The Babylonians were first to celebrate the winter solstice with a 12-day festival of renewal, designed to help the false god Marduk “tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.” The Encyclopedia of the Catholic Religion (Enciclopedia de la Religión Católica) openly states: “The reason that the Roman Church decided to assign this date to the festival seems to be its tendency to replace pagan festivals with Christian ones. . . . The date of December 25 is the festival of the winter solstice that was celebrated as the birth of ‘the invincible sun’ in Rome.” Do you know how the Romans celebrated this worship to the false sun god? By feasting, partying, and the exchanging of presents. Since church authorities weren’t sure about how to get rid of such a popular festival without making the people mad, they “Christianized” it by simply renaming it as the birth of Jesus instead of the birth of the sun.
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION:
From God’s point of view, what is December 25th in celebration of? Is the exchanging of presents on Christmas just a way to show people that you care?
Santa Claus:
The Oosthoeks Encyclopedia explains that: “Saint Nicholas is actually the pagan god Odin.” The Teutons believed that Odin their chief god, led the souls of the dead on a furious cross-country ride during the “twelve bad days” between December 25 and January 6 – the peak days of winter. Ancient people believed that they could make their gods happy by giving them presents during the cold, dark winter days. This would result in increased fertility for man, animal, and soil.
Odin traveled with his servant: Eckhard (the forerunner of the elves) and the two were believed to fill boots and wooden shoes placed by the chimney with gold. Odin was pictured as a tall person with a white beard. He wore a wide-brimmed hat pulled deeply over his eyes. In his hand he holds a magic spear. He is dressed in a white clothes and rides his loyal gray horse who magically flies through the air.
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION:
Read 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 and you decide: does Jehovah approve of Santa Claus?
Christmas Music:
Christmas and its music are not from Jehovah, the God of truth. Then what is their source? Reason should suggest that they are from someone who wants to mislead as many people as possible. The Bible tells us that this is the goal of Satan the Devil. Satan knows the powerful effect music has on humans. In churches and temples around the earth he cleverly hides his God-dishonoring teachings and customs in sweet melodies and lovely lyrics.
If you study the lines of Christmas carols, you will find that they promote superstitious customs. Superstition is when someone believes that doing something will bring you luck from “the gods.” For example, the song “Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly” is rooted in ancient pagan superstition. Holly was used for good fortune and the berries were kept for luck. Jehovah God does not approve of superstition because they make people slaves to fear and it keeps them from turning to him.
What about Christmas music that sings about Santa Claus? This fake person in a red suit is described to children as all knowing and all seeing. He knows when children are good or bad and he brings materialistic gifts to reward behavior. Such music gives “Santa” the all-knowing quality that only Jehovah God possesses. Would parents and children who truly love and respect Almighty God, sing about something so insulting and offensive to him?
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION:
Read Isaiah 42:8 and Isaiah 44:6-8 and then you decide: Why do you think that Satan tries so hard to get people to love and sing Christmas songs?
The Christmas Tree:
In the 1300s, “Adam and Eve’s Day” was celebrated on December 24th each year. Local churches put on plays that told the story of Adam and Eve and their sin in the Garden of Eden. Since there was no way to provide an apple tree in the middle of winter, it was decided that a pine tree with apples tied to its branches would have to serve as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Bad in the center of the garden. Later, other ornaments were added to it such as “the star of Bethlehem” at the top, which represents the star that Satan used in a plot to try to kill Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12)Ever since then, the red and green colors, the colors of apples hanging on a pine tree, have been the official colors of Christmas.
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION:
Why do you think that Satan has made the Christmas tree the symbol of this holiday?
New Year’s Eve:
The first of January was dedicated to worship of the Roman god, Janus, the god of “beginnings”. He is pictured with two heads: one looks forward the other looks back, symbolizing a door between the old and the new. Roman’s celebrated the god of the New Year by throwing parties, getting drunk, and engaging in fornication.
The Greeks paraded a baby in a basket to represent the spirit of fertility and today the New Year's symbols are a newborn baby starting the next year and an old man symbolizing the year before.
The Chinese people believed that there are evil spirits around at New Year, so they let off firecrackers to frighten the evil spirits away.
Making a resolution to change some part of one's life dates back to the early Babylonians. They felt that a person could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year.
MAKE YOUR OWN DECISION:
Read Jeremiah 8:19 and Jeremiah 44:3,4 and see how serious Jehovah’s feelings are about rendering worship to other gods. How does this personally make you feel about New Year’s celebrations?
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