Christmas: The Origins of the Holiday
Let’s face it, Christmas is a weird holiday. What does the baby Jesus have in common with a fat man in a red suit who rides a sleigh pulled by reindeer? What does a virgin named Mary have in common with a green Grinch who lives in a cave? Why do we cut down trees, bring them into our homes, and cover them with lights and ornaments? Why do we buy presents, wrap those presents in beautiful paper, and give those presents to people? How did shepherds get linked up with Frosty the Snowman? How did a little boy with a drum get to the manger scene? This is odd stuff.
The truth is, it took many circumstances, many cultures, and many centuries to create this hodgepodge that we call Christmas. It would take an entire series of studies to explain the origins of all the traditions of our Christmas holiday, and I'm not going to devote myself to such a series. What I will do is use this one article to explain the origins of a few of the more important traditions. This isn’t a typical Bible-study, but I think you will find it interesting and, hopefully, enlightening.
I need to start by talking about the worship of the sun. One of the classic trademarks of mankind has historically been the worship of the sun. Reaching far back into man’s history, many civilizations have studied the sun and devised times of celebration based upon the sun’s alignments with the earth. To these ancient peoples, one of the most important times of the year was the time known as the winter solstice.
Let me explain what the winter solstice is. It takes the earth 365 days to make one full orbit around the sun. This is where we get the concept of a year. As the earth continually goes about this orbiting of the sun, the orbiting alters where the sun appears on the earth’s equator. The equator is the imaginary line that divides the earth into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere.
The day of the summer solstice is the day of the year when the sun appears farthest north from the earth’s equator. On that day, the time from what we call sunrise to what we call sunset is longer than it is on any other day of the year. Therefore, that day is referred to as the longest day of the year. The summer solstice is usually June 21st.
But after that day the earth’s orbit causes the sun to continuingly appear farther and farther south from the equator. The day of the winter solstice, then, is the day of the year when the sun appears farthest south from the equator. On that day, the time from what we call sunrise to what we call sunset is shorter than it is on any other day of the year. Therefore, that day is referred to as the shortest day of the year. The winter solstice is December 21st or 22nd.
Now, ancient civilizations figured out how to calculate when the winter solstice would take place, and they took that time of the year very seriously. To them, the sun decreasing in visibility as the days of the year moved forward spoke of the dying of the sun. They believed that at the time of the winter solstice the sun actually needed to be reborn so that it could live another year. So, in their religious superstition, they organized annual festivals that were held during the days just before and after the day of the winter solstice. These festivals were celebrations dedicated to the sun god, whatever name that god went by in any given civilization.
The specifics of these festivals differed depending upon the civilization. Some civilizations threw parties during the days close to the winter solstice. Some lit candles. Some decorated their towns with bright, pretty decorations. The basic motivation for the festivals was always the same, though: The sun had grown weak to the point of death and needed to be reborn.
Eventually, the Roman empire became the world’s dominant empire. Rome’s version of these winter solstice celebrations was called Saturnalia. It lasted from December 17th through December 24th. December 25th, then, was celebrated with a feast to commemorate the birth of the sun. This feast day was known as the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun.
During the days of the Saturnalia festival and the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun, everyone in the Roman empire was excused from work. Mardi Gras-like celebrations took place in the streets. Bonfires were lit. Evergreen wreaths were brought into homes. Gifts were even exchanged. Authority figures received gifts such as urns, jewelry, coins, or gold. Common people received gifts such as wax candles and little clay dolls. In other words, in Rome, December 17th through December 25th looked a lot like our modern-day Christmastime.
All right, now, here is where a Roman emperor named Constantine enters the story. In case you don’t know, Constantine was one of the most world-changing men who ever lived. Constantine became one of the emperors of the Roman empire in the year 306. Six years later, in the year 312, he found himself at a pivotal point in his war against his brother-in-law and co-emperor, Maxentius. According to the historian Eusebius, Constantine, on the day before a crucial battle at Milvian Bridge, prayed to God and asked for divine assistance. As the story goes, Constantine then saw in the noonday sky a vision of a cross of light. The cross was superimposed upon the sun. Written on the cross were the words in Latin “in this sign you will conquer.” That night Constantine had a dream that reaffirmed the vision. In the dream, God told him to use the sign of the cross in all of his battles. The next day Constantine added the sign of the cross to his flags, and his army went on to win the battle at Milvian Bridge.
A short time after that, in 313, emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. That Edict made Christianity legal throughout Constantine’s empire. Christianity went from being a despised and persecuted religion outside the mainstream of Roman religion to being an accepted and even highly favored part of Roman religion. The truth is, over the years of his reign, Constantine, with the help of the bishops of the church in Rome, made Christianity the state religion of the Roman empire. He lavished gifts upon Christian leaders. He made Sunday a holiday so that people, especially his soldiers, could attend church. He made Christian clergy exempt from government duty. He made churches tax-exempt. Constantine even personally funded the construction of several lavish, ornate church buildings. In Constantine’s view of his Roman empire, the empire and the Christian church should be as close as possible.
All of this, of course, ultimately helped to bring about the financial, political, and religious machine that we know as the Roman Catholic Church. Therein lies the great debate over Constantine. Was he, as some contend, a true Christian who was used by God to greatly serve the cause of Christianity? Or was he, as others contend, a lost man who was greatly used by Satan to corrupt Christianity? The answer you get depends upon who you ask.
One of the most serious problems that people have with Constantine’s supposed salvation is in the area of how he handled Rome’s pagan festivals. Rather than outlawing these festivals, Constantine, with the help of the bishops of the church in Rome, Christianized them. A prime example of this is what happened with Saturnalia and the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. Rather than forbidding the observance of these days of pagan celebration, Constantine and the bishops simply changed the meaning of the days. The festival of Saturnalia, which ran from December 17th through December 24th, went from being about the birth of the sun to being about the birth of the Son. December 25th, then, went from being the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun to being the birthday of the Son of God.
The Bible doesn’t tell us the exact date of Christ’s birth, but we can say with virtual certainty that it wasn’t December 25th. The Bible does say those shepherds and their sheep were out in the fields the night of Christ’s birth. In Israel, the month of December is usually cold and rainy. During that month, shepherds normally kept their sheep penned up in sheepfolds. Furthermore, Luke chapter two says that Joseph and Mary made their trip to Bethlehem to register for the purpose of paying taxes to the Roman government. Such registrations weren’t usually decreed during the cold winter months. Travel was just too difficult. Understanding all of this, we can see that December 25th is a very poor candidate for the date of Christ’s birth.
Still, because of Constantine and the bishops of Rome, December 25th became the date that was officially given to Christ’s birth. You see, the very idea of a holiday to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ was really just a way to claim Saturnalia and December 25th for Christianity. This, then, was the beginning of the world’s annual celebration of December 25th as the date of Christ’s birth. It was also when the celebration of Christ’s birth became associated with days off from work, parties, evergreen wreaths, and the exchanging of gifts. By the way, I could present this same kind of study about the holiday we call Easter. You won’t find anything about Easter eggs and bunny rabbits in the Bible. Where you will find them is in the Christianizing of Roman paganism.
Now, with all of that covered, let me move on and talk about a few more of the origins of our Christmastime customs. First, let me say a word about the name “Christmas.” “Christmas” comes from the Roman Catholic term “Christ’s Mass.” When you know this, it will come as no surprise that each Christmas Eve the Roman Catholics observe Mass, which is their version of the Lord’s Supper.
Second, let me explain the origins of the Christmas tree. Long before the time of Christ, ancient Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes on the shortest day of the year, the day of the winter solstice. To the Egyptians, the green palm branches symbolized life. As I said earlier, the Romans, during the days of Saturnalia, decorated their homes with evergreen wreaths.
The first recorded reference to an actual Christmas tree comes from the 16th century. In Strasbourg, Germany, families decorated fir trees with colored paper, fruits, and sweets. In 1520, Martin Luther, who was German, saw the beauty of the stars twinkling through the evergreen trees outside his home and attempted to copy this beauty by placing lit candles on his Christmas tree. His neighbors soon followed suit.
The custom of the Christmas tree eventually spread through Europe. Prince Albert of Germany married Queen Victoria of England and set up a beautifully decorated tree in England’s Windsor Castle. The tree was decorated with candies, sugared fruits, and tiny wrapped gifts.
The custom was brought to the United States by German soldiers and Hessian mercenaries who were paid to fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1804, U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn, in what is now Chicago, hauled trees from the surrounding forests to their barracks at Christmastime.
Once begun in America, the custom quickly spread. In 1851, Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds loaded with trees from the Catskills to the streets of New York and opened the first retail lot in the nation. In 1882, Edward Johnson, a partner of Thomas Edison, invented electric Christmas tree lights and hung the first string on his tree. Franklin Pierce, America’s fourteenth president, brought the custom to the White House. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge began the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which is held every year on the White House lawn.
Third, let me talk about Santa Claus. In approximately 280 A.D., a man named Nicholas was born in Turkey. He was raised in a wealthy family and received a fine education. As a young man, he became a priest. He was well known for his kindness and generosity. When his parents died, he distributed his inheritance and property to the needy. He ultimately became the Bishop of Myra. To this day, a feast is held in honor of Saint Nicholas on December 6th. December 6th, 343, was the date of Nicholas’ death.
From the life and deeds of Saint Nicholas arose the basics of the legend. The most famous story surrounding Nicholas is the one about him making three secret visits to the home of a poor father of three daughters. On each of the first two visits, Nicholas threw a bag of gold through the window of the home. On the third visit, Nicholas threw the bag of gold down the chimney. As the story goes, the bag landed in a stocking that had been hung by the chimney to dry. The father used the bags of gold as dowries to get his daughters married into good families.
Over the course of time, people began to thank Saint Nicholas anytime they received an unexpected gift. According to legend, Saint Nicholas’ cape was bright red and trimmed with white fur. This was the origin of what Santa wears.
The name “Santa Claus” comes from “Sinter Klaas,” the Dutch name for Saint Nicholas. The Dutch were actually the ones who brought the story to America, where the story began to take on new details. In 1809, Washington Irving wrote a story about children leaving stockings out for Saint Nicholas to fill. In 1821, Irving, in a book entitled “The Children’s Friend,” said that Santa traveled by a sleigh that was pulled by reindeer. This was different from earlier versions of the story, which said that he traveled by wagon with the assistance of a magic white horse. One year later, in 1822, a New Yorker named Clement C. Moore wrote “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” It began, “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house…”
That story inspired an artist named Thomas Mast to draw a cartoon of Santa for the well-read magazine Harper’s Weekly. That cartoon depicted St. Nicholas as a jolly, fat man. From there, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the modern-day story of Santa Claus.
Of course, Santa is just one of the many areas in which America has added its own touches to Christmastime. In 1942, in the movie “Holiday Inn,” Bing Crosby first sang the song “White Christmas.” In 1946, Jimmy Stewart starred as George Bailey in the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” In 1947, Twentieth Century Fox released the movie “Miracle On 34th Street.”
In 1964, Elvis Pressley released the song “Blue Christmas.” Also in 1964, television gave us the cartoon classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
In 1965, television gave us “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” In 1966, it gave us “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.” In 1968, it gave us “The Little Drummer Boy.” In 1969, it gave us "Frosty the Snowman." All of these elements and a vast assortment of others that we all know so well have become a part of the far-out, bizarre, colossal mix that we call the Christmas holiday.
Of course, all of this brings up the question: What should Christians do about Christmas? There are some who staunchly believe that Christians should have absolutely nothing to do with this holiday. They say, “Since Christmas has its roots buried deep in paganism, Christians should shun it.” History tells us that the early Puritans, Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Calvinists who played such a major role in settling America strongly opposed the Christmas holiday.
If you ever meet someone who opposes the Christmas holiday, that person will probably refer you to Jeremiah 10:2-5. That passage says:
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.”
Some people read these words and say, “Right there the Bible tells us that we shouldn’t have Christmas trees.”
But are these people right? Several years ago I came face to face with this issue in my life. I began to learn what I’ve shared with you in this article, and I had to figure out how to apply it to my life. All I knew to do was pray about it. So, I poured out my heart to God and said, “Lord, you show me what to do about all of this, and I’ll do it.” I prayed that, and I meant it! I was ready to never again have a Christmas tree. I was ready to never have Santa Claus mentioned around my house. I was ready to stop buying presents and stop receiving presents.
You might think that all of that is going to an extreme. I wonder, though, if you have ever really prayed about the issue of the pagan taint that Christmas has upon it? I dare say that most people go their entire lives and never commit the matter to prayer. Say what you will, but I did that.
And what answer did God bring me back to time and time again? Well, if you come to my house at Christmastime, you will find a big Christmas tree sitting in the corner of my living room. It will be beautifully decorated and have some presents under it. You’ll find that we have hung a stocking for Ryan and a stocking for Royce. In the boys’ room, you’ll find the movies: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Little Drummer Boy,” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” I think you get the idea. God gave me a peace about all of that. He taught me that it all comes under the heading of Christian liberty.
I’m not the only Christian, either, that God led to this conclusion. I used to receive the late Jerry Falwell’s publication, “The National Liberty Journal.” In the December 1998 issue, he had a word to say about Christians and Christmas. It was so in line with how God had answered my prayers that I cut it out and kept it. Falwell wrote:
“I usually get some critical mail from friends who object to trees, Santa Claus, gifts, and the entire celebration. They remind me that we do not know the exact date of the birth of Christ; that the Christmas tree and Santa have pagan origins; that commercialism dominates the scene; and that Christians should ignore the whole season. Of course, I respectfully disagree. I have never met a person who was damaged emotionally for life because of believing in Santa as a child, or believing in the tooth fairy, the Easter Bunny, or Mother Goose rhymes. Rather, I have met many who were sadly robbed of their childhood by strict legalistic parents who thought they were doing God a service by denying their children all harmless fun and innocent fantasy.”
Those words came from Jerry Falwell, who wasn’t exactly classified as a liberal!
Let me give you another quote that I like. This one is from the December 1997 issue of James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family” magazine. In answering a question about Santa, Dobson wrote, “…if I had to do it over, I would still let my children thrill to the excitement of Santa’s arrival down the chimney on Christmas Eve.”
So does Christmas really have its roots in paganism? Yes, it does. There’s no denying that. I didn’t even take the time to tell you about the pagan origins of: mistletoe, the Yule log, decking the halls with boughs of holly, the Christmas goose, and many other Christmas traditions. I assure you that these customs didn’t come from the Bible. But does that mean that God would have us to boycott Christmas? No, it doesn’t.
Unless you move into a cave on top of a mountain, you can’t really boycott it anyway. A man says, “My family isn’t going to celebrate Christmas in any way.” Then he sends his five-year old off to kindergarten and the boy comes home one day and says, “We are having a Christmas party at school on Friday and I’m supposed to bring the cupcakes.” A woman says, “I’m not even going to acknowledge that there is a Christmas. I just won’t let it into my house.” Then she goes to her mailbox and finds that her neighbor has sent her a Christmas card.
Someone says, “But what about that passage from Jeremiah chapter 10?” I’ll tell you about it. It has absolutely nothing to do with a Christmas tree. What that passage condemns is cutting down a tree and fashioning a wooden idol out of that tree. If you don’t believe me, sit down and read it for yourself. The key to rightly understanding the passage is to read the entire chapter. Don’t stop at verse 5. Keep on going through the chapter. If you do that, you will see that the reference is to the making of a wooden idol. It doesn’t have one thing to do with Christmas trees or Christmas.
Listen, Jesus knows that He wasn’t born on December 25th. He knows about Saturnalia and all the other winter solstice festivals that other cultures have celebrated over the centuries. But He also knows what it is like to live your life in a fallen world. Knowing that, what He asks from you each Christmas (and every other time of the year) is that you live all out for Him in the midst of a fallen world. Parents, I firmly believe that Jesus wants you to let your kids have their fun at Christmas. I believe just as firmly that He wants you to teach them the difference between myth and reality. What He really wants is for you to teach them how to live for Him out there in the real world, a real world that makes a big deal about Christmas.
In closing, I would encourage you to pour out your heart to the Lord about all of the issues of Christmas and let Him show you the guidelines and boundaries. He did that for me, and He will do it for you if you are sincere in wanting to know His will. I’m against paganism. I’m against the sinful waste of money. Christmas, though, doesn’t have to come to your door loaded down with these things. To you, it can simply be a wonderful time of family, tradition, and, of course, the heartfelt celebration of the birth of Jesus.