To many a churchgoing, professing Christian, the question above appears ludicrous. To question celebrating something so merry can be taken as sinful in itself. Regardless, the belief that christmas is a Christian festival is so pervasive and ingrained that few any longer question its origins and legitimacy. I used to lurrvvv EVERYTHING about christmas - I'd be the first to put up the christmas tree & the last to take it down -- until a course of events led me to examine this festival. After researching this subject over a course of several years, my conclusion is that this pre-Christian pagan festival is a great offence to Yahweh God. It makes a mockery of Christianity in a way so subtle that it blinds the minds of many Believers, including sincere Bible believing Christian leaders. If one were to honestly trace the origins & practices of christmas, it will become evident that it is truly a very cunning, subtle work of our Adversary foisted on an unsuspecting & gullible christian world.
For the record, the Bible does mention the birth of Yeshua the Messiah ( Jesus ) but nowhere are we told to re-enact, observe or celebrate it ( and for the record too, He was 100% NOT born on Dec 25th.) Yahweh God Himself through His Word, tells us to remember, not His birth, but His death I Corinthians 11:23-26). Certainly His birth is important, but His life would have accomplished NOTHING if not for His death and resurrection.
The connection between Emperor Constantine, Saturnalia & Christmas
The Roman festival of Surtanalia used to be a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between Dec 17 and ended on Dec 25 . Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the week long celebration of Saturnalia.
The ancient Greek writer, poet and historian Lucian describes the festival’s observance in his time : In addition to human sacrifice, he mentions these customs - widespread intoxication, sexual licentiousness, going from house to house while singing naked etc". During this period, the church established by the Roman Emperor Constantine was the dominant faith and it was eager to convert the pagan Romans . However, they found it hard to convince the pagan converts to stop celebrating their pagan customs, especially that of Saturnalia.
To appease these pagans, they decided to allow the converted to continue their celebration of Saturnalia . The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, the church leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be the birthday of the ‘Son of God’ even though Yeshua ( Jesus ) was not born on that day. In 354 AD, Liberius, Bishop of Rome & a forerunner to the Pope ordered all converts to the faith to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec 25 . ( Liberius managed to get away with this since no one knew the exact date that Yeshua the Messiah was born. He probably chose this date as the people of Rome already observed it as the Feast of Saturn, celebrating the birth of the Sun. As a result,converts began to celebrate Dec 25 the way it had always been & the earliest christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (a precursor of modern caroling), etc. Today, this supposedly Christian festival is celebrated throughout the whole world in the same way during the Roman era, by drinking, eating, gift giving and merry making .
This re-hashed Surtanalia is widely celebrated in singapore too. Once a year during December, christian organisations under the umbrella of Celebrate Christmas in Singapore (CCIS ) collaborate with secular entities namely the Orchard Rd Business Association (ORBA) to " celebrate christmas in singapore " via the Orchard Road Christmas Light up festivities . CCIS has been supported by the National Council of Churches in Singapore ( NCSS ) for several years in their collaboration with ORBA.
The main objective of CCIS is ostensibly to proclaim the 'true spirit' of christmas, but it is a futile attempt as there is nothing intrinsically christian about this festival. Furthermore , for Bible believing Christian organisations to be joined with secular organisations as equals pulling together in a common purpose is really a practical impossibility, and now we are seeing the fruits of that unholy communion.
The National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) on Nov 23 2018, issued a statement calling the 2018 Christmas light-up along Orchard Road "disappointing", saying that its exclusive focus on Disney characters buries the original meaning of the festival. In a letter addressed to the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) chief executive officer, the NCCS said that it is "deeply concerned" about the "increasing secularisation and commercialisation of Christmas" in Singapore, and how the Disney light-up is an "extensive" brand exercise.
"Being an essentially religious festival, Christmas should not be viewed primarily as a money-making venture or an opportunity to market a particular commercial brand," the NCCS wrote in the letter, which was signed off by NCCS general secretary .
This mention by the NCSS is really intriguing - as a christian, i have checked my Bible ( which is the final authority from our God Yahweh ) to see if indeed christmas is a religious festival, and have found zero evidence to support it . There are only 7 feasts mentioned in Bible which christians are to observe and christmas is NOT one of them. There is a rich treasure house for Believers to partake of in these Biblical holidays. Celebrating these holidays are more meaningful than the ones that the world has already blurred the definition of.
The FEASTS of Yahweh God have no such blurred distinction. They are HIS feasts, they are HIS holidays, and they are for us to commemorate and celebrate HIM. It is to our detriment when we ignore that which Yahweh God has established to keep His gospel in our hearts and minds. Believers would do well to acquaint themselves with these Biblical feasts .
NCSS need to examine this event using exegesis because they probably are crying foul now with good intentions : to put Jesus back into christmas. The problem is, He was NEVER there in the first place & as said previously, “For Bible believing Christian organisations to be joined with secular organisations pulling together in a common purpose is really a practical impossibility ... If you believe that Christmas is a religious holiday, you are buying into a doctrine that is built on human speculation and failed biblical exegesis.
It is not only about the Disney characters - this so called 'spirit' of christmas causes many to behave in a manner that is totally out of harmony with Scripture . י Many are engaged in a mindless culture of spending,feasting and drinking. Merchants manufacture decor, figurines & symbols which have no meaning for them, but which are purchased and dumped away after the festival. Is the God of the Bible behind this 'spirit’? Christians may argue that they celebrate christmas the 'right way' or not as the world does by attending services, singing carols, meeting up with families, or using this festival to reach out to unbelievers..However,the issue here is not about how we observe it, but rather, is there a Biblical warrantfor it? Is the "spirit" that inspires many to celebrate this feast the Spirit of Yahweh God?
IS THERE A BIBLICAL METHOD TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS ? NONE !
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from Yahweh God "-1 John 4:4. Did Yeshua ( Jesus) initiate this festival where businesses & merchants are the main beneficiaries - He who drove the merchants out of the synagogue ? .
When Paul was writing to Corinth about the terrible error of mingling paganism with Christ's religion, he asked, “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy...?” (1CO 10:22). When it comes to Christmas, the answer is emphatically, “Yes!” The church's Husband expects His bride to love Him only and to love Him only in the way that He has prescribed (it's called worshipping in spirit and in truth, after the due order, sticking to the scriptures).
Some might say that such reasoning is cold, hard, or legalistic and out of touch with the principle of Christian liberty in the New Testament. But liberty was never meant to be used as “an occasion to the flesh...” (GAL 5:13), and it should be remembered that Yahweh God’s displeasure with the Corinthian saints was fundamentally that they had done that very thing: exploited their liberty for fleshly delights. How? They had taken the simple, spiritual religious ordinance that Yahweh God had given them (the Lord’s Table) and turned it into a festival which catered to their carnal appetites (1CO 11:20-34).
We are certainly not opposed to people having a season of warmth and joy or family togetherness, but why do it by draping naked pagan theology with a flimsy negligee of Christian terms or forms….We need to be diligent and exercise discernment. Not every event that has a story line from the Bible needs to be ‘celebrated’. Check the context and test the spirt behind these so called ‘christian festivals’ . I know it is hard for many of us to believe that christmas has nothing to do with Christianity . It took me many years and I am thankful that by grace my eyes have been opened to see through this unbiblical festival . I am in debt to the many christian organisations & individuals, (Pastors, Elders & laymen alike ) , who through their books, articles & videos gave me the resources to conduct my research. I challenge you to do some research with an open mind .
CHALLENGE : If you were the devil and wanted to deceive the entire world, how would you approach such a challenge? Create something irresistible .
It must appeal upon all of a person's flesh & senses with pleasant music, addictive jingles, lights, colors, foods, clothes, gifts, and parties. Something that appeals to the flesh. It must must be subtle – add in a story line from Scripture to legitimise it and it must benefit commercially . It is without doubt extremely attractive. So attractive that christians unknowingly fall into a trap that honours Satan, all the while thinking they are honouring the living God Yahweh. - slam dunk !
METHOD : Remember that the domain of the fallen world and its inhabitants belongs to the 'god of this world' . Our adversary is cunning & has the ability to “ deceive the whole world “… . This is exactly what he has done by deceiving both the christina & not christian world - to celebrate an event that is meaningless. let us not be ignorant of his schemes . If this is the first time youve heard that christmas is NOT a christian festival and would like to know more , pls watch the eye opening video below :
