Jingle Bells, Something Smells... Is Christmas a tradition Christians should celebrate?
Updated: Aug 31
Several years ago, something began to smell a bit off about Christmas to me. I was frustrated with many aspects of it and felt an emptiness in it. It just didn't live up to all the hype. It didn't bring joy, fulfillment or really much good at all. Maybe you have felt that way too?
I wondered:
How was Santa, elves, and reindeer relevant to Christ’s birth?
What does a pine tree have to do with the worship of Christ? Why do we put presents under this tree and spend copious amounts of money decorating this tree?
Why was it that so many people get themselves into debt buying things for people that they do not even need, while other people in the world are starving?
Why was it a time associated with so much loneliness and depression, and even higher rates of suicide?
Why was it a time associated with gluttony, drunkenness, and sexual sin?
If it really was a Christian celebration, why did so many non-believers participate in it?
I tried to discuss this with a family member who said something along the lines of, “Customs are socially constructed events that are beneficial for society.” There was nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas, as “God knows the heart.” The problem with that statement is that “the heart is deceitful above all things,” (Jer 17:9) and if one looks at the time of Christmas, it does produce a lot of harm.
Around the time that I was questioning Christmas, I watched a video online about the pagan origins of the customs and symbols involved in Christmas celebrations. It was horrifying to say the least. It portrayed most of the customs of Christmas as being hideously pagan to the core. Immediately I requested my husband retrieve the vast collection of Christmas decorations from the shed and put them in the bin outside. The thought of participating in any more Christmas celebrations was suddenly sickening to me. Even if the information were only partly true, I would not want to be involved in it anymore.
Over many years I learned that this information may not have been fully accurate. It may have come from dubious sources that were not historically verifiable.
Regardless of this, we felt that the so-called worship of God was being mixed with so many elements that have nothing to do with Him, and that at the core of it was ungodly behaviors and motivations. We did not desire to be a part of it anymore.
We felt God drawing us out of it. Even if the pagan origins could not be irrefutably established, God’s word was speaking to me about separating myself from anything where the worship of God was ‘mixed.’
We began distancing ourselves from participation in Christmas gatherings. Initially we just did not go, which upset some family members. They struggled with us not attending the celebration. We struggled with it too; we did not want to upset them. There is such deep sentiment and very strong emotional ties associated with Christmas. We wanted them to understand and appreciate that our Godly conviction was to not participate in it, but they seemed disinterested to know our reasons. We wondered if we were doing the right thing by our children, not letting them participate in an important family event. Some years we would attend, and others we would not. Sometimes my husband would deliberately choose to work so we could avoid going.
One year we reluctantly attended a family Christmas celebration. Afterwards my children emphatically stated that they , "Never wanted to go to another Christmas celebration." There was nothing about Christ in the celebration at all. No redeeming qualities to it. We were relieved that they had come to this conclusion. They stated that they did not miss the celebration of Christmas, or the family events that it involved. If family wanted to see us, they could do so on any other day.
We cannot point to any specific scripture that tells us not to celebrate Christmas. It clearly wasn’t a thing back then. It wasn’t celebrated until sometime in the fourth century. Therefore, I cannot judge you on whether you celebrate it. However, there are some Biblical principles to consider.
These are issues I felt I needed to address regarding Christmas in our family, and why we do not celebrate it anymore. I'm not judging your situation, but they may be things to consider. When thinking about whether if Christmas is a tradition Christians should celebrate, perhaps consider the following:
LOVE for God
Firstly, who and what do we love?
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:15-17
There is so much about the world’s celebration of Christmas that is truly ungodly, even in the Christian setting. It involves a great deal of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
In 1 John 5:21, we are warned, “Children, guard yourselves from idols.” For some people Christmas truly is an idol. They spend a great sum on decorations, fancy tableware, extravagant presents. Many go to great lengths, even buying new furniture, getting carpets cleaned and spending money on their garden and house to impress visitors. Is this truly how God wants us to spend the finance He has given us? How is this honouring or worshiping God?
Do we have love for God or lust for the things of the world?
Mixing the worship of God with other customs
Secondly, customs are not always just innocent events. Some customs are just flat out wrong in God’s eyes. Mixing pagan customs with the worship of God is always wrong. In Scripture we see that God did not approve of people mixing pagan customs with the worship of Himself. People could NOT worship as they pleased, saying they were worshiping Elohim, if it was not the kind of worship He ordained or included pagan customs. YHVH very clearly condemned this behaviour. He sent judgements on His people for doing so.
Many things are written about Jeroboam, “who caused Israel to sin.” He was evil in God’s sight, and made up festivals to imitate the Lord’s festivals. (1 Kings 12) YHVH has given us His Feasts. I believe Christmas (and Easter) are poor imitations of God's ordained Feast Days.
“Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. 32 He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. 33 On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings.” (1 Kings 12: 33,34)
We also see in 2 Kings 17 that Israel was punished due to idolatry and for following the customs of the nations around it.
“6 In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, in Gozan on the Habor River and in the
7 All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods 8 and followed the practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. 9 The Israelites secretly did things against the Lord their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. 10 They set up sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 11 At every high place they burned incense, as the nations whom the Lord had driven out before them had done. They did wicked things that aroused the Lord’s anger. 12 They worshiped idols, though the Lord had said, “You shall not do this.”[b] 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.””
It is clear from scripture that God does not want us involved in the customs of pagan nations. We are repeatedly told to be ‘set apart’, ‘separate’, ‘holy’. We are not to do things just because it is accepted or expected by our culture, community or even our family.
We should consider our ways. Are there things we are doing, even in our cultural or religious celebrations, that could be displeasing to the Lord? Do you really know, for sure, the origins of all the aspects of Christmas that are so accepted in our culture?
Are we really allowed to use something ungodly to worship the Lord? That’s what the Israelites did when they attempted to worship YHVH by making a golden calf and worshiping it! That did not go well for them!
Scriptural commands?
Thirdly, if people all over the world celebrate Christmas and accept it as a normal cultural thing to do, that should raise some alarm bells! Why are unbelievers not lining up to celebrate Passover, Pentecost or the Feast of Tabernacles? In fact, why are Christians not celebrating these Biblically commanded celebrations which point to all that Jesus has done for us, and what He will do in the future? Are unbelievers, at Christmas time, really celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ came into the world to save them? Are Christians even really focusing on Jesus coming into the world? Even if they are, is there any command in Scripture to do so on that date in that manner? There are many commands in Scripture that Christians just ignore, but if someone dares suggest that Christmas is ungodly? Watch out! They don’t care that they are disobeying God’s commands, but don’t dare suggest their beloved Christmas is not pleasing to God!
The Fruit
Fourthly, what is the outcome of the celebration of Christmas? Are you closer to Jesus? Is your walk with Him more holy? Is your love for Him and others deeper and more sincere? Are people being saved through your celebration of Christmas? Or are you more in debt? Your children more materialistic and ungrateful? Are you more jealous of what others have and more discontent? Really, has Christmas ever done your spiritual life any real good at all?
I have heard of people being saved because they heard a message when they went to church at Christmas. Does that make Christmas okay? No, it means that the gospel saves. Just because God spoke through a donkey to Balaam doesn’t mean we start speaking to donkeys. Just because someone was saved through attending a church at Christmas does not mean we continue to do something that is not good. It means we should preach the gospel more! We are not winning people to the faith by being like the world.
Where does our loyalty lie?
Lastly, emotional attachment to Christmas is not good enough reason to continue with something ungodly. We cannot deny that the emotional attachment to Christmas for most people goes very deep. The decorations, the carols, the presents, the food, the family events, the memories from childhood… all seem like good things that we don’t want to part with. Honestly, this can be difficult to overcome.
Do we live to please ourselves or the Lord? This is really about who you love. Yourself or God? Who do you obey? The world’s customs and your own desires or the Lord?
Here I have not discussed the details of the possible pagan origins of Christmas celebrations or how it was illegal in America in the early days due to its ungodly customs or many other reasons not to celebrate Christmas. You can research that for yourself if you want to.
In summary, Christmas, in my estimation:
Is not Biblically commanded
Has dubious origins
Involves ungodly behaviour
Feeds fleshly desires
Is not genuinely focused on Jesus
Mixes ungodly behaviour with the so-called worship of God
Does not produce good fruit
How about, instead, we start doing what God really commands us to do? Doing so will bring good fruit, spiritual growth, closeness to Him, love for others and blessings now and forever.
What about you? Has Christmas ever produced all that you hoped? Or has it been an empty well, or a broken cistern; never supplying what you need to be satisfied?
Jesus said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 In Christ, and in obedience to Him, is real fulfillment, real joy, real life.
If Christmas is starting to smell a bit off to you, try something different. Our Father's own Set Apart Times, His Appointments, known as the Biblical Feast Days are a breath of fresh air.
Please note: This is not a criticism of those who do celebrate Christmas, nor a condemnation of those in a situation where they cannot avoid it. Nor am I judging your motivations if you do celebrate it. For me, it's something I don't want to participate in anymore for the above reasons. Maybe your motivations and celebration of it are purely focused on the Lord. I am not your judge. But if you are feeling like you want to or need to separate yourself from it, please know, you're not alone, and it is possible to live life without it! But, most importantly, remember that to love others is a great commandment. So walk it out in love. (This is hard, and I did not do a good job of it myself.) So, may YHVH lead you and guide you in loving Him and loving others in all things and give you wisdom to know how to do this rightly. Seek His guidance for your situation. Removing something from your life that has been there since birth is hard. It can be painful, especially initially, so consider it prayerfully!
Here's a response from 119 Ministries about Christmas:
A different perspective from 'Living with Eve":
There are many, many other videos out there, and there is a lot of research about the customs, but I would highly recommend you ask the Lord to show you the truth regarding Christmas. Sincerely ask Him if your celebration of Christmas is pleasing to Him. Obey Him. That's what matters.
With love to you,
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