Adapted from sermon
notes by Aun-Quek Chin and lecture notes—Singapore
CHRISTMAS
Its Pagan Origin
•
December
25 was the birthday of the sun god, worshipped by ancient pagans. Being
farmers, these pagans worshipped the
sun because it made their crops grow and provided warmth and light. During the
winter solstice, it appeared to these pagans that their god was in demise.
However on December 25, the sun begins its ascent at noontime, which the pagans
interpreted as the rebirth of the sun god. The day was one of celebration for
sun-worshippers all over the northern hemisphere.
•
The Romans celebrated the winter festival,
Saturnalia, from December 17–24 (or as some sources suggest, December 17–23).
It was dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture, and to the renewed power of
the sun. December 25 was the “Day of the Invincible Sun” (Dies Invicti Solis), possibly introduced
by Emperor Aurelian in 274 A.D.
•
Since Christmas is an adaptation of pagan
festivals, many of its customs are also associated with pagan legends. Take the
Christmas tree as an example. Legend has linked this tree to Nimrod (Gen 10:8)
of ancient Babylon. After his death, a full-grown evergreen tree sprang out of
the roots of a dead tree stump, symbolizing new life for him; legend also
relates how Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts under it on
the anniversary of his birth (on the winter solstice). The Roman version of
this myth tells of the mother of Adonis, the sun god, who mystically changed
into a tree and, in that state, brought forth her divine son.
The Druids
decorated oak trees with fruits and candles in honor of their god of harvest
during the winter solstice. The Vikings regarded evergreen coniferous trees as
symbolic of the end of the darkness of winter and the return of the light of
spring.
Who Established
Christmas?
•
Neither the apostles nor the early church celebrated
the birthday of Christ.
•
There is no mention of such a practice in the
writings of second century Christian leaders such as Irenaeus
(c.130-200 A.D.). However, in this era, there was evidence that segments of the
church were flirting with the assimilation of pagan practices into Christianity,
setting auspicious dates for the birth and death of Christ. However, nobody had
yet put forward December 25 as the date of Christ’s birth.
•
For Christians living in the Roman Empire, some
were either influenced to join in the celebrations of Saturnalia, or failed to
abstain from the festivities after conversion. But the church stalwarts were
still strongly opposed to the assimilation of paganism.
•
In the fourth century, things changed and the
Roman Catholic Church adopted Saturnalia and Dies Invicti
Solis in order to conciliate the heathen populace, and assigned Christian
meanings to these festivals. It became Christmas, the birthday of Christ.
Why We Should Not Observe Christmas
•
Despite the Christian masquerade and
appellations, Christmas is essentially a pagan festival. Christians should have
nothing to do with it. To claim that the birthday of the pagan sun god is a day
for remembering the birth of Jesus is an untruth that is not pleasing to God.
•
Neither the Bible nor historical documents record
the precise date of Christ’s birth. Whichever day it was, it could not be December
25. In Judea (present day Israel), there are two important seasons of rain: the
autumnal rain and the spring rain (also called the early rain and the latter
rain). The autumnal rain starts in November and continues till January. The
combination of the incessant downpour and the chilly winter winds makes the
cold of the night piercing. Shepherds could hardly be watching their flocks by
night in the plains (Lk 2:8–11). The celebration of Christmas perpetuates the
lie that Christ was born on December 25.
•
The
commemoration of the birthday of Jesus demeans Him because it is tantamount to
treating Him, who is God having no “beginning of days” (Heb 7:3), as a mere
mortal born at a certain point in time.
•
There is no record of the celebration of Jesus’
birthday in the Bible. Whatever is not instructed in the Bible, we shall not
add. Whoever adds to or subtracts from the words of God shall be punished (Rev
22:18–19).
The custom of setting and decorating the
Christmas tree was condemned by God in Jeremiah 10:2–4: “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.’”
EASTER
Its Pagan
Origin
•
Easter
is linked to a festival of the ancient pagans who celebrated the return
of spring and a new lease of life, and is also associated with deities of fertility:
- The goddess Eostre was
worshipped by the Anglo-Saxons
and the Teutonics
in Europe.
- She was known as “Ostara”
among the Norse peoples in Scandinavia, “Ausra” in
Lithuania, and “Austri” in Norway.
- In the Mediterranean, the goddess of fertility was
“Aphrodite” in Cyprus, “Demeter” in Greece, “Hathor”
in Egypt, “Cybele” in Phrygia (now Turkey), and “Ishtar” in Assyria (today’s
Iraq).
- Among the Canaanites,
Ishtar was known as “Astarte” or “Ashtoreth.”
•
The
symbols of Easter were adopted from pagan traditions to celebrate the return of
spring. Eggs symbolized the return of life at the beginning of spring. The rabbit
was a pagan symbol of productivity. An early form of hot cross buns was used in
the worship of the queen of heaven 1,500 years before the Christian era.
How Did a
Pagan Spring Festival Come to Be Associated with Christianity?
•
According to references such as Encyclopaedia Britannica, there is no indication of the
observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament or in the writings of
the apostolic fathers.
•
Although some church historians claim that
Easter observance began in the first century, the first evidence comes from the
second century.
•
Jewish
Christians in the early church continued to celebrate the Passover, regarding
Christ as the true paschal lamb, but the predominantly gentile church in the
west had no festival. In springtime, their societies celebrated the spring
fertility festival in honour of the Cybele cult, linked with Attis, the god of agriculture who supposedly died and was reborn
each March.
Since this festival of fertility coincided
somewhat in time (springtime) and motif (resurrection/newness of life) with an evolved
version of the Passover observed by Jewish Christians in the east, some historians
have shown that in the later part of the second century, the church in the west
adopted it to commemorate the resurrection of Christ in its attempt to garner
conversions. The church felt it would be easier for pagans to embrace
Christianity if they were permitted to continue with practices they had been
accustomed to. Some sources suggest that the Anglo-Saxon Christians
subsequently gave this adopted festival the name “Easter” after the Anglo-Saxon
and Teutonic spring goddess of fertility, Eostre.
• There was no consensus within the second century
church on when to celebrate Easter. The early Christians followed the Jewish
calendar and observed Easter on the Jewish Passover, which is fourteenth of
Nisan, regardless of the day of the week. Others celebrated Easter on the
nearest Sunday after the Passover. It is said that in his attempt to syncretize
the prevalent pagan practices and the Christian religion, Emperor Constantine,
at the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., set the date for the celebration of
Easter on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the spring equinox.
•
Easter supplanted the Jewish Passover and became
one of the most important festivals of the Roman Catholic Church. Some early
reformers were aware of the pagan origin of Easter and tried to curb its
celebration. For example, John Knox (c.1513–1572), a Protestant Scottish
leader, decreed that all pagan festivals kept by the Catholic Church, including
Christmas, Easter, All Souls Day, Candlemas, and
Halloween were “heretofore superstitiously used” and were not to be observed by
the Protestant church. He and others ultimately failed in their mission.
Why We Should Not Observe Easter
•
As in the case of Christmas, the Lord Jesus
never instructed us to observe Easter. Rather, He commanded us to commemorate His
death often, but without any fixed time: "For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes” (1 Cor
11:26).
•
The observance of Easter is not found in the
Bible. The King James Version of the English Bible incorrectly renders the
Greek word pascha in Acts 12:4 as "Easter."
However, elsewhere in the Bible where the same word is used, (e.g., Mt 26:2; Mk
14:1; Lk 2:41, 22:1; Jn 2:13, 23 etc.), it is always
faithfully translated as “Passover.”
•
Christians should not observe Easter because it
is essentially a pagan festival dedicated to the spring goddess of fertility,
Ashtoreth. In the Bible, God unequivocally condemns the worship of this false
deity (Judg 2:11–13; 1 Sam 12:10–11; 1 Kgs 11:4–6, 33; 2 Kgs 23:13).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, True Jesus Church members should not celebrate Christmas
and Easter. Apostle Paul says:
And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer
with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with
idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell
in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not
touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, and
you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
(2
Cor 6:15-18)
Indeed, what agreement has the
temple of God with idols? We are the temple of God, how then can we be involved
in the celebration and observance of these festivals that are associated with
these idols? This is definitely not pleasing to God. Instead, we should set
ourselves apart and not follow the world in keeping these festivals.
Some have argued that, while
Christmas and Easter have pagan origins, the festivals have evolved into Christian
festivals. Therefore, as long as Christians worship the Lord Jesus sincerely, there
is nothing wrong observing them.
However, the Bible is clear that
God does not only forbid the worship of false gods, but He also detests any attempt
on the part of believers to worship Him after the forms and manners of the
pagans. Hence, He gave detailed instructions to Moses on the manner He wanted
His children to worship Him. Copying pagan forms and manners is abhorrent to
Him:
“Observe and obey all these
words which I command you … When … you … dwell in their land, take heed to
yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them … and that you do not inquire
after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will
do likewise.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every
abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods … Whatever
I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away
from it.”
(Deut
12:28–32)
