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Christmas

 

Do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)  This was a command given by Jesus, concerning the Lord’s Supper.  Look as we may, nowhere in Scripture does He tell us, “Remember My birthday.”   Just as He died, “once for all,”  He was only born once.

Christians should celebrate His birth, death and resurrection every day, for we need the physical and concrete.  Jesus satisfied Thomas’ desire to see concrete evidence that He had risen, however, He stated, “Blessed are they that have not seen, believe in and obey and invisible Lord.  We lean toward physical things, even when expressing worship, although Jesus warned: God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him, must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

What has happened?  The attributes of God alone have been assigned to a fat, mythical gift-giver, who “sees you when you’re sleeping” (all seeing), and “knows when you’re awake,” and, “knows if you’ve been bad or good” (omniscience).  He supposedly visits every child’s house on the same night (omnipresence).  Can this glorify God?

The truth is important to God and many, ignorantly, cause children to believe a lie in the guise of a friendly, jolly, phony called Santa Claus.  All lies come from the devil (John 8:44).  Our Heavenly Father is the giver of all good and perfect gifts (James 1:17).  Can you imagine the Apostle Paul teaching children about Santa?  This is more than just innocent make-believe, for idolatry is involved.  For whom do most children look on Christmas morning – Santa Claus or Jesus?

Perhaps we should also take a second look at the Christmas tree.  What a fuss and expense to decorate and admire it.  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)

Have we ever honestly considered how God sees all this, for He is the One we are supposed to be honoring?  Christ is coming for a pure church, without spot or wrinkle and He is worthy to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth.  To please Him in every way is far more important than observing a host of customs and rituals that originated in pagan mythology and superstition.  We need to earnestly seek the truth.

DATE AND ORIGIN

The exact date of Christ’s birth cannot be determined, and, during the first two or three centuries, no notice was taken of the anniversary.  Early church elders were very opposed to such celebration as pagan.  December 25th was established as Christ’s birthday about the year 320 A.D. by Liberius, the Bishop of Rome.  This was done to speed the merging of paganism with Christianity to attract more followers to the Roman church.

According to researchers, December 25th was the date chosen because it coincided with that of the Mithraic Feast of the sun-god and Roman Saturnalia.  It was also the sacaea of the Mesopotanians; the festival of Kronos, in ancient Greece; the Feast of Lights of the Hebrews and Festival of the Sun among all primitive peoples.

The most significant was celebration of the Roman feast of the Saturnalia.  It is the day of the birth of the sun god Sol; also Mithra, Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, Jupiter, Tammuz and other sun gods.  They were supposedly born at what is referred to today as the Christmas season; then it was called the “winter solstice”.

The winter solstice was the occasion for a celebration held to welcome the return of the sun with its light and warmth after a long, cold winter.  It was adorned with the pine tree of Adonis, the holly of Saturn and mistletoe.  Tapers represented the kindling of the new born sun god’s fire.

The various sun gods in different countries were all believed to have been born at the same season indicating different forms (and names) of the same sun god.  The son of the original sun god “Tammuz” in Babylon is the parent of all subsequent similar gods.

In Babylon the birth date of Tammuz was celebrated with great feasts, revelry and drunkenness.  When transplanted to Rome it was known as “Saturnalia” (Saturn was another name for Nimrod, father of Tammuz).  This was a most vile, immoral feast, a season of license, drunkenness and debauchery, with all law laid aside.

This same Roman feast passed into the Roman Catholic church and directly through it to today.  Much associated with the Christmas season – holidays, gift giving, revelry and feasting, etc. is inherited from the Roman mid-winter pagan festival of the Saturnalia.

The Christmas festival of “Christmas” is interwoven with much ancient folklore and legends that have been handed down for generations.  Adopted festivities include many customs from the pre-Christian world, not only from the Roman winter festival, but also from Northern merrymaking called “Yule” which honored the god Thor.

The cry “O Saturnalia” rang in the streets of Rome; tapers twinkled in Jerusalem; men talked of werewolves in Scandinavia; Valkyrie searched for souls to carry to Valhalla; and Druid priests, in flowing white robes climbed their sacred oaks to secure mistletoe, the “golden boughs” of Aeneas.

The name “Christmas” is a mixture of a Christian idea with a pagan ritual.  The name of the holiday was “Yul” or “Yule,” when introduced into medieval England.  Later it was changed to “Cristes Masse,” and the “Christ’s Mass,”  and finally shortened to “Christmas.”

At first it was established as a religious holiday, but gradually took on an increasingly secular aspect, complete with pagan customs and ceremonies.  Elaborate holiday gaieties reached their heights in the 16th and 17th centuries.  Early American colonists did little about celebrating Christmas, for many considered it a “Popish Holiday.”  In Massachusetts, anyone observing it was sentenced to “work or jail” and fined five shillings.  Puritans had crossed the celebration off their calendars, altogether, however during the reign of Charles II, it was restored in all its pomp and glory.  Thus, since the fourth century, A.D., this holiday and all its snowballing additions, has been observed by much of the professing Christian church.

The following is an excerpt from “Children and Deliverance, Booklet #10″ by Pastor Win Worley. Copyright © 1983 by Win Worley, Revised © 1992. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including storage and retrieval system, without securing permission in writing from the publisher, WRW Publications, PO Box 852626, Mesquite, TX 75185.

If you’d like to obtain your own copy of not only this, but other materials authored by Win Worley, please contact WRW Publications at www.wrwpublications.com

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