Christmas, of God or Men?

by

Anthony Valasek

Does the Bible teach Christmas? Wasn't Christ born on December 25th? What are the roots of some of our Christmas traditions? These and some other questions will be answered by this brief look at the "most wonderful time of the year."

If you ask a Christian why they celebrate Christmas, they would usually say that it is because that is when our savior was born. Is that what the Bible teaches? I don't think so! The first thing I'm going to show you is that Christ was most likely born during the feast of Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles).

The first way to show this, although it is simplistic in its approach, it that most people believe that Christ's ministry was for 3 1/2 years. Well most people won't argue that Christ died on Pesach (Passover). Pesach falls on the 15th of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. If Christ died on the 15th of Nisan, it is a simple calculation to count back six months to arrive at the time of Christ's birth. This date is the 15th of Tishrei, which also happens to be the first day of the Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles). The 15th of Tishrei would correspond to somewhere in September or October, depending on the lunar cycle.

The second, more concrete way of showing that Christ was born on the 15th of Tishrei is to use the Bible. That's right, the Bible does indirectly show us when Christ was born.

The first verse we need to look at is Luke 1:5. In this verse, we can see the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, at the temple in Jerusalem. What we need to pay attention to is that it states that he was a priest during the course of Abia (Abijah).

Luke 1:5
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

What is so important about this? If we turn to 1 Chronicles 24, we can see that the courses of the priests are set up, 24 courses in all. Abijah's course was the eighth one. Each of these priests, twice a year, would be the priest in the temple. Although not spoken of in the Bible, the weeks that fall on the feasts of Pesach (Passover) and Shavout (Pentecost) were not counted in this.

1 Chronicles 24
1 Now these are the divisions of the sons of Aaron. The sons of Aaron; Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father, and had no children: therefore Eleazar and Ithamar executed the priest's office. 3 And David distributed them, both Zadok of the sons of Eleazar, and Ahimelech of the sons of Ithamar, according to their offices in their service. 4 And there were more chief men found of the sons of Eleazar than of the sons of Ithamar, and thus were they divided. Among the sons of Eleazar there were sixteen chief men of the house of their fathers, and eight among the sons of Ithamar according to the house of their fathers. 5 Thus were they divided by lot, one sort with another; for the governors of the sanctuary, and governors of the house of God, were of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar. 6 And Shemaiah the son of Nethaneel the scribe, one of the Levites, wrote them before the king, and the princes, and Zadok the priest, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, and before the chief of the fathers of the priests and Levites: one principal household being taken for Eleazar, and one taken for Ithamar. 7 Now the first lot came forth to Jehoiarib, the second to Jedaiah, 8 The third to Harim, the fourth to Seorim, 9 The fifth to Malchijah, the sixth to Mijamin, 10 The seventh to Hakkoz, the eighth to Abijah, 11 The ninth to Jeshuah, the tenth to Shecaniah, 12 The eleventh to Eliashib, the twelfth to Jakim, 13 The thirteenth to Huppah, the fourteenth to Jeshebeab, 14 The fifteenth to Bilgah, the sixteenth to Immer, 15 The seventeenth to Hezir, the eighteenth to Aphses, 16 The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel, 17 The one and twentieth to Jachin, the two and twentieth to Gamul, 18 The three and twentieth to Delaiah, the four and twentieth to Maaziah.

Now getting back to Zachariah, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him about the son that he was going to have. In Luke 1:23, we can see that he went home, which would have been about two weeks. Now if you consider that Zachariah's obligation to the priesthood would have lasted about 10 weeks, and then add 9 months to that, you end up having John the Baptist being born on or around Pesach (Passover). This is significant because we know that the Jews say many prayers on the Passover, one of which is a prayer for the return of Elijah. We know from Luke 1:17 that John the Baptist was teaching in the spirit of Elijah.

Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah), to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

From Luke 1:24-27, we know that in the sixth month of Elizabeth's (John's mother) pregnancy, Gabriel visited Mary (Jesus' mother). This would have corresponded to the time of Chanukah (Hanukkah), the 25th of Kislev, not to be confused with the 25th of December. Remember that the Hebrews use a lunar calendar. From this, we simply add another 9 months and we find out that Christ was born around the 15th of Tishrei, the first day of the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth).

Luke 1
24 And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, 25 Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men. 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

You might find it interesting that Sukkoth is also know by five other names, (1) the Season of our joy, (2) the festival of ingathering, (3) the feast of the nations, (4) the festival of dedication, and (5) the festival of lights. What is so interesting about this? Notice the language used in Luke 2, concerning the coming of Christ. In verse 10, we see the phrase "great joy" (season of our joy) and "all people" (feast of the nations). In verse 32, we see the comparison to a "light to lighten the Gentiles" (festival of light).

Luke 2
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

Some other points you have to consider are these. In Luke 2:8, we see that the shepherds have flocks in the field at night. Didn't you ever wonder what sheep were doing in the field at night, if the time of the birth was in the dead of winter?

Luke 2
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Look at Luke 2:7, didn't you ever ask why there wasn't any room for them at the inn? A little study of the festivals of God will show that three times a year, all males were to be present in Jerusalem for the feasts, one of which was the feast of Tabernacles.

Luke 2
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Another thing I want you to question is the policy of Caesar Augustus. Would anyone in their right mind order a census requiring everybody to travel to the city of their lineage (Bethlehem for David's descendents) in the middle of the winter, as we see in Luke 2:1?

Luke 2
1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

Now even if you do know the correct timeframe, and even if you knew the correct day, I have to ask why should we celebrate his birthday to begin with. I don't mean to sound cynical, but didn't the thought ever cross your mind that maybe there is a reason that the Bible doesn't tell us the day that the most important person that has ever walked the face of the Earth was born? I'm as grateful as anyone is, but I think that this is a valid question to ask. You don't find any positive birthday celebrations in the Bible either; the ones that are present are surrounded with misery and death.

Sorry to disappoint you, but Christ was not born of December 25th! He was most likely born on the first day of the feast of Tabernacles. Now I suppose I had better say a little on the date of December 25th now that I brought it up. While I'm at it, I might as well talk a little about some of those marvelous traditions that are so mainstream Christian.

As far as the link to Christmas and Christianity is concerned, we need to go back to the fourth century, when the Roman emperor Constantine was in power. Constantine was the first emperor to take hold of Christianity and adopt it somewhat anyhow. Of course, if you are the emperor, you want everybody to do and believe the same thing that you do. So what did he do, make a law, jam it down their throats. I don't know about you, but when you want resistance, just try to make someone do something they don't want to. Anyhow, he decided in 354 CE to make it a law that everybody was to be a Christian. Along with the help of Bishop Liberius, they came up with a plan to get the people to cooperate; coercion is word we use for this today.

At that time, the highly paganized culture of Rome had their own religious festivals. One of these was the festival of Saturnalia. This was held every year for seven days starting December 17th and ending on December 25th. They figured that if they tried to get everyone to stop having their fun, they would not convert the masses. What they decided to do, was to compromise and declare that December 25th was the day of the birth of Christ and therefore celebrate this instead. In doing so, they didn't have to change people's habits, and at the same time, compete with the sun deity Mithras.

Now for a little background on this pagan festival. The feast of Saturnalia was held every year from the 17th to the 25th in honor of the deity Saturn, which is how the planet was named. The reason that this time of the year was chosen was that this is the time of the winter solstice. The winter solstice is the day that there is less sunlight than any other day of the year. Starting on the 26th, daylight begins to be longer and longer. What they were doing, was worshiping the sun so that it would start to give more light, at least that is what they thought was causing the days to get longer. One of the things that was done, was that gifts were given, especially to children. These gifts, mainly dolls, were given in remembrance of the human sacrifices that were made to the gods. These dolls were substitutes in hopes that the children's lives would not be required.

To get to the beginning of this pagan festival, we have to go back to the days of Nimrod (Genesis 10). From other cultures, we know that Nimrod was worshipped as a god. His wife was named Semiramus, who later was known by many names such as Diana, Aphrodite, and Astarte. When Nimrod was struck down, Semiramus has a son, whose name was Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14-18). Tammuz was believed to be the reincarnation of Nimrod, who came to life on December 25th when a "Yule log" was cast into the fire. So strong was this belief that Tammuz actually married his mother, Semiramus. This was the start of the many mother/child religions of the world. Semiramus is recognized in the Bible, referred to as the "Queen of heaven" (Jer. 44.19). Ever wonder why Catholics pray to Mary, the mother of Christ, instead of Christ himself?

Jeremiah 44
19 And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

I want you to examine the passages in Ezekiel 8 that I mentioned above (verses 14-18). In this chapter, Ezekiel is being guided by an angel to witness what God considers abominations. In his little tour, the abominations get more severe as he goes along. The worst of all of these are the ones that are mentioned in verses 14 through 18, which I give below. Remember that these are the worst ones, the ones God hates the most.

Ezekiel 8
14 Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

In examining some of these mother/child religions, we find them in Egyptian history in the form of Isis/mother and Osirus/son, Indian history in the form of Isi/mother and Iswara/son, and in Syria in the form of Astarte/mother and Adonis/son. There are others, but these are the most recognized.

If your wondering how Tammuz relates to the Saturn of Saturnalia, Tammuz was renamed Cronus in later cultures, which then turned into Saturn later still.

In talking about the "Yule log," this was the stump of a tree, most likely an evergreen, since it retains its life throughout the year. Trees were worshipped often in many earlier cultures and are present today. In the Bible, asherah's are worshipped. These are represented by the "groves" present in much of the Old Testament (Ex. 34:13, Deut. 7:5, 12:3, 16:21, Judges 3:7, etc.). In later cultures, these asherah trees are represented by Maypole's, totem poles, and Christmas trees. Christmas trees, what do you mean Christmas trees? The Bible talks about these items of worship in Jeremiah 10:1-5. Take a good long look at these verses and tell me what they describe. If you don't think these are what we call Christmas trees, you need a cold shower to wake you up! What is important is what is said in verse 2, "Learn not the way of the heathen." He later goes on to say in verse 3 that they are "vain," which means worthless. In verse 5, you can see how these items were worshipped since he says that they "speak not," which is language used when describing man-made gods.

Jeremiah 10
1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: 2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. 3 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. 4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. 5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.

Now that I'm sure that that big know is forming in your gut, I'd like to take the privilege to briefly mention some of the roots of some of the other traditions you keep around December 25th.

For starters, how about all of that holly, like in "Holly Jolly Christmas." Holly was used first as a good luck charm and as protection against witchcraft. Then there are those nice wreaths that everyone hangs on their doors. These were born and symbolize the path of the sun and its victory over the darkness. How about that Christmas ham? This was started and is eaten in memory of Tammuz, who was believed to be killed by a wild boar (Isaiah 66:17), gotta love that pork! Last but not least is the famed mistletoe. This was used in a religious rite by the Druids. The Druids believed that mistletoe held secret sexual powers. After they would fetch themselves a young maiden, they would lie her on their altar while keeping mistletoe above her. The mistletoe was to paralyze the woman while the druid priests would have their way with her. Now you know why you are not supposed to move while standing under it, waiting for that innocent kiss.

With all of that said, I do want to say that celebrating Christmas will not send you to eternal damnation. We all are sinners and are saved not by what we do, but what we believe. Christ came to this earth in the flesh, lived a perfect life, and shed his blood for the remission of our sins, paying the penalty for us. If we ask him to forgive us and ask him into our hearts, he has mercy on us and gives us, by grace, eternal life. However, this is not a license to do evil. We all need to learn as much as we can about God's will and then try to live in his will to the best of our abilities. You have to make up your own mind concerning this issue. If you are not sure, pray about it, God answers those who truly desire the truth.