Throughout the Bible, God gives clear instructions to His people regarding their worship and the observance of various holidays. In the Old Testament, God strictly commanded the Israelites not to follow the customs and practices of the pagan nations around them. They were specifically forbidden to worship false gods or participate in pagan festivals and celebrations. God made it clear that He is a jealous God and desires the exclusive worship and devotion of His people. In Deuteronomy 12:29-32, God warns the Israelites against adopting the religious practices of the pagan nations they would encounter in the Promised Land. He tells them not to inquire about how these nations worship their gods, and to avoid imitating their detestable practices.

Is it wrong to keep holidays such as Christmas and Easter since the Bible says nothing about them? And what about the Holy Days God gave to the Israelites? Do we need to keep them? What's the difference?

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Is it wrong to keep holidays such as Christmas and Easter since the Bible says nothing about them? And what about the Holy Days God gave to the Israelites? Do we need to keep them? What's the difference?

He tells them not to inquire about how these nations worship their gods, and to avoid imitating their detestable practices. God emphasizes that every aspect of worship must be done according to His will and commandments. In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul addresses the issue of pagan holidays in his letter to the Corinthians.

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There are huge differences between Christmas and Easter and the Holy Days God commanded His people to observe. Christmas and Easter are man-made festivals without biblical authorization. God's festivals mentioned in Leviticus 23 are biblically sanctioned and were commanded forever. God's Holy Days teach us how to live godly lives and give us hope by explaining His plan of salvation. Christmas and Easter customs and celebrations mask these important truths.

As an example, the Days of Unleavened Bread, commanded by God (Leviticus 23:6) and observed by the early Christians (1 Corinthians 5:6-8), teach us to put sin (represented during this weeklong festival by leavened items such as bread and cake) out of our lives. This festival teaches us that we must struggle to overcome sin with the help of God's Spirit and live righteously. Easter celebrations ignore this important instruction.

The contrast between the biblically authorized Feast of Tabernacles and Christmas is similar. The former inspires us with hope in Christ's future 1,000-year reign on earth in the Kingdom of God, while the latter celebrates His birth with traditions, ornaments and customs He would not approve, on a day He could not have been born. (The Bible shows His birth was nowhere near Dec. 25.)

Easter and Christmas not only lack biblical authorization, but they entered traditional Christianity through men who deliberately replaced God's commanded festivals with their own. Trying to justify the change, both of these pagan (pre-Christian) festivals were dressed up with supposed Christian meanings—one to celebrate Christ's resurrection, the other His birth.

As wonderful as Christ's birth and resurrection are, the Bible does not tell us to celebrate these things (and especially not with the pagan customs associated with them). Instead, it tells us to annually commemorate His death (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) and to seek the Kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33). God commands us to observe His Holy Days (Leviticus 23), which help us do these things. Using rabbits and Easter eggs to remember Christ's resurrection or decorating evergreen trees to remember His birth comes not from the Bible, but from ancient paganism.

Given the history and meanings of Easter and Christmas, it is quite understandable why so many people today think of Christianity as only a celebration of what Christ has done for us instead of the honorable quest to live godly lives in anticipation of His return to establish the Kingdom of God.

If you want more of the facts about Christmas and Easter, request our free booklet Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe? Additional information about God's annual Holy Days is presented in our free booklet God's Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind.

Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

To most Christians, Christmas is a sacred religious holiday. But in modern times it’s become more of a cultural and commercial phenomenon. The Christmas we celebrate in the West today—opening gifts, decorating trees, singing carols, putting up stockings, roasting chestnuts, Santa, and all the rest—has often been criticized by the Christian community for becoming too secular and/or commercialized and losing sight of the true meaning of the holiday. But there are others—both inside and outside the Christian community—who take that criticism even further, claiming that Christmas is, in fact, a holiday rooted in pagan traditions. Do they have a point? Are Christians today unknowingly participating in pagan rituals when they celebrate Christmas?

A series of articles inspired by actual theological debates and discussions that I have with fellow Believers. When I hear theological ideas or theories that seem questionable to me, they way I form my opinion of them is by comparing them to Scripture, my ultimate authority, to see how they stack up. These articles are basically documentation of my discovery process and the research that I do as I study and learn.

WHEN IN ROME

Those that claim that Christmas is a pagan holiday usually point to the traditions of ancient Rome, especially Saturnalia, the month-long celebration in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. It was a festival that began a week before the winter solstice and was a sort of hedonistic “opposite day” where, according to History.com, “for a month, slaves would become masters. Peasants were in command of the city. Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun.”

Around that same time of year, the Romans also observed a pagan feast honoring the children of Rome called Juvenalia. And on December 25, many upper-class Romans celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the sun and war. (I’ve discussed the relationship between Mithra and Christmas in my article, Is Christmas Real?) There is plenty of historical precedent for pagan winter celebrations. But how does that relate to Christmas?

THE ROOTS OF CHRISTMAS

In the early years of Christianity, the birth of Jesus was not formally celebrated. It wasn’t until the fourth century that church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday, calling it the Feast of the Nativity. The date of Jesus’ birth is not mentioned in the Bible, of course, but most scholars believe it probably occurred in the spring because shepherds wouldn’t be herding in the middle of winter. However, Pope Julius I officially chose the date of December 25 for the holiday in an effort to capitalize on the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals church leaders thought the chances would be greater that Christmas would be widely embraced. And it worked! By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion.

So in the same way that Christ claims and redeems the hearts of sinful people and uses them for His glory, His Church claimed and redeemed the pagan holidays and used them for Christ’s glory. Pagan festivals were turned into celebrations honoring the sending of God’s Only Begotten Son to earth. One could almost say the pagan holidays have been taken captive for Christ.

THAT’S IT, CHRISTMAS IS CANCELLED!

But the story doesn’t end there. In 1645 the Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, became a major social force in England and introduced a wave of religious reform. The Puritans vowed to rid England of moral decadence and, as part of their effort, canceled Christmas. The Christian holiday wouldn’t return to England until 1660 when Charles II was restored to the throne by popular demand.

Around this same time, the English Separatists and Puritans (aka the Pilgrims) began migrating to America. They were just as orthodox in their Puritan beliefs as their English counterparts and therefore Christmas was not a holiday in early America. In fact, Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681! It wasn’t until June 26, 1870, that Christmas was declared a federal holiday.

It was around that time that our modern version of Christmas in America began to form, fueled by stories such as The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, gent. by Washington Irving and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Today Christmas is an amalgam of many cultural traditions; from the Christmas tree introduced in 16th century Germany, to the Salvation Army’s donation collectors dressed as Santa in the 1890s, to the poem about a reindeer named Rudolph written by copywriter Robert L. May in 1939.

WHAT ABOUT US?

Where does this leave the modern-day Christian? The Bible does not specifically command a remembrance of Christ’s birth or a Feast of the Nativity. So Christians should not feel bound to celebrate Christmas. The Bible also does not forbid things like exchanging gifts, singing carols, or putting up stockings by the fire. So Christians should not feel obliged to avoid those cultural traditions, either.

The concept of remembering what God has done for us is very biblical. It’s found in almost every book of the Bible; it saturates the Psalms (Ps 77:11), it’s at the heart of the Old Testament feasts, and it’s the entire point of celebrating the Last Supper. So if we, as Christians, decide we want to set aside a time on our calendar every year to remember and celebrate the birth of Christ, that’s a beautiful and biblical thing to do.

If we choose to celebrate Christmas, the warning Christians need to take to heart is to not to let it fall into idolatry, or materialism, or greed. We all know Santa is not a god to be worshipped. What we sometimes don’t see is that we tend to elevate things like family time, traditions, and expensive gifts to the level of worship. Christmas trees and holiday lights are lovely things, but they are not holy things. They should not overshadow the reason Christmas was established in the first place; as a time of remembrance for God giving the world the Ultimate Gift; Himself.

Here we can look to Paul’s discussion of the Believer’s freedom in 1 Corinthians for some guidance:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” (1 Cor 10:23-33, emphasis mine)

SO WHAT’S THE ANSWER?

This brings us back to the question that got us started. Is Christmas a pagan holiday? There are at least three reasons I say no:

1. Christmas was started by Christians as a way to celebrate the birth of Christ; its historical motivation was decidedly anti-pagan.
2. Pagan gods and idols are not worshipped (or even mentioned) during the religious observation of Christmas. Rather, the focal point is the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Churches hold services in which the Christmas story from Holy Scripture is read aloud, people worship and glorify God with hymns and carols about that same story, and the gospel is preached. (Hence the name: Christ Mass).
3. Pagans do not participate in the religious observation of Christmas.

Don’t get me wrong. Christmas has certainly (and sadly) been secularized and commercialized. But are Christians today unknowingly participating in pagan rituals when we celebrate Christmas? Absolutely not.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

What does the Bible say about Holidays like Halloween, Christmas, Easter?

Much could be said about the specific origins of different holidays, be they pagan or not, but that information can be found elsewhere.

It is important to note that holidays and celebrations were God’s idea, as evidenced by His directives to the people of Israel in the Old Testament. Special days or weeks that He designated were to be times of celebrating His goodness to them, as well as times designed to help His people remember His deliverance and provision. Therefore, holidays per se are neither good nor bad. It depends on what they are for.

For Christians, as per the Church Epistles, there are no prescribed “holidays.” Every day is to be a special day as we live for the Lord. That is not to say that it is wrong to celebrate the birth of Christ, or his Resurrection. Such remembrances can be very meaningful.

“Christmas” definitely has pagan roots, in that late December was originally the time of the Roman festival honoring the Winter Solstice and the pagan gods they worshipped, primarily the Sun God. It was Constantine who proclaimed it the day to celebrate the birth of Christ, and his motives were probably political, and suspect at best.

Jesus was not born in December, but rather in September, as a study of Scripture shows. We have a two hour video that beautifully lays this out called “The Birth of Christ,” and an article called “Was Jesus born on December 25th or early September?”

Does God care if Christians have a Christmas tree, give gifts, etc.? Not at all, as long as we don’t worship the tree. We can remember Jesus Christ and give thanks for his birth and his life. And we can take advantage of the opportunity to talk to people about our Savior and tell them why he was born.

“Easter” comes from the name of the pagan goddess Ashtarte, and relates to fertility and much sexual orientation and debauchery. But at least it comes in the Spring, which is when Jesus got up from the dead. We can call it what we like, maybe “Resurrection Day,” and remember it appropriately. And we can proclaim that the resurrection was God’s proof that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God and the only way to everlasting life.

Halloween comes from the ancient pagan festival of Samhain that was practiced by the Celts and is celebrated by today’s neopagans. The Celts believed that from sundown on the last day of the year to sunrise on the first day of the Celtic new year the veil between the land of the living and the land of the dead was at its thinnest, and thus the dead could enter the realm of the living. People wore masks and costumes to ward off the dead or keep them from recognizing the living. The Catholic Church adapted this holiday as All Saints Day, which honors dead people whose souls are supposedly still alive. This spurious idea has opened the door for much of the devilish activity associated with this holiday. Christians should either ignore Halloween or use the occasion to hand out Scripture verses door-to-door, or find some other way to share their faith amidst all the witchcraft, etc. that is promoted in conjunction with this day.

In 1 Corinthians 10:14-22, Paul warns that Christians cannot participate in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. He urges believers to flee from idolatry and avoid any association with pagan worship. Paul also addresses the issue of pagan holidays in his letter to the Galatians. In Galatians 4:8-11, he admonishes the Galatian Christians for returning to the observance of pagan festivals, stating that they are turning back to weak and miserable principles. He encourages them to stand firm in their faith and not be influenced by pagan customs. From these biblical passages, it is evident that God is clear in His commands regarding the worship of false gods and participation in pagan holidays. As believers, our allegiance should be to God alone, and we should avoid any practices or celebrations that compromise our devotion to Him. God desires a genuine and exclusive relationship with His people, and He expects them to worship Him in spirit and truth..

Reviews for "Decoding the Divine Message: God's View on Pagan Celebrations"

1. Emily - 1 star - I was really disappointed by "What does god say about pagan holidays". It felt more like a judgmental and condescending lecture rather than a thoughtful discussion. The author seemed to have a strong bias against pagan holidays, and instead of providing a balanced perspective, they constantly highlighted their belief that these holidays are immoral and displeasing to God. I was hoping for a more inclusive and informative book, but unfortunately, this wasn't it.

2. John - 2 stars - As someone who was genuinely interested in learning about different religious perspectives, "What does god say about pagan holidays" fell short of my expectations. The book was heavily focused on denouncing pagan holidays rather than offering an objective analysis. It lacked the depth and nuance I was seeking, and instead provided a one-sided portrayal. I would not recommend this book for anyone looking for a comprehensive understanding of pagan holidays from different viewpoints.

3. Sarah - 1 star - I found "What does god say about pagan holidays" to be highly offensive and judgmental. The author's tone throughout the book was condescending and dismissive towards those who celebrate pagan holidays. It felt like a personal attack on individuals who choose to follow different religious practices. Instead of promoting understanding and respect, the book only fueled division and intolerance. I cannot recommend this book to anyone seeking a fair and unbiased discussion on the topic.

4. Michael - 2 stars - "What does god say about pagan holidays" lacked the scholarly approach I was hoping for. Instead of presenting well-researched arguments and evidence, the author relied heavily on personal opinion and subjective interpretations of religious texts. This made the book feel unreliable and biased. I would advise readers to look for more academically sound resources if they wish to understand the complexities of pagan holidays in a more objective manner.

5. Lisa - 1 star - I was deeply disappointed by "What does god say about pagan holidays". The book was filled with judgment and condemnation towards individuals who celebrate pagan holidays. It completely failed to provide any meaningful insight or understanding of these traditions. I expected a more open-minded and informative approach, but unfortunately, the author's narrow perspective left much to be desired. I would not recommend this book to anyone seeking unbiased and respectful discussions on pagan holidays.

God's Guidance on Pagan Holidays: Biblical Insights for Christians