Pagan Celebrations over Holy Days

Tradition has elevated pagan celebrations to "holy days" unto the Lord. The two most popular of these are Easter and Christmas. Easter, which was celebrated before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, was merged with the Feast of the Passover (see "The Lord's Supper") and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Christmas, which was celebrated before the birth of Jesus Christ, was "modified" from its pagan roots to placate the growing number of Christians. Thus the celebration of the "resurrection" of spring (Vernal Equinox) and the Fertility Goddess, Eastre, morphed into modern day Easter. While the celebration of the Winter Solstice called Brumalia morphed into Christmas.

This ritual compresses the Consualia (for Consus, God of the Storage Bin), the Saturnalia (for Saturn, God of Sowing), and the Opalia (for Ops, Goddess of Plenty) into a single festival, a Brumalia, or Winter Solstice (Bruma) ritual.⁷²

The Roman Emperor Aurelian declared December 25 (Dies Natalis Solis Invicti: "the birthday of the unconquered sun") to be the official birthday of Mithra (also known as Mithras, Sol Invictus, Tammuz, Saturn, Adonis or BAAL), circa 270 CE. This was later changed by the Roman Emperor Constantine who was a follower of Mithra until he declared December 25 the official birthday of Jesus in 313 CE and adopted Christianity as the state religion (see "The Pre-Modern Church (Built on Sand): Church of Man"). It can be deduced from scripture (Luke 1:5, 23-24, 36; 1 Chronicles 24:10; 1 Chronicles 27:1) that Jesus was more than likely born in the month of March, not December. Like worldly music being offered up to God as holy (see "Worldly Music over Holy Music"), these "holy days" (holidays) inherently are not pure, based on a simple spiritual law: "For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches" (Romans 11:16). Thus if the firstfruit is pagan (evil), the lump is also evil: and if the root is pagan, so are the branches. "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 4:4). Let us examine what constitutes a holy day and use that to validate "holy days" celebrated by many Christians:

And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein (Numbers 29:7)

And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our LORD: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:9-10)

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58:5-7)

If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

We see several principles emerging from these scriptures: 1) holy days may be a time to pray and fast; 2) holy days are unto the Lord and, as such, normal daily activities are put on hold; 3) the focus of holy days is to exhibit the giving nature of the Lord; 4) holy days are not for your own pleasure; and 5) holy days should be filled with reading, studying and/or speaking the Word of God. Thus when we examine the aforementioned popular "holy days" of Christmas and Easter against these principles, we find them lacking.

Popular theology has justified the "reason for the season" to be the celebration of the birth of Jesus. If it is supposed to be Jesus' "birthday," why are the many gifts at Christmas not for him? Gifts at Christmas are often not for the poor, hungry and needy: "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me" (Matthew 25:45). Furthermore, no earthly gift can compare to the good and perfect gift from above—Jesus Christ: "Do not err, my beloved brethren. 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. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:16-18). Plus, "He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all" (John 3:31). After all, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul" (Matthew 16:26)? We who are supposed to be Christian "are ambassadors for Christ" and if indeed Christmas is of God, our focus should be on evangelism. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). Christmas should be every day: Christians, like God (John 3:16), giving the only good and perfect gift to those they come in contact with daily.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

Christmas for many has more to do with self-gratification than with altruism or, for that matter, evangelism. Christmas is not unto the Lord but unto self or, worse, unto a false god—idol—called Santa Claus. This false god supposedly knows the hearts of men. Hmmm, sounds like someone is trying to imitate God. "And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). Moreover, this false god is "keeping a list and checking it twice" of who is "naughty" and who is "nice." Again, this sounds awfully familiar to what God does:

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. (Malachi 3:16)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. ... And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:12, 15)

Many Christians, like the Jews in the Old Testament, have "rejected [God's] statutes, and his covenant ... and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them" (2 Kings 17:15). We remind you, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen" (1 John 5:21). Besides, Jesus commanded us (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:24-26) to celebrate his death and resurrection—celebrate his divinity, not his birth; yet, more effort is put into celebrating Christmas—celebrating his humanity (focus on humanism)—than in celebrating the Lord's Supper (see "The Lord's Supper" for more details). "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more" (2 Corinthians 5:16). "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). It is only through the death and resurrection of Jesus that we have remission of sins and access to God:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. (Acts 10:38-43)

The accoutrements of Christmas worship include trees, ornaments, stockings and candles. "Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen ... 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. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not" (Jeremiah 10:2-4). Christmas customs are in keeping with of the forbidden groves and images that the heathen and, eventually, the children of Israel used to worship idols (see "Hindrances to Love" for more on keeping separate from the world).

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee. Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth. (Deuteronomy 16:21-22)

And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing. (2 Kings 17:9-12)

Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:13)

Likewise the accoutrements of Easter—the word "Easter" is derived from Eostre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring—that include bunnies, eggs, chocolate and pastel colors, are tied to idol worship (fertility and spring) not worship of the Lord. In addition to the fertility goddess, Eastre, false gods like Baal, Tammuz and Merodach are considered gods of fertility and are all denounced by the Lord directly in his Word. Holidays for the most part are worldly celebrations (celebration of self) and not days unto the Lord; this includes, even, favorites like Mother's Day (glorify man) and Father's Day (glorify man) and even birthdays (glorify man). The last thing a Christian should be focused on is glorifying self: "Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another" (Galatians 5:26). For thus says the Lord, "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images" (Isaiah 42:8).

Thus, if Christians want to set aside a day unto the Lord, let them do it according to scripture and not according to the traditions of men. Notwithstanding, we are not saying that you have to abide by this, we recognize that "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it" (Romans 14:5-6). "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17). We warn you, however, that if you continue in the celebration of these "holi" days, you are participating in days where the worship of idols has been the real "reason for the season." Paul makes it clear, "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils" (1 Corinthians 10:21).

DRAFT V2010-06-28T4:47:26 PM