With the Christmas season in full swing, festive lights, evergreen trees and wreaths are far and wide, a holiday largely celebrated. The irony of Christmas is that most people don’t even know about the holiday and its origination, and why we decorate with these festive items.
Christmas doesn’t even have Christian origination, meaning it wasn’t intended to be a Christian holiday. As a Christian society, the holiday Christmas has turned into our own. Not only that, but Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th either.
Now that I have you thinking, you probably wonder where Christmas actually comes from. Christmas is rooted from an ancient Pagan holiday in Rome. The definition of Pagan is a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main religion, according to Google.
This Pagan celebration was known as Saturnalia, which took place from December 17th to December 25th. This was the celebration of the planet Saturn; it was a time of happiness and giving. During this time in Rome, winter was at its peak and celebrations were needed to lift spirits.
The Romans had parties for Saturn because he was the god of Agriculture. By celebrating this God, they hoped in return that their crops would turn out plentiful and ripe once summer came again.
December 25th was the birth of the Iranian sun, better known as “Sol Invictus of Mithras.” Translating into the unconquered sun God Mithras. December 25th also represented the shortest day of the year, and from there on out, the days would get longer as spring approached.
There is some truth to this holiday, as the sun was born on this day, December 25th, but not the SON! Jesus Christ was born sometime in either August or September. This is suggested by the fact that shepherds were out in the field with their sheep. Another fact to note is that shepherds kept their sheep in barns during December and the whole winter.
The Bible doesn’t ever specifically tell us when Jesus’ birth date is, but does hint in the Bible it was not on December 25th. One suggested reason the Bible never reports Christ’s birthday is because God himself doesn’t want us to celebrate birthdays, which is a whole other topic.
Depending on how you interpret the Bible, some think God doesn’t even want us celebrating Christmas. This could be because of society’s interactions at this time. While the Saturnalia was happening, society literally flipped upside down. Slave owners made meals for slaves and slaves partied with their owners. Of course Roman slavery was extremely different from American slavery, but in Rome this still wasn’t the norm. Also major orgies took place; of course they took place under the famed mistletoe, which was considered to have special powers to those who commit sexual acts under the plant.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the decorations. The Christmas tree, also known as an evergreen tree is popularized by the idea that it represents eternal life as it survives through the winter. The Bible puts forth a statement on Christmas and evergreen trees as read in Jeremiah 10: 3-5;“For the practices of the peoples are worthless/ they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold/they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. 5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak/they must be carried because they cannot walk.” The Bible is simply saying the practice of Christmas is not needed and doesn’t provide anything for the greater good of the people.
The classic ornament ball has a direct relation to the sun God Mithras. The ornament ball is round just like a sun or the sun “Mithras.” The lights on a Christmas tree also have symbolic meaning. The color red would represent the blood of Christ, the color green represents life. Being fair, Christmas ornaments come from many different diverse cultures, especially Pagan and Christian.
Christmas would be nothing without Santa Claus. This mysterious historic character has many different meanings and can represent whatever you want. We see this representation in young children as it is a way to scare them to behave.
There are many different ideas that suggest Santa Claus is actually the devil in disguise. Looking at the name Santa, it’s almost the same as Satan. The color red has also historically been the color of the devil, which is what Santa Claus wears. Some say Santa wears red because of Coca-Cola’s advertising campaign where they used Santa and used the company’s iconic red color.
Santa Claus also has a variety of nicknames such as Old Nick or Old Saint Nick; pun intended. The name Old Nick is also a nickname of the devil.
The Nicolaitanes or followers of Nicholas also have relation to Santa Claus with the name Nicholas. If you break down the word Nicolaitanes it’s a mix of Nicholas and then the word “Nikos” meaning conquer or destroyers. God of course had to put his two cent’s in on the Nicolaitanes. “Revelation 2:6;” But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.” The I in this biblical passage is referred to as God. Some think God is simply saying he hates this group of people, which are similarly related to Santa Claus.
Many also believe Santa Claus is God in disguise. This is because he can see you when you’re sleeping, and the idea that both God and Santa want you to be good. Santa also lives in the North Pole which is strange because the North Pole is almost uninhabited. The North Pole is above us, literally.
God is also usually referred to as living upwards which is also where Santa Claus lives, this idea is talked about in the biblical scripture Ezekiel 8:14; “Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the lords house which was towards the North.”
As this Christmas rolls around, make this holiday season the best yet. Spread this story and let your family know you love them.