Some make the argument that since Christmas isn’t in the Bible, it’s not something Christians should take part in. Nowhere are we commanded to observe Christ’s birthday, nor did the early Church observe it, as far as we know. The focus was more on His Resurrection (Easter), described in all 4 Gospels, than on His birth, described in only 2 Gospels.
It’s true that only the birthdays of Pharaoh & Herod are mentioned in the Bible—both evil men. But that doesn’t make birthdays evil. Scripture is silent about birthday celebrations, & nowhere condemns them. Why wouldn’t we celebrate the Incarnation—God’s amazing miracle of coming into this world to save us?! The Jews were never commanded to celebrate Hannukkah, yet Jesus went to Jerusalem to celebrate this Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-23).
Others add that Christmas has pagan origins. Maybe, but probably not. It’s all very speculative & debatable. Though we’re not given the date of His birth, Dec. 25th was certainly adopted by the 4th century. But did Christians borrow the date from pagans to co-opt & Christianize their celebration? Or is it more plausible that pagans moved the date of their celebrations to Dec. 25th to compete with the growing popularity of Christianity?
As early as AD 243, St. Hippolytus of Rome wrote that Jesus was born on Dec. 25th, as did North African theologian, Computus. In AD 386, John Chrysostom, a Church Father in Constantinople, noted that Christmas on Dec. 25th was a long-time tradition. In other words, the Christian date existed first. Winter solstice rites predate Christianity, but Dec. 25th wasn’t chosen as an official celebration of a pagan Roman god until Emperor Aurelian instituted a festival on Dec. 25th, AD 274. It’s possible he was attempting to compete with the already-established Christian celebration. So it’s likely there was some mutual influence & overlap going on by the 4th century.
The idea that Dec. 25th was invented by Emperor Constantine in AD 325 as Christ’s birthday really only began around the 1600s & 1700s at a time when rationalism & humanism were attempting to undermine Christianity. It’s still perpetuated today as a popular internet myth. Many modernistic scholars followed suit with efforts to discredit Christian origins by saying Christmas was placed on Dec. 25th as a later development to replace paganism. But that theory has largely collapsed upon closer historical scrutiny.
Instead, it now appears that Dec. 25th was chosen early on, based on calculations about the timing of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John, & of Jesus’ birth. A belief that great heroes died on the same date they were conceived led some to calculate the time from Jesus’ death on the Passover to his birth 9 months later, around the winter solstice.
What about the other possible pagan elements of Christmas? Some point to an Old Testament passage that says cutting a tree out of the forest & decking it with silver & gold is a heathen custom (Jer. 10:2-5). But those verses written hundreds of years before Christ obviously have nothing to do with holiday decorations. They’re about carving & crafting idols out of wood, not about festive greenery.
One potential origin for Christmas trees comes from the story of Saint Boniface in the 8th century, when he is said to have cut down the sacred oak tree that locals dedicated to the god, Thor, & dedicated it to Christ instead. Further stories from the 1500s relate it either to Marin Luther or to a play on Dec. 24th about the Garden of Eden, where an evergreen decorated with fruit represented the Tree of Life. The first documented Christmas tree appears in Lutheran Germany over 1,000 years after any alleged Roman or Druid custom.
Yes, prior to Christianity, Yule was a pagan festival celebrated by Germanic people around the winter solstice. Yule logs & candles represented light during the darkest time of the year. But Christians absorbed these into Christmas, seeing them as symbols of Christ as the light of the world. Over time, cultures, & regions, Christmas incorporated different traditions & customs, erasing whatever pagan connotations from our collective memory.
Yet, contemporary Christmas has erased much of its Christian meaning, replacing it with shallow secular frivolity & materialism. Would Jesus want us to have anything to do with the way Christmas is celebrated culturally now? Perhaps not. But are we adopting pagan practices by hanging wreaths & decorating trees? They have about as much religious significance as lighting sparklers on the 4th of July. These are mere human traditions, not spiritual ceremonies, which means we’re free to participate or not participate. Paul had similarly said whether you want to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols, or to esteem special days, is a matter of conscience (1 Cor. 8, 10:23-33, Rom. 14:5-6, Col. 2:16). There’s no more spiritual power in a fir tree than there is in a meatloaf.
Unless you’re singing praises to an idol or offering gifts to a false deity, feel free to trim up the tree, light candles, & shop Black Friday bargains. All Christians, though, should gather for church services to learn of Jesus & sing of this “Joy to the World.” They can also teach their children the real St. Nicholas, who fought at the Council of Nicaea for the deity of Christ. Whatever you do, do it for His glory.