(The framework of this article was written years ago. But I finally got around to finishing it!)
“Silver bells, silver bells — it’s Christmastime in the city.” So begins one of my favorite popular Christmas songs. This song is nostalgic, sentimental, and secular — although by secular, I don’t mean anything negative. Simply put, it is a nice song, but not a religious one. It contrasts with another Christmas song I like a lot, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” which is probably the only Christmas carol that mentions Satan by name. This Christmas hymn tells the Incarnation part of the gospel story in a nutshell — and it has a catchy tune as well. These two songs illustrate the two sides of Christmas that we see every year — the cultural side and the spiritual side. And together they illustrate, in a sense, the dichotomy about Christmas that many conservative Christians find difficult to reconcile.
For much of the Western world, Christmas is the high point of the year. The Christmas season — essentially Thanksgiving until New Year’s Day — is full of fun, excitement, and time with family and friends. It offers breaks from work and school, and showcases an unusual degree of generosity and hospitality. Of course, for some it is also a stressful time, for some a time to reflect on our crass materialism, and for some it can be hard on the bank account or on the waistline. Still, the feeling pervading society in general, and for children especially, is overflowing joy and goodwill.
For some conservative Christians, Christmas is a pagan holiday. The staunchest say it is on par with Halloween in its devilish origins and should not be observed. This view stems from the belief that the date for Christmas and the traditions associated with it were adopted from various pagan religions. It is condemned primarily on the basis of its origins.
Origins, Pagan and Not-So-Pagan
Every Christmas season since at least my college years, I encounter fellow Christians who object to Christmas or common elements of Christmas. Their arguments are pretty much always the same. And every year I do some thinking about Christmas’s origins and what those mean for us today.
Christmas, as just about everyone knows, is not a celebration with a single historical source. It is a synthesis of traditions and practices, largely of European origin, pulled together over centuries.
We know that the date, December 25, has a long history predating Christianity — as it happens to fall quite closely to the winter solstice, which was variously observed by many cultures and religions from antiquity. It is very unlikely that December 25 was the time of Jesus’ birth. (There was one old church teaching that claimed Jesus was exactly 33 years old when He was crucified, and since He died on Passover, He would have been conceived the same day, or perhaps at the spring equinox, which was March 25, which would have put His birth nine months later, or at about the time of Christmas. But this is a bit far-fetched and not supported by any concrete Bible teaching. Most Christian scholars believe Jesus was born at another time of year altogether.)
Many of the trimmings of the holiday have colorful, and somewhat contested, histories. We know that use of evergreen trees and boughs, holly, and mistletoe were used by pagans in their winter festivals. The same is true for the use of candles and other lights. Of course, there are only certain plants that are green during the winter for much of the European world, and it would be natural to choose those for any winter decorating. And what celebration is done without lights? While some claim that Christians gradually borrowed Christmas customs from the pagans, along with corresponding superstitions, others claim that Christmas traditions developed independently. (Follow this link for some examples.) Most likely there is a combination of pagan and Christian influences, since many medieval Christians were converted from paganism. As converts they would have retained some cultural forms that they deemed neutral, as well as some superstitions. Any new practices introduced by Christians would likely find some association with existing practices, since it is very difficult to create traditions out of a pure cultural vacuum.
The persona of Father Christmas (Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas — both names are the same) is also of mixed origin, and both the pagan and Christian roots have ties with gift-giving. In his current form Santa is entirely mythical, and is somewhat of a competitor for Jesus Christ as the focus of Christian attention. Elves, Jack Frost, and flying reindeer are certainly from outside the Christian worldview. I have no interest in these myths, and am content to discard them altogether.
Coming Together
The holiday package that we know today as Christmas is largely a product of the Victorian age.
The Puritans in America, like those in Great Britain, were strongly opposed to Christmas as a Catholic institution. However, not everyone agreed that it was Catholic. The tradition of hanging candles on a tree is attributed by some to Martin Luther. The Moravians, who were also strong Protestants, the descendants of Hus, apparently celebrated Christmas with no reservations.
As immigrants came to America from the Old World, they brought with them a host of winter holiday traditions. In this great “Melting Pot,” those traditions were blended, with some ideas dropped and others added. In Victorian New England, a somewhat secularized version of the Christmas traditions began to emerge. The tree had no meaning; it was just beautiful. The mistletoe had no power; it was just an excuse to get a kiss. Santa was just “a jolly old elf,” to amuse children. The feasting (and drinking!) were done for the mere pleasure of it. Gift exchanging promoted family and community bonding. The holiday became about celebrating rich traditions in a way that promoted family, friends, good times, and generosity.
During the mid-1800s, a stream of Christmas paraphernalia appeared, including Christmas cards, carols, and decorations. These items became increasingly popular. Today they define much of what we associate with Christmas.
Conclusions
Some have promoted the idea that it’s inconsistent for a person to take offense with Halloween (as conservative Christians are more apt to do), and yet observe Christmas, since they both stem from common, pagan sources.
However, who is to say that the meanings attached by pagans in antiquity are the only meanings that can be attached to traditions? Very few people — almost none — believe in the pagan superstitions and religious ideas that were part of the pagan winter traditions. Those elements have long ago evaporated from popular culture (although they might exist on the neo-pagan fringes of society, but this is practically irrelevant to mainstream practice). Meanings attached to cultural forms are not inherent, and are subject to change. Rather than asking what a certain observance may have once meant to a certain group of people, we ought to ask what it means to us and to others today.
To me, the whole idea of “pagan origins” seems to be unbalanced. As a Seventh-day Adventist, I reckon that my more devout fellow Adventists are particularly susceptible to this antagonistic attitude toward pagan origins. And this is because of the Sabbath doctrine, and the history of its decline within Christianity. We believe that Sunday keeping came from pagan sources, and that Christians ought to observe the Bible Sabbath. Thus, that conflict is about the Bible versus pagan customs. So shouldn’t we apply the same thinking to Christmas?
But — here is where I may offend some of my fellow Adventists — IF God had not specified a certain day as holy AND if “pagan origins” were the ONLY other objection to worshipping on Sunday, I would say today that worshipping on Sunday would be perfectly acceptable. God is the ultimate origin of everything in this world, of everything in the universe. Sinful pagans didn’t create the first day of the week. Every day belongs to God, and the pagans can’t change that. The Sabbath is holy, not because it is un-pagan, but because God set it apart and made it special. It is not because it is pagan that Sunday is not the Sabbath; it is not the Sabbath because God never made it holy, and He chose another day instead. “Pagan origins” may be part of the history of Sunday-keeping, but they are not the reason for my rejection of that day as the weekly day of worship.
My point is: The present state of something — what it is and what it stands for today — is the test, not what it once was. This fact must be true, or else we could not be saved. After all, the Bible says we were once children of darkness — yet now we are the light of the world. (See Ephesians 5:8; Matthew 5:14.) The Bible is all about transformation, about redemption. And if a person can be redeemed, why not a holiday and its customs?
So to bring this back around to holidays: In the case of Halloween, it is still very much a satanic holiday, and isn’t a safe (or healthy) holiday besides. In the case of Christmas, it’s more what you make it. There is no doubt that Christmas has fallen prey to commercialism, hedonism, etc. That is the nature of our modern world. Yet, I can say for myself that I do not need to enjoy Christmas in that way. I believe it can be used for good.
Why I Love Christmas
I think of Christmas as a very happy time. It is fun to get together with family and friends. It is nice to share special meals and exchange special gifts. These practices draw us together, countering the fragmented individualism that our culture promotes. By small tokens we represent that we love and care for others.
I love Christmas music. I am cheered by the seasonal decorations of evergreen and lights. I like to watch the falling snow, and sit in front of a warm fireplace. While this may all seem like pointless sentimentalism to icy Christians, it is in fact part of human nature — designed by God, I believe — to enjoy these simple sensory experiences.
Christmas brings out the good in many people, and opens opportunity to talk about spiritual things. For one season our culture gives abundant attention to a day whose very name points to our Savior, Jesus Christ. Even the little wars that we fight over the word “Christmas” and the use of nativity scenes help to get people talking about important subjects.
After Thanksgiving, I believe Christmas is the best holiday of all. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.” James 1:17. Considering the good we can find, or make, of this holiday, this verse would seem to indicate that there is something of divine origin in Christmas, rightly practiced.
Other Testimony
For my Adventist friends, I submit the following statements from Ellen White:
The Day Not to Be Ignored. As the twenty fifth of December is observed to commemorate the birth of Christ, as the children have been instructed by precept and example that this was indeed a day of gladness and rejoicing, you will find it a difficult matter to pass over this period without giving it some attention. It can be made to serve a very good purpose.
The youth should be treated very carefully. They should not be left on Christmas to find their own amusement in vanity and pleasure seeking, in amusements which will be detrimental to their spirituality. Parents can control this matter by turning the minds and the offerings of their children to God and His cause and the salvation of souls.
The desire for amusement, instead of being quenched and arbitrarily ruled down, should be controlled and directed by painstaking effort upon the part of the parents. Their desire to make gifts may be turned into pure and holy channels and made to result in good to our fellow men by supplying the treasury in the great, grand work for which Christ came into our world. Self denial and self sacrifice marked His course of action. Let it mark ours who profess to love Jesus because in Him is centered our hope of eternal life.
The Interchange of Gifts as Tokens of Affection. The holiday season is fast approaching with its interchange of gifts, and old and young are intently studying what they can bestow upon their friends as a token of affectionate remembrance. It is pleasant to receive a gift, however small, from those we love. It is an assurance that we are not forgotten, and seems to bind us to them a little closer….
It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver. I would recommend such books as will be an aid in understanding the word of God or that will increase our love for its precepts. Provide something to be read during these long winter evenings.
“Shall We Have a Christmas Tree?” God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship. Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen and placing it in our churches, but the sin lies in the motive which prompts to action and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree.
The tree may be as tall and its branches as wide as shall best suit the occasion; but let its boughs be laden with the golden and silver fruit of your beneficence, and present this to Him as your Christmas gift. Let your donations be sanctified by prayer.
Christmas and New Year celebrations can and should be held in behalf of those who are helpless. God is glorified when we give to help those who have large families to support.
Provide Innocent Enjoyment for the Day. Will you not arise, my Christian brethren and sisters, and gird yourselves or duty in the fear of God, so arranging this matter that it shall not be dry and uninteresting, but full of innocent enjoyment that shall bear the signet of Heaven? I know the poorer class will respond to these suggestions. The most wealthy should also show an interest and bestow their gifts and offerings proportionate to the means with which God has entrusted them. Let there be recorded in the heavenly books such a Christmas as has never yet been seen because of the donations which shall be given for the sustaining of the work of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom.
These are but a fraction of her many statements about Christmas, but I believe they are a fair representation of her positive views on the subject. These and many, many more can be found by searching for the word “Christmas” on the CD-ROM of her published writings, or by using the search feature at the Ellen White Estate website.
Wrapping It Up
I think that Christians need not fret over the ancient past and what pagan traditions may or may not have wound their way into modern observances. It is enough to look with open eyes at what those traditions mean today, and how they affect us personally. I believe we can make good of this holiday. And I intend to do so.
Tags: Christmas