The True Origin of Christmas and the Bible

Millions of people spend enormous amounts of money by giving gifts at this time of year because they are expected to do so. If they don't give anything it is like they have violated custom. It almost seems like killing the joy, by forcing someone to buy gifts. It is estimated that each year 20% of all retail dollar purchases at Christmas are returned. Does it really make sense to save all year to buy gifts that other people don't want or really do not need? If you can't be nice to one another all year, then you wont make up for it by buying a few gifts once a year. Unfortunately there are millions of people around the world who lack the most basic necessities of life, yet in most countries many people seem to lack the appreciation of what they have. It even causes undue pressure and unhappiness on many people. Some do not have the money to buy gifts, which leads to an increase in robberies during the Christmas season.

What effect does Christmas have on your children? Many parents watch their children tear apart their present, and when they are done opening everything they would still ask for more. They may not be greedy children but because of all the hype and build up prior to receiving the gifts they have become greedy. The giving of gifts at Christmas time help to cultivate greed and selfishness in children. What about the lie that is told to millions of children, about where the gifts come from? Millions of children are told that they gifts come from Santa Claus. You are basically teaching your children to lie. Once they find out that they were lied to it may make it difficult for them to believe anything that you tell them.

Is Christmas a Christian Practice?

The Bible says that wise men, or astrologers, brought gifts to Jesus. However the giving of gifts at Christmas is not patterned after their example because they did not exchange gifts with one another. And they did not give their gifts when he was born but at a later time. Their actions were actually in harmony with the ancient custom of honoring rulers. If you take a look at the Bible record it says that when they arrived Jesus was no longer in a manger but was living in a house. This is why Herod, based on what they told him, decreed that all boys two years of age and under be killed. This can be found at Mathew 2:1-18. Don't you also find it strange that on Jesus supposed birthday he receives nothing, and most people don't even think about him. This is probably because they are too focused on the gift buying. The truth about Christmas is that it is a pagan celebration that was adopted by Christendom. According to the Bible Jesus was not born on December 25. The New Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges that the date of Christ birth is not known.

It is also well documented that the Christmas Customs were adopted from non-Christian sources. In the Encyclopedia Americana it says that most of the customs now associated with Christmas were not originally Christmas customs but rather were pre-Christian and non-Christian customs taken up by the Christian church. Saturnalia, which was a Roman feast that was celebrated in mid-December, provided a model for many of the merry-making customs of Christmas. For example this is were the origin of elaborate feasting, the giving of gifts and the burning of candles came from. As for the giving of gifts it began as a magical custom instead of merely a social custom. Some presents included wax dolls, which were given to children. The New York Times of December 24, 1991 had an article on the origins of Christmas customs. A professor of history at Harvard University wrote: Christmas itself was superimposed over the ancient festivals that celebrated the winter solstice. In the third century, when sun cults like the Mithraic religion of Persia found their way to Rome, days in December were given over to celebrate the rebirth of Sol Invictus: the invincible sun. The early Church in Rome had a particularly hard battle against two other great pagan festivals, the week-long Saturnalia, which began Dec. 17, and the Kalends, which greeted the New Year. The first festival was a time of licensed misrule, often presided over by a lord of merriment, not so much Santa as fat Saturn himself; this included eating drinking and other kinds of misconduct. It was during Kalends, when the year changed, however, that gifts were ritually exchanged, often tied to the boughs of greenery that decorated houses during the festivities. The attitude of the early church toward all this indecent jollity was frosty. They urged no compromise with heathen abominations. Since there was no general agreement about the exact date of the birth of Jesus, it must have seemed helpful to have it supersede the Saturnalia. So the rebirth of the sun became instead the birth of the Son of God

Despite all of these facts many people feel that the origin of Christmas does not really matter to them. Many people feel that it helps to lift their spirits and just makes them feel good. But is this really how people feel during the Christmas season? At John 4:24 it says: Those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth. So if our worship is to be acceptable to god, it must be based on truth. But Christmas is promoted as the birthday of Jesus Christ even though it is not. And even the supposed magical gift bringers, like Santa Claus, are lies. So if you truly care about God you would obey his command to quit participating in something that is religiously unclean. My suggestion is that before teaching your children to celebrate any holiday you should really investigate the true meaning behind it.