From the Desk of Jeff King

Christmas: American idol

Webster's definition of idol: 1: a representation or symbol of a deity used as an object of worship; broadly: a false god. 2b: pretender, impostor. 3: a form or appearance visible but without substance.

Our neighborhood is besieged every December by animated reindeer, inflatable Disney figures, and Santa Claus riding shotgun on a city fire truck. I don't know whether to laugh or cry or both. Several years ago my wife and I, as Christians, stopped celebrating Christmas, a decision criticized by some family members. It was if we had committed the unpardonable sin: how could we deny our children the spoils of such a sacred event? What were were thinking?

Turns out we were thinking like a lot of early Americans, who knew that Christmas was rooted in paganism and an affront to Jesus Christ:

• Massachusetts Puritans in 1659 made the observation of Christmas a criminal offense. Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth penalized anyone participating in Christmas frivolity, which he termed "pagan mockery." Oliver Cromwell preached against the heathen traditions of Christmas carols, decorated trees and any joyful expression that desecrated "that sacred event."

• Rev. Increase Mather of Boston wrote in 1687: "The generality of Christmas-keepers observe that festival after such a manner as is highly dishonorable to the name of Christ."

• George Washington won the Battle of Trenton after crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night and surprising the Hessian troops, who were recovering from their holiday revelry. The victory was a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

• Christmas gradually gained acceptance with the arrival of large numbers of Irish and northern European immigrants. The first church to introduce a Christmas tree seems to have been in 1851 by Pastor Henry Schwan of Cleveland. Parishioners objected to the pagan symbol and some even threatened him with harm. But opposition ceased when the minister convinced his flock that the tree was a Christian rite.

• In 1885, the New York Daily News reported that Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist churches were closed Dec. 25. "They do not accept the day as a holy one," the article read, "but the Episcopalian, Catholic, and German churches were all open. Inside they were decked with evergreens."

• Two of the most debated subjects in churches prior to the Civil War were slavery and the celebration of Christmas. Conservative ministers rejected both.

History tells us Christmas is a hoax. It honors a counterfeit savior. Christ was born during the fall biblical feasts, not the winter solstice. I've heard well-meaning believers say things like, "It may be pagan, but we need to redeem the time for Christ. Besides, God knows my heart." They are correct – God does know their heart, and it in not in union with His. The Lord cannot tolerate idolatry. Look how the ancient Israelites provoked His anger by worshipping the golden calf, calling it a feast unto the Lord (Exodus 32:5). Only an impassioned plea by Moses kept God from annihilating the people called by His name. Centuries later, God still views spiritual adultery with contempt because it keeps man separated from Himself. The Lord does not look from heaven and wink at our Nativity scenes and decorated trees.

Below are examples of the harlotry of Christmas:

• The annual celebration of a person's birth is a pagan tradition from ancient Babylon. Yeshua (Jesus) wants us to remember His death and resurrection, not His birth. I find it interesting that Ultra-Orthodox Jews place more significance on the day of conception than birth. With a September birthday, it is possible that Yeshua was conceived during Hanukkah, also known as the Jewish Feast of Dedication or Festival of Lights. Yeshua is the Light of the world (John 1:7) and He observed the Feast of Dedication as recorded in John 10:22.

Some Christians observe Hanukkah as an alternative to Christmas, but not all the traditions of this Jewish holiday are grounded in truth. The miracle of Hanukkah – a one-day supply of ritual oil burning for eight days in the rededicated Jerusalem temple – is a Talmudic legend. It is not recorded in the books of the Maccabees, the family that led a Jewish revolt and defeated the occupying Seleucid monarchy. Historians believe the first Hanukkah was observed for eight days because it was a belated celebration of Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles. War prevented the Maccabees from observing Sukkot properly in the fall month of Tishri. Once victory was secure on the 25th of Kislev they were free to celebrate Sukkot, an eight-day feast that God commanded the Israelites to observe (Lev. 23:34). Solomon's dedication of the first temple (1 Kings 8:2, 66) and the Maccabees' temple rededication both were associated with Sukkot. Hanukkah, a minor holiday in Judaism, was elevated by secular Jews in America as an alternative to Christmas. Alan Mittleman, a Jewish professor of religion at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pa., says Hanukkah became child-centered and grew into a "lavish orgy of gift giving. Far from feeling cheated, Jewish children could feel pampered. They got gifts for eight nights; their Christian friends only got presents for one day."

• Christmas derives from Old English "Cristes Maesse," or "Christ's Mass." In the Roman Catholic Mass ritual, Messiah is sacrificed over and over again and a believer cannot be cleansed of sin unless he partakes of this "unbloody sacrifice" repeatedly. This practice makes of mockery of the declaration in Hebrews 9:28 – "Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many."

• Christmas Eve was called "Modranect" or "Modranecht" by Germanic pagans and apparently means "Mother's Night," an obvious reference to the mother goddess who bore the counterfeit savior. Almost all the sun deities were born Dec. 25. In Babylonian mythology, the evergreen tree represents the rebirth of Nimrod as Tammuz, the sun god who miraculously was conceived by Nimrod's widow Semiramis. She believed her son was the branch of salvation, and referred to herself as the mother of God and queen of heaven. Worshippers mourned the death of Tammuz, who was slain by a wild pig, by abstaining from worldly pleasures for 40 days – each day representing a year of his life. In Ezekiel 8:14, God shows the prophet a great abomination on the temple grounds in Jerusalem as Jewish women weep for Tammuz.

• In the fourth century, Roman emperor Constantine, who united his empire by blending sun worship and Christianity, designated Dec. 25 as the birthdate of Christ. He appeased the pagans by allowing them to retain their heathen rituals and gods but under different names. The Egyptian mother goddess and child, Isis and Horus, became the Virgin Mary and Christ child. Christmas replaced the festival of Saturnalia, which honored the harvest god Saturn during the winter solstice. But who could tell the difference? During Saturnalia, Romans exchanged gifts and decked their halls with evergreens. One of false gods that ensnared the ancient Israelites was linked to Saturn.

• The Christmas tree dates back to ancient Canaan, Egypt and Babylon. In the Middle Ages, the Germans believed evergreen trees were a life force since they remained green throughout winter. Greenery was an important theme in pagan celebrations that honored the tree spirit or spirit of fertility. The description in Jeremiah 10:3-4 of tree worship certainly brings to mind the modern Christmas tree: "They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple." The Israelites were instructed by God in Exodus 34:13 to "destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images."

• Mistletoe was a Celtic symbol of regeneration and eternal life. Holly berries were considered sacred to the sun god, and the burning of the Yule log can be traced back to pagan European cultures that celebrated the winter solstice. The word "Yule" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word "hweol," meaning "wheel" – a symbol of the sun.

The Bible warns us not to take idols into our hearts and homes. Deuteronomy 12:30 is clear – "Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods." Christmas venerates the sun, not the Son. If we claim to have a committed relationship with the Lord and are betrothed to Him, we should want to please our Bridegroom. Yeshua expects His bride to be faithful, just as He is faithful to us.

Addendum – Item of interest from the Religion News Service: Heather Botting, a pagan chaplain at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, will lead students in a winter solstice celebration Dec. 22 through a series of Yule rituals, including cauldrons, knives, wine, dance, cakes, holly and ivy. Botting, also a Wiccan priestess, regards Yule as a celebration of God as "the winter-born king," an event that symbolizes the rebirth of the life-sustaining spirit. "There are real parallels between the pagan and Christian traditions," she says in the article. "In both paganism and Christianity, the winter solstice would be the celebration of the birth of light, of divine light, of regeneration."

Posted by Jeff King at December 2, 2003 12:25 PM