♪ Many people know that Christmas is pagan. The origins of this popular December holiday are not hidden. In fact, when Christmas comes around each year, we usually see magazine articles or Internet blogs explaining where these traditions came from. Many people are not confused about that. The bigger question for some is, why does it matter? Should anyone even care where Christmas traditions came from? After all, isn't the big issue about honoring Christ? Maybe the other details are trivial.
If you've ever wondered, "What should I do about Christmas?" Then stay tuned. Today on Tomorrow's World, we're going to examine that question. And we'll look for the answers straight from the Bible. And later in the program, we'll give you an opportunity to order your free copy of the study guide, Is Christmas Christian? So, stay with us, as we dig deeper into the question, "What Should We Do About Christmas?" I'll be right back.
♪ Welcome to Tomorrow's World, where we help you make sense of your world through the pages of the Bible. Some people don't keep Christmas. That may not come as a shock to you. You might be one of them. You might have come to that conclusion through your own study, in looking into the pagan origins of Christmas. And it might've caused you to think twice about keeping this popular holiday. If you have, you're not alone. Of course, many people still do keep Christmas.
In fact, the vast majority of people in our Western nations do. According to the Gallup organization, as of December 2019, 93% of Americans celebrate Christmas in one way or another. And that figure has been more or less consistent for decades. In Great Britain as well, 93% of the population celebrate the Christmas season. In Canada, it's a little less, 92%. In Mexico, 93% of those surveyed were planning to keep Christmas. What about Russia?
About two-thirds of their population celebrate Christmas. And in Germany, the figure stands at about 78% of the population. These are just a few countries around the world. The point is, Christmas is widely celebrated. And yet, many people know that its origins are not Christian at all. You probably do as well. If you don't, or if you're not sure, just pick up virtually any encyclopedia, or look online.
Here is a quote from the online Encyclopedia Britannica, under the heading, "Does Christmas have pagan roots?" "In ancient Rome, December 25 was a celebration of the Unconquered Sun, marking the return of longer days. It followed Saturnalia, a festival where people feasted and exchanged gifts. The church in Rome began celebrating Christmas on December 25 in the 4th century during the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor..." December 25? Feasting? Exchanging gifts?
That's describing pagan holidays observed under the Roman empire. And this date was only adopted by the mainstream Christian church in the 4th century. But why? Why was December 25 chosen as a date to celebrate Christmas?
Note this CBS News article from 2018 for the answer: "Though December 25 is the day Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the date itself and several of the customs we've come to associate with Christmas actually evolved from pagan traditions celebrating the winter solstice.
'Christmas is really about bringing out your inner pagan,' historian Kenneth C. Davis told 'CBS This Morning.' According to Davis, Christmas was celebrated as early as the fourth century, suggesting that it had almost nothing to do with Jesus Christ." Christmas is about "bringing out your inner pagan." Christmas has "almost nothing to do with Jesus Christ." These are remarkable quotes. Again, this probably doesn't surprise you, especially if you are a regular viewer of Tomorrow's World.
You've probably seen articles and videos explaining the pagan origins of the Christmas traditions before. And not just from our material at Tomorrow's World--it's out there in the world at large. Such as this article from the CBS News website. It's not a secret. But that raises another question: What do we do with this information? Should it matter at all? You see, most people who know the origins of Christmas have somehow rationalized to themselves, why they should still keep it.
Perhaps they think, "Well, it's not really a religious observance, it's just a fun, relaxed time to be with friends and family." "It's a social event." That's what a lot of people think. A 2013 survey of American millennials--that is, those born from 1981 to 1996--revealed that although 9 in 10 of them observe Christmas, only 4 in 10 do so for religious reasons. So, more and more people are coming to see Christmas as just a social and secular observance.
On the other hand, for those who are religious, many of them also know the origins are pagan. But some of them convince themselves that it's not a problem, arguing, "Well, as long as I do it for Christ, it's ok." But is it ok? Should we stop and think if this line of reasoning even makes sense? As one source says, "Christmas makes no sense... the basic facts of the annual ritual just seem to defy logic and meaning.
What do brightly lit trees and mistletoe have to do with the birth of a prophet in Bethlehem thousands of years ago? What does a jolly, portly man in red and white garb have to do with Christianity? What's the meaning behind the Yule log? ... Many people have a general inkling about the way old pagan traditions and celebrations fed into Christmas as we know it today..." Many people really do know the roots of Christmas are pagan, but they keep it anyway. What about you?
What should you do about Christmas? To answer that question, let's break it down to two other questions, for the remainder of this program: Does God ever condone lies? and, Does God say "keep any day" as long as you honor Christ? But before we get into those questions, let me offer you our free study guide, Is Christmas Christian? Maybe you're not real sure about the real origins of Christmas. Maybe this has piqued your curiosity, and you want to know more. Look into it yourself.
This study guide will help you. It will ask the tough questions and find the answers. This study guide asks, what is "the reason for the season?" It digs into the question, "Why December 25?" and asks, "When Was Jesus Born?" If this is one of the most important holidays of the year, isn't it worth finding out why you keep it? Especially if you are intending to keep it to honor your Saviour? You need this booklet. It's free of charge.
So go to TWTV.org/Christmas or call the number on your screen to get your free copy. Order today. ♪ For today's free offer call... Or go to... This clear and straight-forward resource will help you understand this vital truth-- straight from the pages of the Bible. If you're calling for the first time, you will also receive a free annual subscription to Tomorrow's World magazine.
Six inspiring issues discussing news, science, and modern culture will help you make sense of your world from a biblical perspective. Call today and join millions around the world who are turning to Tomorrow's World for truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times. Call now! Or go to... ♪ In the last segment we discussed the fact that many people know Christmas comes from pagan origins. But they keep it anyway. What should you do about Christmas?
To help you answer that, let's consider our first fundamental question: 1. Does God condone lies? Everyone knows that Santa Claus does not really come down our chimneys on Christmas Eve. Or, at least everyone knows except our children. Thalia Goldstein is the assistant professor of applied developmental psychology at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Ms. Goldstein notes that about 85% of American 5-year old kids believe Santa is real: "Children's belief in Santa starts when they're between 3 and 4 years old. It's very strong when they're between about 4 and 8. Then, at 8 years old is when we start to see the drop-off in belief, when children start to understand the reality of Santa Claus." So, a high percentage of kids in the United States are still taught to believe, at a young age, in something that is not true.
What about children outside of the United States? According to a research paper presented in 1999 in Finland, at the European Early Childhood Education Research Association: "Of 161 parents in the United Kingdom, 92.5% thought Father Christmas was real for their children up to the age of 8...." But it's not just the Santa myth. In addition, there's no proof that December 25 was the date of the birth of Christ. In fact, Luke 2:8 records that the shepherds were out in the fields at his birth.
And that would never have happened in the rainy, cold winter months. What about the three kings from the east, visiting the baby Jesus in the manger? That didn't happen, at least not in the way the Christmas story tells it. The book of Matthew says they were wise men, not kings. And it doesn't mention how many there were. And it says: "when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother." That's in Matthew 2:11.
The Christmas traditions are riddled with errors, misspeaks and outright lies. The context shows He was upwards to two years old here, and in a house, not a manger. Now, with an open mind ask yourself, would God really be behind such a convoluted tradition? Notice what Titus 1:2 says: "In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began." God cannot lie. God will not lie. God never lies.
And yet, we are made to believe He condones millions of parents telling their children outright lies and convoluted myths, supposedly about His Son? Now think about it. One of the Ten Commandments specifically forbids being a false witness. You can find that in Exodus 20:16, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." The specific topic here in Exodus 20:16 bearing false witness against your neighbor. But certainly the principle is that we must tell the truth in all circumstances.
It's sobering that the apostle John records the following, in Revelation 21:8: "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." So, who is standing up and warning our parents, to stop the lies of Christmas? Almost no one.
Instead, we have experts like Jacqueline Woolley, professor and department of psychology Chair at the University of Texas at Austin. Here is what she says: "Some parents wonder whether they are harming their children by engaging in the Santa myth. Philosophers and bloggers alike have mounted arguments against perpetuating the 'Santa-lie,' some even claiming that it could lead to permanent distrust of parents and other authorities. So, what should parents do?" Yes, what should parents do?
If they know Christmas comes from error, and falsehood, and even outright lies, maybe parents should tell their children the truth. Instead of perpetuating the lie. But that's not Ms. Woolley's conclusion. Notice her next statement: "There is no evidence that belief, and eventual disbelief in Santa, affects parental trust in any significant way." Now stop and think about this for a moment. Have you ever had someone lie to you? How did it feel?
When you found out, did it affect your ability to trust them? Even if it was for a so-called good reason, did it make you stop and think the next time they told you something-are they telling me the truth, or is this another lie? If it affects us that way as adults, why wouldn't we think it would affect our children?
One more statement from Ms. Woolley: "Furthermore, not only do children have the tools to ferret out the truth; but engaging with the Santa story may give them a chance to exercise these abilities. So, if you think it would be fun for you and your family to invite Santa Claus into your home at Christmas time, you should do so. Your children will be fine. And they might even learn something." What an amazing statement.
Perpetuating the Santa and Christmas lie will actually be good for your children, at least according to her. I hope you're seeing that what's good for your children is teaching them truth and to be truthful. And what is the foundation of truth? Well God's word is truth. That's from John 17:17. God cannot lie--we already saw that in Titus 1:2. But there is a being, a powerful evil spirit who not only lies but is described as the father of lies. We find that in John 8:44.
Jesus was being confronted by the Pharisees. They were hypocritical, selfish and seeking to destroy Him. And notice what He told them: "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." Satan the devil is the father of lies. And we don't want any part of him.
So we shouldn't want any part of a tradition that is based on lies, no matter how we sugar coat it. We can either be for the truth, or for the lie. We can be seeking to live the way of truth--the way that God reveals in His word, seeking to follow His Spirit and be conformed to His righteousness and the righteousness of His Son. Or, we can fall into living the way of the lie--following error, falsehood, lies, often masquerading as good traditions and holidays.
And we can pass on those errors to our children. So, we might know, that the origins of Christmas are not Christian at all. But what should we do about it? Well, let's let the Bible speak for itself. You won't ever find a word of the Bible where God tells you to do something deceitful or dishonest or promoting error. And that should give us guidance on how we judge what to do about Christmas. Again, as you evaluate your family traditions and rituals, we want to help.
Tomorrow's World has produced a free, information-rich study guide to help you get to the bottom of this issue. It's entitled, Is Christmas Christian? It examines the affect on children when parents tell the Santa lie, in a section entitled "Santa Claus or Ho, Ho, Hoax?" It explains the ancient idolatrous worship passed down to the modern age, in the section "Evergreens and Other Christmas Traditions." These are not trivial questions.
They strike at the very core of one of the most important holidays of the world today. It's not enough to know the origin of these traditions--you need to know what to do about it. So call the number on your screen or go to TWTV.org/Christmas to order today. ♪ This clear and straight-forward resource will help you understand this vital truth-- straight from the pages of the Bible. Call now!
Or go to... ♪ In the last segment, we addressed the question, "Does God ever condone lies?" And we came to the conclusion, from God's word, that, No, He does not. Then how could God or Christ have anything to do with Christmas? And what should that tell us, about what we should do with Christmas? Let's move on to our second fundamental question: Does God ever say "keep any day" as long as you honor Christ?
This is a reason some use to explain they're holding on to Christmas in spite of its error. Well, they reason, as long as we honor Christ in it, it's ok. But is it ok? We find some powerful principles in the Bible that give us the guidance we need. One is found in the history of Israel. The ancient nation of Israel was led by God out of enslavement from Egypt about 3,400 years ago. But before they went into what was called the Promised Land, God gave them a serious warning.
He said don't mix worship of Me with the worship of the nations around you. We'll pick it up in Deuteronomy 12:30, "Take heed... that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise. You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way;" Notice, the principle is not just "don't worship idols", it's "don't worship the true God with idolatrous practices". Can you see the difference?
But in the history of the Christian church, that is what exactly happened. Worship of Christ was mixed with traditions of the pagans. In the book The Battle for Christmas, author Stephen Nissenbaum writes this: "It was only in the fourth century that the Church officially decided to observe Christmas on December 25.
And this date was chosen not for religious reasons but simply because it happened to mark the approximate arrival of the winter solstice, an event that was celebrated long before the advent of Christianity" "The Puritans were correct when they point out--and they point it out often-- that Christmas was nothing but a pagan festival covered with a Christian veneer."
He then refers to the Puritan minister Increase Mather, from the early days of colonial America: "[Increase Mather] accurately observed in 1687 that the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so 'thinking that Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian [ones].'" So, Christmas was not put on December 25
to reflect the birth of Christ. It was put there to absorb the worshippers of Saturnalia and easily bring them into the church. Precisely the opposite of God's instructions back in Deuteronomy. How did the expanding, visible church deal with the traditions of the pagans around them? Well, it accommodated them.
Notice this statement from the book, The Pageantry of Christmas: "Most of the Christian missionaries who moved into Central and Western Europe as the Roman Empire crumbled, followed the advice of [Pope] Gregory the Great. He wrote, in 597, that they should not try to put down pagan customs 'upon the sudden,' but adapt them 'to the praise of God.'" Adapt the pagan customs?
But that is exactly what happened, and that's why we have the strange mix of pagan rituals with the mention of Christ, in Christmas today. But is that what God wanted? No. Notice God's instruction in Jeremiah 10:1, "Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the LORD; 'Do not learn the way of the Gentiles... 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.
They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree..." Remarkable parallels with the customs of Christmas that jump right off the page. God told ancient Israel through Jeremiah, don't learn how to worship Me by watching how the nations around you do it. But in the Christian era, that's exactly what some did.
They transformed the worship of Christ into a mix of the true God with the worship of Saturn, Mithra, and others. God's standard is truth, as defined by the Bible. Not traditions. Not customs. Notice John 4:23, "...the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him." When we show honor to God, we have to do it His way. We have to honor Him on the days He wants us to honor Him.
There's much more to this subject than we can cover in this short program. And that's why we are offering you the free study guide, Is Christmas Christian? It will open your eyes to the true origin of many of the customs of Christmas. And just as important, it will show you what to do about it. It will show you that "God offers a Better Way." It discusses the memorial that Christ did command to keep--the memorial of His death, not His birth.
And it explains that not everyone is just going along with Christmas. In fact, "Many are opting out of Christmas". So what about you? Judge these things for yourself. Don't take our word for it. This is important. You need this information. So, request your free copy of "Is Christmas Christian." Call the number on your screen or go to TWTV.org/Christmas to order today. ♪ For today's free offer call... Or go to...
This clear and straight-forward resource will help you understand this vital truth-- straight from the pages of the Bible. If you're calling for the first time, you will also receive a free annual subscription to Tomorrow's World magazine. Six inspiring issues discussing news, science, and modern culture will help you make sense of your world from a biblical perspective.
Call today and join millions around the world who are turning to Tomorrow's World for truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times. Call now! Or go to... ♪ So, what should we do about Christmas? Simple. God offers something better. We don't have to settle for a festival steeped in pagan traditions. We can be different. God outlines His days-- His biblical holy days-- which teach us about Him and His plan of salvation. You might have heard of them.
Passover. Pentecost. The Feast of Tabernacles. The Day of Atonement. These are just a few. The apostle Paul took the Gospel message primarily to a Gentile world. Meaning, the brethren he worked with and wrote to were coming out of pagan practices. He worked in the Roman world of the 1st century. And the people in that world were keeping the Saturnalia. Many of them were worshiping Mithra, and other false gods.
And they had to come out of that to become part of the body of Christ, the Church of God. But he had to encourage them to not fall back into their former practices. He had to tell them, don't get discouraged if people don't understand what you're doing. Even if that means friends, neighbors, or family. Notice what he said in the book of Colossians to the church at Colosse.
Colossians 2:16, and I'm reading from the King James Version: "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." The word "is" is in italics. It's not in the original text. It should read, "but the body of Christ". The church is the body. We are to let the church teach us, to guide us, and to show us how to keep the Holy Days as outlined in the Bible.
And we should not be discouraged if the world judges us for not keeping worldly days. So, don't let the world judge you, if you walk away from Christmas. If you make the determination, I'm done following the traditions of man, and I want to learn the ways of God. Don't be discouraged. Your friends and even relatives may not like it. But God is looking for those who are willing to follow Him, come what may. Christmas does not lead us to truth. It only obscures the truth.
It's not enough to know the origins of Christmas. We have to act on what we know. And that means, follow the truth. That's what we should do about Christmas. Thank you for watching-- and don't forget to order your free study guide, Is Christmas Christian? And keep watching for more Tomorrow's World episodes. As Gerald Weston, Richard Ames, Wallace Smith and I explain the Good News of Tomorrow's World, and the truth, comfort, and hope it can bring to you and your family. See you next time.
♪ For today's free offer call... Or go to... Call today and join millions around the world who are turning to Tomorrow's World for truth, prophecy, and hope in these confusing times. ♪ The preceding program is produced by the Living Church of God. ♪