Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday? The Truth About Christmas
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- Опубликовано: 9 сен 2024
- For years, viral tweets and TikToks have said that Christmas is a pagan holiday. So is it? And if Christmas is a pagan holiday, what should Christians do? We investigated the roots of Christmas to see what history (and the experts) had to say. We discovered some surprising truths about what Christmas is, how it has changed, and how we should honor and celebrate the birth of Christ.
Conversation Starters:
1. Have you heard anyone talk about Christmas as a pagan holiday?
2. Can you think of any Biblical ways we should celebrate the birth of Christ?
”One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.“
Romans 14:5 NKJV
Merry Christmas To All 🌲
The origins of Christmas stem from both the pagan and Roman cultures. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god. Both celebrations were raucous, drunken parties. As Christianity spread across Europe, the Christian clergy were not able to curb the pagan customs and celebrations. Since no one knew Jesus’s date of birth, they adapted the pagan ritual into a celebration of His birthday.
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Great video! Thank you.
The earliest attested date for the celebration of Sol Invictus is 274 AD, but it wasn't originally celebrated on December 25th. As mentioned, there is evidence to suggest Sol Invictus was originally observed as early as August or October and was only later changed to December 25th as a possible way for the Romans to counter Christians celebrating Christmas.
According to the Liber Pontificalis, Pope St. Telesphorus (125-136) instituted the tradition of celebrating midnight Mass, which means Christmas was already being celebrated. St. Theophilus (AD 115-181), bishop of Caesarea, stated, “We ought to celebrate the birthday of Our Lord on what day soever the 25th of December shall happen.” [Magdeburgenses, de orign Festorum Chirstianorum].
However, there is some conjecture of whether or not the above additions to this manuscript were very early (c. 600 AD) "additions" to the text (i.e., they were 'forged' into the text to evidence an early date for Christmas).
Even if that is indeed the case, both Hippolytus of Rome (AD 170-240) and Clement of Alexandria (AD 153-217) commented on December 25th as the celebration of the birth of Jesus. So even if Theophilus never said the above quote, not long after his dates, Hyppolytus and Clement both commented on December 25.
In short, it's quite possible Christmas was already being celebrated by Christians by the early 2nd century AD which would predate Sol Invictus.
Saturnalia -
First, the Winter Solstice had no festive significance to ancient Romans. There were no celebrations planned for the date and they disagreed on when it was. The Julian Calendar does say 12/25, but Pliny the Elder says 12/26 (nat. his. 18.59.221), and Columella says 12/23 (De Re Rustica 9.14.12).
Saturnalia was a Roman festival of Saturn and was never on December 25th. Macrobius says Saturnalia began 14 days before January, which comes out to December 17th, using Roman Calendrical dates. He says it lasted for 3 days, but according to the Fasti inscriptions, it lasted to around the 23rd during the days of the Republic. In short, the official dates for how long Saturnalia was supposed to last varied depending on which time period a person happened to live in, and which emperor happened to be in power at the time. Nonetheless, throughout the entire period of the Roman Republic (lasted c. 509 - c. 27 BCE) and the Principate (lasted c. 27 BCE - c. 284 CE), by the time December 25th rolled around, Saturnalia was definitely already over. Throughout this entire period of Roman history, there is not a single mention of anyone ever celebrating Saturnalia on December 25th or even thinking that other people celebrated it on December 25th. The celebration itself may originally have been a farming festival; the evidence is unclear.
It was associated with an overturning of various regulations and social norms: free citizens often wore a freedman’s hat, the pilleus, and played gambling games that were normally illegal; slaves would dine alongside their masters, or even act the part of master. People would exchange gifts of candles and clay figurines.
There’s absolutely no link to Christmas. The date? No, they’re not on the same date. . . . The fact that Saturnalia _might_ have had some influence on Christmas isn’t evidence that it did.
Historical similarity does not equate to historical sameness. The modern custom of gift-giving at Christmas does not tie back to pagan Saturnalia. It dates back to the 16th century. That is when Luther introduced the Christkind in an attempt to discourage veneration of St Nicholas, who was associated with gift-giving on his feast day of 6 December. In late mediaeval Germany gift-giving had also been associated with the feast of the Holy Innocents, on 28 December. It’s possible that Christmas charity from aristocrats to the poor goes back a bit further. But there’s certainly no evidence to suggest continuity all the way back to when Saturnalia was still being celebrated.
Without getting into some rather lengthy details, the idea that Christmas is pagan comes from die-hard Protestant fundamentalists in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. In those centuries, many Protestants regarded holidays like Christmas and Easter as “popery” and therefore sought to discredit them by linking them with ancient paganism in any way they could. The Puritans went so far as to ban the celebration of the holiday in my neck of the woods, New England. The idea that Christmas might be pagan was advanced as early as 1648 in the work _Certain Queries Touching the Rise and Observation of Christmas,_ written by the Puritan Joseph Heming. Later fundamentalist writers took the idea and ran with it.
Christmas was celebrated Dec. 25 prior to any pagan celebration on the same date.
When we celebrate Christmas (and other holidays as well), we are definitely participating in a tradition with deep historical roots and traditions. But those traditions are firmly situated in the medieval Christian past, not an ancient pagan one.
We appreciate the level of detail in this comment. We try our best in this video to give a layperson's overview of several thousand years of historical celebration and condense it into 7 minutes. We also tried our very best to be clear that Christmas is not a pagan holiday. We are grateful that you agree with the basic conclusion ---that when we celebrate and honor Christ at Christmas, we don't have to worry that our efforts are pagan or without precedent from the Christian tradition. Thank you so much for watching!
thank you for this! I appreciate the detailed representation of the facts surrounding the dates, claims, and various other celebrations.
Would you mind sending me links to sources? or book recommendations?
I would like them too, I don’t mind spending money on books ESP any early church history, but I don’t have one that quotes them on Christmas. I’d like to put this to rest as so many I know don’t celebrate it anymore and now celebrate the Jewish holidays. It’s a source of pain for me every year not knowing what conclusion to come to and I do want to do what’s right.
ruclips.net/user/live-KHTV-Dhb5g?si=Pzj_7Wbn3Pgc2tNU
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Some Christians make this same argument that they can celebrate "harvest day" on the same day as Halloween, and as long as they let their kids dress up in wholesome costumes and participate in trunk and treat instead of trick or treat, then that makes it okay. And other Christians condemn this. How is this any different?
Also, based on the historical context in the birth story, scholars believe that Jesus was more than likely born sometime in the spring. The fact that we observe this in winter and use the exact same tools and traditions from the pagan observances seems questionable to me. Why not remember Jesus' birth in the middle of spring with manger scenes, shepherds, and wise men, and leave all the winter traditions in December? Why even risk the association?
Probably because Jesus was born at the Feast of Tabernacles.
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Jesus birth
I appreciate this video and the content. Do you have any thoughts about Jeremiah 10:2-4? I'm not an expert but it seems what we think of as a Christmas tree is something that goes back far further into history likely to Babylon.
Thanks for watching the video. That is an interesting connection and definitely gives us even more to think about!
I was asked that question too, and I read the whole chapter. They are talking about idols being shaped with the chisel and being carried around from place to place because they can’t walk. The gold silver are not ornaments, they are plates of the metal to coat the wood. At least that how I read it. I’m still investigating Christmas origins, it’s hard bc I’ve also heard that the Roman government created the sun gold holiday December 25th to RIVAL what the Christians were already celebrating. I have some books on the early church fathers but they aren’t quoting them specifically on Christmas. It seems I have to find a translation of all their works in whole and read it all for myself. Unless I can find someone who has. But I’m a skeptic and ask questions about what anyone says unless I see the direct quotes. Blessings!!
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the tree
There is a difference between buying a shotgun to go hunt and buying a shotgun to go kill. Sure, people bought guns to kill, but that's not what im doing when i do the purchase. Changing the meaning behind an act changes the whole act itself. Btw there is clear connection between wise men seeing a star that led them to Christ around dec 25. Between the time he was conceived and the time he was born.
When you say "most historians" do you have those sources?
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more bible
Orthodox Christians celebrate christmas on 6-7 january. If 2 biggest denominations can decide what is correct day, how this is even Christian holiday?
Actually...
Constantine did not designate Dec. 25th as the Nativity of Christ, one of the Bishops of Rome (I believe) designated the 25th.
Thanks so much for this video! Can't even tell how helpful this has been for me.
Did Jesus say to celebrate his birthday and was it to be December 25th? The Lord God hates lying lips because he is the truth. So where are traditions of men, like reindeers, santa clausus who uses elves who lives at the north pole flying around on sleighs , making gifts honoring Jesus birthday biblical? There is no December 25th mentioned in the Holy Scriptures that say that Jesus birthday was on that day. and some say Xmas. are happy holidays? The disciples knew and even Mary knew the exact date of Jesus birthday and she never celebrated that day.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Look at how Christ is pronoused as Criss /mas., Catholics and also, the world added one (s) to mass Remember two pagan kings celebrated birthdays and even sought to kill Jesus and they never even hnew Jesus birthday as being December 25th. or his birthday. God sent Christ Jesus away because a pagan king sought to slay Jesus.
Jeremiah 10 2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
So when people celebrate there so called Christma(s) holiday what gift can they give Jesus. to replace what Jesus did at th cross? John 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. 1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments Satan wants to be worshipped. Rearange the name satan and you will get santa.
Nice video. Good info. Suggestion: The guy's hand movements become distracting. The same rhythm over and over. A gesture is not necessary for every word.
Hang out with us Anglicans (ACNA) this Advent season and you'll get much more Christ in your Christmas than anything pagan. Hang out with Neil DeGrasse Tyson this Adven season and it sounds like you'll have a blast shopping. :)
We have been participating in Advent since Dec 1 (our first time) and my kiddos are L❤️VING it!!
We’ve always kept Jesus CENTER in our Christmas prep & celebrations but I’ve been convicted more & more lately to remove idolatry-laden traditions (mentioning & propogating Santa, encouraging excitement over gifts under the tree, etc.)
So great to hear!! Have a very merry Christmas!!
This makes me so happy.
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Of course the day is pagan in origin. All the evidence -- even what is stated here -- supports that belief. The Catholic Christians just co-opted the day. Don't Greek Orthodox celebrate Christmas in January?
Which isn't to say Christmas is a pagan holiday or that Christians are celebrating a pagan festival as pagans (at least I hope not). But it is important to acknowledge facts when choosing to celebrate the the birth of Jesus on a pagan holiday, a holiday that involves continuing pagan traditions and trappings
NO IT IS NOT .