By permission, this article, “Is Christmas Pagan or Christian?” is reprinted from The Bible Has the Answer by Dr. Henry M. Morris (The Craig Press, Nutley, New Jersey 07110. 256 pp. $4.50, paperback $3.25. Dr. Morris is Director of Creation-Science Research Center in San Diego, California, and Academic Vice-President of Christian Heritage College.
There is no doubt that many of our present-day Christmas-New Year customs have little relevance to Biblical Christianity. Such things as the commercialism, the drunkenness, the highway deaths, and the general letdown in morals that have come to he associated with the so-called “Holiday Season” obviously have no basis in New Testament Christianity. The same is true of the Christmas tree, the holly and mistletoe, the Santa Claus myth, and similar more pleasant Christmas traditions.
As a matter of fact, many of these things seem more properly associated with the festival of Saturnalia and other similar periods of feasting and revelry which were almost universally practiced in the ancient pagan world near the end of the year than they do with Christianity. There is in fact much historical evidence that these were pagan customs which became grafted on to the modified forms of Christianity that began to be prominent in the centuries following the apostolic age.
There is no indication in the New Testament that the early Christians observed Christmas at all Furthermore, many authorities believe now that Jesus was born, not in the winter, but more probably in the early fall. It is not surprising, therefore, that there have been various groups of Christians, both in the past and in the present, who have reacted against Christmas and New Year celebrations so vigorously as to reject them altogether and to prohibit their members from taking any part in them.
On the other hand, there is much in our Christmas observances which, even though not explicitly found in the Bible, makes it a legitimate and wholesome application of the significance of the incarnation to the world. In a society which is becoming increasingly secularized and fragmented, it is surely good to have an annual and universal remembrance of the great historical fact that “in this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (I John 4:9). Even rank unbelievers and hardened cynics somehow seem to sense, at Christmastime, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Tim. 1:15), and this makes it a good time for evangelism.
Christmas is a time for family reunions, or communicating with old friends, and for reconciling differences that may have come between oneself and his friends and relatives. Surely this is an appropriate remembrance of Him who “hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:19). Except for the spirit of commercialism and covetousness that tends to intrude, the practice of exchanging gifts at Christmas is a reminder of the One who “so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And while we are giving gifts to our loved ones, it is singularly appropriate to give a special gift to the Lord Jesus, first “our own selves,” and then special gifts to those who in a special way are “ministering” in His Name (II Cor. 8:4, 5).
The emphasis on the children at Christmastime is surely wholesome, as it reminds parents again of their solemn responsibility to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). We are also confronted anew with the amazing fact that, when God became a man, He first became a babe and a child and a youth, thus experiencing and understanding the entire range of man’s problems and needs.
The Christmas tree and other traditions have been adequately divested of their original pagan connotations by now so that a Christian can, in good conscience, utilize them to encourage the spirit of love and reconciliation that honors Christ.
There is no doubt that many of our present-day Christmas-New Year customs have little relevance to Biblical Christianity. Such things as the commercialism, the drunkenness, the highway deaths, and the general letdown in morals that have come to he associated with the so-called “Holiday Season” obviously have no basis in New Testament Christianity. The same is true of the Christmas tree, the holly and mistletoe, the Santa Claus myth, and similar more pleasant Christmas traditions.
As a matter of fact, many of these things seem more properly associated with the festival of Saturnalia and other similar periods of feasting and revelry which were almost universally practiced in the ancient pagan world near the end of the year than they do with Christianity. There is in fact much historical evidence that these were pagan customs which became grafted on to the modified forms of Christianity that began to be prominent in the centuries following the apostolic age.
There is no indication in the New Testament that the early Christians observed Christmas at all Furthermore, many authorities believe now that Jesus was born, not in the winter, but more probably in the early fall. It is not surprising, therefore, that there have been various groups of Christians, both in the past and in the present, who have reacted against Christmas and New Year celebrations so vigorously as to reject them altogether and to prohibit their members from taking any part in them.
On the other hand, there is much in our Christmas observances which, even though not explicitly found in the Bible, makes it a legitimate and wholesome application of the significance of the incarnation to the world. In a society which is becoming increasingly secularized and fragmented, it is surely good to have an annual and universal remembrance of the great historical fact that “in this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (I John 4:9). Even rank unbelievers and hardened cynics somehow seem to sense, at Christmastime, that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (I Tim. 1:15), and this makes it a good time for evangelism.
Christmas is a time for family reunions, or communicating with old friends, and for reconciling differences that may have come between oneself and his friends and relatives. Surely this is an appropriate remembrance of Him who “hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:19). Except for the spirit of commercialism and covetousness that tends to intrude, the practice of exchanging gifts at Christmas is a reminder of the One who “so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). And while we are giving gifts to our loved ones, it is singularly appropriate to give a special gift to the Lord Jesus, first “our own selves,” and then special gifts to those who in a special way are “ministering” in His Name (II Cor. 8:4, 5).
The emphasis on the children at Christmastime is surely wholesome, as it reminds parents again of their solemn responsibility to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). We are also confronted anew with the amazing fact that, when God became a man, He first became a babe and a child and a youth, thus experiencing and understanding the entire range of man’s problems and needs.
The Christmas tree and other traditions have been adequately divested of their original pagan connotations by now so that a Christian can, in good conscience, utilize them to encourage the spirit of love and reconciliation that honors Christ.