Christmas is one of the world’s most popular holidays, celebrated by people of many faiths. Yet the holiday has a strange and convoluted past, one hinted at in such puzzling symbols as decorated trees, holly wreaths and mistletoe.
Did you know December 25 has a checkered past, a long and contentious history? This should come as no surprise given that Christmas and many of its popular customs and trappings are nowhere set forth in the Bible.
Our Creator’s view of this popular holiday is ignored or not even considered by most people. Yet His perspective should be our main consideration. Let’s examine the history of Christmas and compare it with God’s Word, rather than our own ideas and experiences, to discover His opinion regarding this nearly universal holiday.
Historians tell us the Christmas celebration came from questionable origins. William Walsh (1854-1919) summarizes the holiday’s origins and practices in his book The Story of Santa Klaus: “We remember that the Christmas festival … is a gradual evolution from times that long antedated the Christian period … It was overlaid upon heathen festivals, and many of its observances are only adaptations of pagan to Christian ceremonial” (1970, p. 58).
How could pagan practices become part of a major church celebration? What were these “heathen festivals” that lent themselves to Christmas customs over the centuries?