Is Christmas Christian? Many nations throughout the world have established national holidays for various purposes. Some are religious in nature and some are secular. They can honor certain important leaders, they can commemorate certain events or great victories in battle or they can celebrate founding anniversaries or institutions within each country. Holidays may vary from country to country but few countries have national holidays established to honor God. In the United States and Canada, there is such a holiday named Thanksgiving Day, which has been established as a day set apart to give thanks to God for his many blessings of abundance and protection over the country. The day after Thanksgiving Day is also a special day.

You might ask, “what’s so special about the day after Thanksgiving?” It’s not a national holiday. It never used to be marked on American calendars as anything special but, in the secular American society, it is a very special day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving marks the first day of the Christmas shopping season. Stores are jammed with shoppers from early in the morning, even before sunrise, until late at night, long after sunset. For three to four weeks, depending upon how the days fall in a given year, most people will be in a frenzy, preoccupied with thoughts of materialism in the quest to give and get presents on Christmas day. Have you ever thought about the mindset of people who go out of their way to rearrange their lives to accommodate the winter holiday on December 25th? It’s extremely difficult to avoid being touched by the preparations for Christmas. If you listen to the radio, there is Christmas music.

If you watch television, there are Christmas stories, Christmas movies, and advertisements for Christmas gifts – lots and lots of advertisements. In fact, you can hardly have a discussion with anyone in society without hearing the parting farewell of “Merry Christmas.” It seems as though Christmas celebrations are just about everywhere you turn. In the western world, Christmas is one of the biggest traditions of the year. Whether they call themselves “Christian” or not, most people who celebrate Christmas and exchange presents on that day think the day represents the birth of Jesus Christ and the giving of gifts to the Christ child by the three wise men. They think the holiday is authorized in the Bible and taken directly from the scriptures. Many of us were reared with that belief and conviction but some people might be quite surprised to find out the real truth of the matter.

The Whole Story As we worship God the Father on the Sabbath today as God commands us, we need to ask ourselves what December 25th really pictures. Is it truly the anniversary of the birth of Christ as the world supposes or does it picture something else? Let’s go to God’s word to hear the truth about the birth of the savior the Father provided for us. In order to understand the full story, though, we need to go back more than a year before Jesus’ birth. The account begins in the first chapter of the book of Luke. (Luke 1:5 NASB) In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah; and he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Stop there first. We see that Zacharias was of the priestly line of the sons of Aaron. As a priest, he served in the temple during the year.

There were so many priests, however, that there were too many to serve in the temple all the time. Because of that, several hundred years before during the time of King David, the priestly service time was split into twenty-four groups or divisions. (1 Chr 23:1-6 NASB) Now when David reached old age, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. {2} And he gathered together all the leaders of Israel with the priests and the Levites. {3} And the Levites were numbered from thirty years old and upward, and their number by census of men was 38,000. Skip down to verse six. {6} And David divided them into divisions according to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. What about the priestly line, the sons of Aaron? In the next chapter, chapter 24 and verse three, we can see how David divided them. (1 Chr 24:3-4 NASB) And David, with Zadok of the sons of Eleazar and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, divided them according to their offices for their ministry. {4} Since more chief men were found from the descendants of Eleazar than the descendants of Ithamar, they divided them thus: there were sixteen heads of fathers’ households of the descendants of Eleazar, and eight of the descendants of Ithamar according to their fathers’ households.

Now the actual choosing of the divisions was made through an appeal to God by casting lots as we see in verse 7. (1 Chr 24: 7-10 NASB) Now the first lot came out for Jehoiarib, the second for Jedaiah, {8} the third for Harim, the fourth for Seorim, {9} the fifth for Malchijah, the sixth for Mijamin, {10} the seventh for Hakkoz, the eighth for Abijah, [now, that’s the one we want]. If we read on, we would find that there were a total of twenty-four divisions. During the year, the priests comprising each division served in the temple for a period of two weeks: one week in the first half of the year and one week in the second half of the year. In addition, all priests served for one week at each of the three holy day times throughout the year. Keeping all of this in mind about the division of priestly service, we should go back to the main story in Luke 1. Luke continues speaking of Zacharias and Elizabeth in verse 6. (Luke 1:6) And they were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. {7} And they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both advanced in years. {8} Now it came about, while he was performing his priestly service before God in the appointed order of his division, {9} according to the custom of the priestly office, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. {10} And the whole multitude of the people were in prayer outside at the hour of the incense offering. {11} And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. {12} And Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear gripped him. {13} But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. {14} “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. {15} “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb. Skip down to verse 23. And it came about, when the days of his priestly service were ended, that he went back home. {24} And after these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant; and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying, {25} “This is the way the Lord has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away my disgrace among men.” Let’s review what we’ve learned so far. We know the service of the priests was divided into twenty-four courses or weeks of duty. Abib or Nisan was the first month of the year in what equates to our late March/early April. Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread go from the fourteenth to the twenty-first of Abib, with the Feast of Weeks occurring on “the morrow after the seventh Sabbath following the Wave Sheaf offering during the days of Unleavened Bread. All the priests were to serve for a week at each of those holy day periods If you were to count off the weeks, you would find that there were three divisions of the sons of Aaron who served as priests during the three weeks of the first month, Abib; then there were four more who served during the second month, Iyar; then the eighth division of Abijah served during the first week of the third month of Sivan, which equates to our late May and June.

So, Zecharias would have returned to his home in probably early to mid-June and Elisabeth would have become pregnant shortly thereafter. We saw that for five months Elizabeth hid herself. That would bring us up to about mid-November. The account continues in the next verse and tells that in Elizabeth’s sixth month, or probably about early December, Gabriel again visited the earth with news. (Luke 1:26) Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, {27} to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary [or, in Hebrew, Miriam]. {28} And coming in, he said to her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.” {29} But she was greatly troubled at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this might be. {30} And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. {31} “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. {32} “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; {33} and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.” Look at verse 36. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month [again, we have corroboration from the messenger of God that at this point in time, Elizabeth was six months pregnant]. Continue in verse 39. (Luke 1:39) Now at this time Mary arose and went with haste to the hill country, to a city of Judah, {40} and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. {41} And it came about that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Skip down to verse 56. {56} And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home. So, we see that Mary stayed with Elizabeth an additional three months from December when Elizabeth would have been in her ninth month or, probably, sometime in mid-March when Mary would have been about three months pregnant. Mary then went home, to Nazareth in Galilee, before Elizabeth gave birth in, probably, mid-to-late March, which would have been around the time of Passover. The Birth of Christ So, as we followed the clear chronology specified in the scriptures, it was very easy to see that John the Baptist was, most likely, born about the time of Passover in mid to late March. We also read that Mary had stayed with Elizabeth for three months from the time of Gabriel’s announcement of Mary’s conception of Jesus.

Therefore, if Mary had about six months left to go in her pregnancy, it’s reasonable to conclude that Jesus was born roughly six months after John the Baptist. Admittedly, we’ve made some assumptions in our chronology and might be off by a week or two but we’re not off by much. It’s clear to see that Jesus was not born in late December…. but, is that the only evidence from scripture? Let’s continue in the second chapter of Luke and verse one. (Luke 2:1-39 NASB) Now it came about in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. {2} This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. {3} And all were proceeding to register for the census, everyone to his own city. {4} And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, {5} in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. {6} And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. {7} And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn [here we have a hint of the time of year because it says “there was no room for them in the inn]. And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flock by night [here we have another hint of the time of the year because it says that the shepherds were “staying out in the fields, and keeping watch over their flocks by night]. The book of Ezra gives us a report on what the weather was like in Israel in the ninth month, Chislev, which equates to late November/early December.

(Ezra 10:9 NASB) So all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within the three days. It was the ninth month on the twentieth of the month, and all the people sat in the open square before the house of God, trembling because of this matter and the heavy rain [they were cold]. A little later, in verse 13 we read: (Ezra 10:13 NASB) “But there are many people, it is the rainy season, and we are not able to stand in the open. Describing the weather in Bethlehem, Sara Ruhin, chief of the Israeli weather service, noted in a 1990 press release that the Bethlehem area has three months of frost: December with 29 degrees Fahrenheit; January with 30 degrees Fahrenheit; and February with 32 degrees Fahrenheit. We established that the month of December is during the rainy or even snowy season with average nighttime temperatures slightly below freezing. Remember that the emperor in Rome had called for a census to be taken of “all the inhabited earth” (which means throughout his whole empire) as we read in verse one. Remember also that the Roman empire reached all the way from the English Isles in the west to Persia in the East and from northern Africa in the south to almost Germany in the north. It was an empire that went from sea level of the Mediterranean to the snow-capped mountains of northern Italy and France.

Surely, if it was cold and rainy or possibly snowy in December in Bethlehem, there would be many parts of the empire where it would have been colder and snowier with travel even more impassable. Does it make sense that the emperor would call for an empire-wide census at a time of year when travel was so difficult? Don’t forget, Christ’s birth was at a time of year when the shepherds were still in the fields keeping watch over their sheep at night. Let’s continue with the account of the shepherds in the field in Luke 2:9. (Luke 2:9) And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. {10} And the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; {11} for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. {12} “And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger.” {13} And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, {14} “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” {15} And it came about when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” {16} And they came in haste and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. Notice that: when the shepherds came to where Mary and Joseph were, the baby was still in the manger. So, it’s obvious that the shepherds made their way into the town of Bethlehem and found where Mary and Joseph were staying all within the same night. Now let’s go to the parallel account in Matthew 2.

We’ll find that Matthew adds some details that help fill in the story. (Mat 2:1-11 NASB) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, {2} “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.” {3} And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. {4} And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. {5} And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, {6} ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER, WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’” {7} Then Herod secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared. {8} And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and make careful search for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, that I too may come and worship Him.” {9} And having heard the king, they went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them, until it came and stood over where the Child was. {10} And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. {11} And they came into the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. What? Look at that: we just read that the magi “came into the house.”

What house? Luke said the newborn infant was laid in a manger because there was no room at the inn. The manger wasn’t in a house on the night the shepherds came to find Mary and Joseph. Unlike the nativity scenes showing the shepherds and the magi together as is pictured in so many places in the world today, it doesn’t take any great insight to see that those were actually two separate incidents occurring at two separate times. On the day that Christ was born, the implication is that Joseph had tried to find accommodations at the inn but had to settle for the stable because the inn was full of people. By the time the wise men came along, which was days or weeks after the birth of Christ, Joseph had found more permanent accommodations and he and Mary and the child were living in a house. Notice also that the magi brought presents to the newborn child. Many today claim that this is the Biblical justification for giving presents on Christmas but let’s look at the account closer to see what actually happened.

Verse two quotes them as saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” So, they were searching to find the King. Yes, it has long been the custom, when visiting a King or head of state, to take presents of honor and great value to give as gifts to the King. The gifts have been seen to be a “door opener” to be granted an audience with or to gain favor before the King. The magi brought expensive gifts of “gold and frankincense and myrrh” in order to show honor to and to be granted favor by the newborn King and his parents. They did not exchange gifts with the child or his parents. They didn’t say, “Here are your gifts, now where are our gifts?” They didn’t exchange gifts among themselves. They brought “treasures” of very expensive gifts and they presented their expensive treasures before the one whom they knew had been born as “King of the Jews.” Now, continue the account in Matthew 2:12. (Matthew 2:12) And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way. {13} Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” {14} And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; {15} and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “OUT OF EGYPT DID I CALL MY SON.” {16} Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its environs, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi. Here we have another clue which shows that the magi arrived in Bethlehem at some time after Christ was born. Why else would Herod have given the order to kill all the male children “from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi.” Why would Herod have chosen a period as much as two years if they had arrived on the night of his birth? Are we, then, the only ones who can see that all the pieces to the puzzle don’t fit? Let’s hear what other authorities have to say on the subject. In Adam Clarke’s Commentary, we can read “as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, our Lord was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night.

On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point (Adam Clarke’s Commentary, note on Luke 2:8).” According to the Catholic Encycolpedia, “The census would have been impossible in winter: a whole population could not then be put in motion. (Catholic Encyclopedia, article Christmas).” In Mystery Babylon The Great, Darrell Conder writes, “We need not, however, argue the point from the Bible, because some of the most damning evidence against the December 25th date is supplied by the VERY CHURCH that instituted the Christmas custom to begin with! The Encyclopedia Americana and many others, states that the Roman Catholic Church ordered the birth of Christ to be observed on December 25th, the old Roman feast of the birth of the pagan deity SOL… also called Mithra, the sun-god (Mystery Babylon The Great, Darrell W. Conder, pg. 89).” The pattern of “substitution” continued as the Roman church encountered new potential “converts” on the frontiers of the empire such as the teutonic tribes in the area of Germany. Darrell Conder continues, “Some few people will know that the old Germanic god Woden is honored in the day of the week called Wednesday, a corrupted form of WODENSDAY.

But very few people realize that history clearly shows that Woden was renamed St. Nick or Santa Claus, and is the real god of modern Christmas… The god Woden was said to have had a sacred tree, which when approached at yule tide (December 25th), would bestow a special GIFT. Also, as with the Babylonian Religion, the obelisk, [the] tree, mistletoe and holly, were part of his worship. There was also the great feast in VALHALA, where Woden was ‘LORD of the Feast.’ All types of revelry, similar to [the Roman festival of] Saturnalia, was practiced there. Woden, presiding over the revelries, was often pictured as sitting on a throne… with a wreath of holly around his head, just like the Santa Claus of the recent past. The Germanic peoples had found in the Roman Saturnalia, now called Christmas, and the Catholic ‘savior,’ enough of their beliefs to make their entrance into that church quite easy. It was then that Woden entered the Roman Saturnalia giving it his customs and worships, and making it uniquely his own (Mystery Babylon The Great, Darrell W. Conder, pg. 99).” God’s Perspective We need to ask, however, is it pleasing to God to have old festivals celebrating worship of pagan gods renamed in honor of God or of his son, Jesus Christ?

Jeremiah 10:2 shows us just what God thinks when we adopt the ways of the Gentiles in preference to his ways. (Jer 10:2-5 NKJV) Thus says the LORD: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. {3} For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. {4} They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. {5} They are upright, like a palm tree, [the palm tree was the sacred fertility tree of the Egyptians like the evergreen was to the German’s god Woden] And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil, Nor can they do any good.” Remember God’s second commandment: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. {5} “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, {6} but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Even Christ spoke of behavior that nullified the law of God. (Mat 15:7-9 NASB) “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, {8} ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. {9} ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’” The apostle John speaks of our duty to God. (1 John 2:15-17 NASB) Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. {16} For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. {17} And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. That is our duty – to show God that we love him by doing his will daily. In Conclusion: Remember the first commandment in the law of God. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. {3} “You shall have no other gods before Me. So, the question for anyone who keeps Christmas is this: “By your actions, whom do show God you are really worshipping on December 25th?”