The Truth About Christmas: Pagan Occult Origins Revealed
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
Introduction
Laying the Foundation
In this article we will expose the pagan origins of Christmas and provide the reader with biblical revelation concerning the true spirit of the festive season. We will also trace historical information related to its origins and traditional customs.
Let us begin with some general background by listing a few short summarized facts concerning the Christmas season, its origins, and how it is perceived in today’s context.
Christmas and Paganism
Not the Birth of Jesus
Christmas, as we all know, is the season and day in which the majority of Christendom celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and in which the secular world celebrates certain traditions observed at its end-of-year festive and holiday seasons.
From a historical and theological perspective, we know the celebration of Christmas does not originate in the birth of Jesus Christ, but is rooted in Roman Catholic tradition, which, strictly speaking, is a paganized corruption of New Testament Christianity.
The word Christmas is a compound word using the two words “Christ” from “Christos” in Greek, meaning “anointed, Messiah,” and “Mass” from “missa” or “missia” in Latin, meaning “to send, dismiss, mission,” which is the formal Latin term for the Eucharist ritual.
The English word Christmas is derived from the Old English “Cristesmæsse,” meaning “Christ’s Mass,” with first usage in 1038 and further use in 1131 as “Cristes-messe,” forming the official name for the holiday of Christmas used today in common English.
Therefore, Christmas equates to the “Mass of Christ” or “Christ’s Mass,” and is based on the unbiblical and idolatrous Roman Catholic ritual of Mass. Christmas is framed by Catholicism as an annual holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus, but history shows it has deeper ties to ancient paganism amalgamated into the Roman Empire.
Pagan Festive Seasons
Various pagan nations in the ancient world held festive seasons at the same time of the year, including those of Saturnalia in Roman tradition, the Winter Solstice as a general European pagan tradition, and the Yuletide tradition in Germany. Variations of these occult festivals existed throughout the ancient world, all containing idolatrous elements.
Most Christians are aware that the real birthday of Jesus Christ is unknown. If it were pinpointed, it would be closer to a September date according to agricultural and historical considerations in connection with the biblical record of His birth.
Despite this knowledge, traditional churches continue to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25, which is also a winter solstice birth date for several pagan false gods.
The worldly traditions surrounding the Christmas season such as the erecting of the Christmas tree, the personality cult of Santa Claus, the traditions of gift-giving and banqueting all have their roots in ancient European pagan traditions that now survive in the modern annual observance of Christmas.
Considering the above information, we can see that Christmas is actually a modern-day regurgitation of idolatrous pagan religious festivities deceitfully masked by the Roman Catholic Institution as the birth of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, Christmas is observed by modern Christendom as a religious holy day and by the secular world as a celebratory festive season of commercial materialism, greed, indulgence, and gluttony.
What is The Christmas Tree?
Idolatry and Trees
The Book of Jeremiah declares:
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
The above passage from the Book of Jeremiah outlines a prophetic rebuke against the pagan practice of idolatry involving the use of trees.
These verses give us insight into the idolatrous practices adopted by Israel from the surrounding pagan nations, which brought divine judgment upon the whole nation, and in the case of Jeremiah’s particular audience, the house or Southern Kingdom of Judah.
The Groves
In the Old Testament, we see the phrase “the groves” appears many times and always in a negative context according to the viewpoint of God. The groves or “Asherah” in Hebrew, were idols in the form of carved images, pillars, poles, or sacred trees devoted to the worship of the ancient Canaanite goddess Asherah or Astarte.
The use of trees in goddess worship in ancient Israel was forbidden by the law of Moses and reinforced by the Holy Spirit through the supernatural utterance of the prophets.
Upon entry to the Promised Land, there were direct instructions from God to the Israelites to destroy all pagan platforms of idolatry including all visual idols, carved images, graven images, totem poles, altars, and groves.
We see here the extent to which God condemns the practice of idolatry including the use of trees to the end that He might sanctify His people as holy and separated from the pagan peoples and nations surrounding them.
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Every Green Tree
In the Authorized Version, the phrase “every green tree” is seen eleven times in the Old Testament, ten of which are about the practice of idolatry with the use of trees.
These were often in the “high places,” which were the pagan places of worship where altars and idols were set up at locations of high altitude such as mountains and hills. The phrase “every thick oak” is used in the Book of Ezekiel with the former phrase “every green tree,” again about tree-based idolatry.
Then shall ye know that I am the LORD, when their slain men shall be among their idols round about their altars, upon every high hill, in all the tops of the mountains, and under every green tree, and under every thick oak, the place where they did offer sweet savour to all their idols.
The repeated use of this phrase reinforces the biblical condemnation of any form of idolatry associated with trees, as Israel was commanded to totally eradicate all forms of pagan idolatry and sacrifice. All idol worship of erected statues, carved images, trees, and visual representations of false gods was strictly prohibited in the Mosaic Covenant.
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
The Holy Spirit’s emphasis on this phrase is interesting as we see how close “every green tree” is to the “evergreen tree,” which is the type of commonly used Christmas tree.
What is also interesting about the phrase “every thick oak,” used in conjunction with the former, is that the original Christmas tree was actually an oak tree dedicated to the worship of the Germanic Norse god Thor.
The Christmas tree being the central symbol and stronghold of the Christmas spirit must be considered here in a biblical context, and when we do so, we conclude that it is erected unwittingly by the masses as a visual idol and a survival of grove worship.
Erecting a Christmas tree concentrates spiritual attention and adoration to the spirit of the season and the entity behind that spirit, namely the devil. This practice is in direct contravention of the Scriptures and constitutes the spirit of idolatry.
The History of Christmas
A Look Through Time
When considering biblical history, we find the narrative of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke informative as to His birth and the conditions surrounding it.
What we do not find anywhere in the Bible is a commandment or demonstrative instance regarding the observance of Christmas as a perpetual ordinance for the Church.
What we discover in the development of Christmas theology is a gradual adoption of the veneration of Christ’s birth to traditional observance once certain historical opportunities presented themselves, eventuating in the adoption of the tradition.
Roman Catholic Fabrications
There is absolutely no mention of the observance of Christmas in the apostolic period and post-apostolic period. You would expect that, if there were any observance performed by the early church, it would be found associated with the apostles or apostolic fathers.
There is no mention historically of widespread observance of Christmas until 354 AD, pointing to earlier observance in 336 AD and placing it on December 25, the same day as the festival of Sol Invictus, the “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” or the birthday of the Roman sun god “Sol.” The earliest possible observance of anything related to Christmas is tied to the heretical Donatist sect from 303–311 AD.
The Feast of Epiphany, the celebration of the Magi’s revelation of the birth of the Messiah, finds its beginning in 361 AD and follows twelve days later on January 6. This is where we see the tradition of the twelve days of Christmas being observed at various times depending on which country or denomination. This, again, is observed nowhere near the early church period or post-apostolic period.
What we see here is that there is in fact no trace of Christmas observance in connection with Apostolic Christianity, but the first reference we find is in connection to pagan Roman sun worship upwards of three hundred years following the birth of Christ.
The Roman State Religion
Through a series of key events during the fourth century, the Roman Empire’s polytheistic pagan religion was transformed into a Christianized regurgitation of the same underlying religion, with its customs such as Christmas surviving today in Roman Catholicism.
The Roman Emperor Constantine’s conversion to Christianity began in 312 AD, just before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge against Maxentius. He allegedly experienced a vision of a cross in the sky with the words “In this sign, conquer,” prompting him to mark his soldiers’ shields with the cross as a battle standard.
Following a decisive victory, he attributed his success to the Christian God. This marked the Roman Empire’s initial pivot from traditional paganism towards Christianity. In 313 AD, Constantine and co-emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, a decree that legalized Christianity across the Roman Empire, giving it a firm foothold in the state.
The Council of Nicaea, convened by Constantine in 325 AD in modern-day Turkey, was the first ecumenical council, assembling over 300 bishops to resolve prevailing heresies and ongoing doctrinal disputes threatening church unity. The council produced the Nicene Creed and solidified a universal “catholic” orthodoxy under imperial oversight. This marked the beginning of the Roman Catholic system as distinct from Christianity.
In 380 AD, under Emperor Theodosius I, the Nicene form of Christianity was declared the Roman Empire’s official state religion via the Edict of Thessalonica, mandating adherence to the faith. This integrated the Roman church into governance, transforming Rome from a polytheistic empire into the Roman Papacy’s early foundation by the late fourth century.
Throughout the gradual and official change of the Roman state religion, various pagan practices were Christianized under the Catholic system, including the earlier-mentioned Sol Invictus “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” which is the source of the religious observance of Christmas on December 25.
Through this history, we discover the formation of the Christmas tradition sourced in ancient Roman paganism, merging the birth of Jesus Christ with the pagan sun worship of Rome during the early development of Roman Catholicism.
What is the Christmas Spirit?
The Spirit of Christmas
History aside, most Christians are not “spiritually aware” of the entity behind Christmas and its ideology. In other words, most Christians are not aware that the spirit of Christmas is a deceiving spirit, a demonic entity, or a principality-level demonic spirit.
The “Christmas spirit” has successfully brought into bondage untold numbers of souls, over vast amounts of time, Christian and non-Christian, across many nations, to the will of the enemy, that is, to be engaging in the idolatrous falsehood of the Christmas tradition.
We always hear people refer to “the Christmas spirit,” and we think immediately about being cheerful and going with the flow of Christmas activities, events, and what have you. This begins as a casual agreement with the festive season, but develops into a full adherence to the sway of the Christmas spirit.
But what we don’t realize is that there is a demonic spirit working through the deception of this season to ensnare us to the idolatrous practices of ancient paganism and the God-rejecting secular world. That spirit is “the prince of the power of the air,” which the Bible identifies as the devil, the adversary, or Satan himself.
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Departure From the Spirit of the World
The Scriptures make it clear, once we are saved by the Lord Jesus Christ through His perfect, finished work on the cross, we are to be delivered from the bondage of the world’s spirit and by extension its ways and customs rooted in ignorance, idolatry, and sinful rejection of the True and Living God.
It is no secret or surprise that Christmas can be the greatest of idols to many people. We understand the change people undergo at this time of the year being driven by the season and energized by the spirit of the world under the Christmas spirit.
It is notable how much effort is put into Christmas. We see this in the lengths people go to decorate homes and whole towns, how the Christmas tree is worshiped by elaborate decoration and singing carols to it, and how much emphasis is made on gifts, food, etc., all of which demonstrate idolatry, covetousness, indulgence, and excess.
There is, without doubt, a powerful spirit driving the Christmas season with the goal of captivating people to follow the world’s seasonal ways and ancient pagan customs.
For a Christian to be in one spirit with Christmas and follow the traditions of men and doctrines of devils is to be led not by the Holy Spirit, but by the spirit of darkness, which runs counter to the will of God in holiness and separation from the world.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Pagan Christmas Traditions
Sol Invictus
The day of December 25 is significant to pagan religions concerning the worship of false gods. As mentioned earlier, December 25 in ancient Rome was “Dies Natalis Solis Invicti” or the “Birthday of the Unconquered Sun,” or Sol the sun god, instituted in 274 AD by the Roman Emperor Aurelian as the imperial date.
The birth of the Roman adaptation of the Egyptian god Horus was settled on the winter solstice in late sources, and the birth of the Roman god Mithras was made December 25 in late-stage merging with the state cult of Sol Invictus. The formal adoption of December 25 as the birth of Christ is directly tied to the Roman imperial date.
Saturnalia
Gift-giving, revelry, and banqueting traditions stem from the Roman Saturnalia and winter solstice festivals. Saturnalia permitted all types of licentiousness, being rooted in sun worship and fertility rituals to the Roman god Saturnus, the god of seed and harvest.
This season began the week prior to Christmas and lasted a week up to December 23, then transitioned into Sol Invictus. The festival was performed with the usual idolatrous rites of sacrifice and fornication, appealing for favor upon the winter harvest.
Yuletide
Yuletide is an occult Germanic tradition rooted in idolatry and the worship cults of various false Norse gods such as Odin and Thor.
This is the origin of traditions such as the burning of the “Yule log,” symbolizing the return of the sun god after winter, the “Yule goat,” connected to Thor’s “sleigh” being pulled through the sky by two goats, and the “Yule boar,” connected to offering up sacrifices to Odin and various gods.
The Oak of Thor
The Christmas tree tradition has deep roots within ancient sacrificial worship to false fertility gods/goddesses, and it stems directly from Germanic tree worship dedicated to the Norse god Thor’s “Oak of Thor.”
It is the historically syncretized pagan tree worship tradition of Roman Catholicism, originating from the actions of St. Boniface, the 8th-century Catholic missionary to Germany who converted the Germans to Romanism and reconfigured their tree worship.
Satan Claus
The personality of Santa Claus has its roots in Catholic superstition regarding St. Nicholas, a fourth-century Turkish Catholic bishop and a patron saint of children, who had a reputation for gift-giving of various kinds and particularly toward children.
He is called Sinter Klaas by Dutch-speaking pagan Europe, an imaginary figure revered in honor of St. Nicholas. The name “old Nick,” referring to St. Nicholas or ancient Scandinavian demons of similar root names, is a nickname for the devil himself.
We see here deeper spiritual meaning where Santa is a play on words, being a rearrangement of the name Satan, with the whole persona speaking of the attributes of the devil in his deranged desire to be enthroned as God to whom all the children should come.
The goal for the devil here is to be worshiped and perceived positively as the one who can provide gifts or temporal pleasures. He has “elves” or “helpers” (demons) who do his bidding, and he attempts to exalt himself to the same level as God the Father using the name “Father Christmas.” The satanic symbolism is staggeringly obvious.
Occult Witchcraft
Holly wreaths and mistletoe are connected to occult witchcraft, druidism, and Germanic pagan fertility rituals. This is where the “kissing under the mistletoe” tradition was derived, which encourages adultery and fornication, having a connection to fertility temple prostitution and orgies as a form of worship to the fertility gods.
Modern Paganism
Moving into modern-day commercialism and materialism, we see the whole Christmas spirit is centered on mammon and the love of money, which encourages idolatry, greed, covetousness, excess, and indulgence.
Beyond this, we have a tradition that has captivated the world’s heart, and that of modern Christendom, binding the two together in one anti-biblical demonic spirit rooted in idolatry and rebellion against the Almighty—such a spirit and tradition that true biblical God-honoring Christians should vehemently repudiate.
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Conclusion
The Truth About Christmas
Through the above investigation, we can see how far removed the religious and secular tradition of Christmas really is from true biblical and apostolic Christianity, which honors God through the Holy Scriptures and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We conclude that the birth of Jesus Christ has been hijacked and used by the corrupted religion of Roman Catholicism to mask pagan traditions and assimilate them into their apostate religious system.
Following this, there has been a separation between the religious observance and the secular observance, but only in perspective, as the customs and traditions have been intermingled throughout the entire traditional framework to the extent that a clear distinction cannot be made or separation of observance performed.
Forsake Idolatry
We encourage those who are unsaved and have been led astray by the Christmas deception to seek the truth through the Holy Bible and the Everlasting Gospel that leads to salvation and freedom from bondage to this corrupted world.
The spirit of this age holds you in spiritual ignorance, captive to the devil and sin, which brings the ultimate condemnation of hell fire. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you can be set free and receive eternal life.
To all of our Christian brethren, we warn you strongly to reject the Christmas spirit in repentance and align yourselves with the Word of God and the revelation of the Holy Spirit concerning the truth about this pagan holiday and its associated practices.
We pray for your sanctification and separation from the vain traditions of this world through the freedom and power of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
