-5). Indeed, this rendering does
sound much like a Christmas tree. But the original Hebrew makes it clearer, "They cut
a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with a chisel." This would
indicate that the tree itself was not the idol, but its wood was carved into an idol which
was overlaid with silver and gold. While a Christmas tree is admittedly secular in its
origin, it's not likely that it came from the idol described by Jeremiah. The traditional Christmas tree, an evergreen trimmed with
decorations, only dates back a few centuries. There are several unverified traditions
which claim its origin — even one which says that it began with Martin Luther, the
famed reformist of the church, who used candles to decorate it as symbols of the light of
the world. However, historical references seem to show that it was probably derived from
the so-called "paradise tree" that symbolized the Garden of Eden portrayed in
German mystery plays in the 16th century. The widespread use of the Christmas tree in connection with the
holiday gained popularity in the early 17th century, spreading throughout Germany, France
and northern Europe. In 1841, Albert, prince consort of Queen Victoria, introduced the
Christmas tree custom to Great Britain. The custom had apparently accompanied immigrants to the U.S. where
it gained acceptance in the early 19th century. From a family diary, the earliest evidence
of an American Christmas tree was recorded on December 20, 1821 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
— where a tree was displayed in the German settlement home of Matthew Zahn.² Santa Claus has been criticized as a counterfeit persona which
diverts attention away from the real central figure of Christmas, which is Christ. In
reality, Santa is a fictional character, a combination of the Germanic legend of Kriss
Kringle, derived from Christkindle, meaning "Christ child," intermingled with
the inspiring history of Saint Nicholas in the fourth century. Nicholas was orphaned in
his youth by the sudden death of his wealthy Christian parents, and eventually rose to
become the bishop of Myra, a coastal town of Lycia (now in Turkey). He was legendary for
his generosity and giving of gifts, especially to children. The term, Santa, is another
spelling for saint, and Claus was a Dutch pronunciation of the last part of his name,
Cholas. Over the years, these interwoven legends of "Santa Cholas" were handed
down from one European generation to another. These secular traditions and others, combined with a very
commercialized, materialistic emphasis makes Christmas somewhat less than a pure Christian
celebration. However, we realize that our society is filled with many other secular
customs in which we all participate. For instance, many of the traditions surrounding a
wedding ceremony are based upon non-biblical ideas. Dozens of other social customs, which
are common to most Americans, also had their roots in secular beliefs. Merely because a
custom is not biblical in origin, doesn't make it evil. It would, however, be
inappropriate for a Christian to "substitute" these customs in the place of what
Christmas is supposed to represent to us — the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Regardless of whether Christmas began in New Testament times or not,
its origin seems ordained of God. It is the one day of the year when Jesus is spoken of
more than any other. It perhaps is the single greatest opportunity to speak about Christ
during an entire year, giving an open door to explain his birth — His reason for
coming into this world. In my opinion, Christians need not be concerned about secular
Christmas customs as long as they don't "secularize Christmas" into the
commercial, pagan holiday it has become to the world. ¹ De Trinitate, Augustine This article is copyrighted © by Dale A. Robbins, 1995, and is a publication of Victorious Publications, Grass Valley, CA 95949. Unless otherwise stated, all scripture references were taken from The New King James Bible, © Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.You may download for personal use as long as you retain credit to the author. Obtain permission before reproducing copies for any reason, by filling out our simple permission form. For media reproduction rights, or to obtain published quantities of this title, email us. |
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