In this post I cite a bunch of documented historical excerpts that show the link of modern Christmas customs, to the practices of which the Bible forbids.
Starting with the Nicolaitans as mentioned in the Bible by Christ, as hating their deeds. The Nicolaitans were disregarding what God's word said in matters of eating, were engaging in hedonism and sexual immorality . Nicolaitans being named after Nicholas- engaging in feasts after his own name
The Nichalitians and Saturnilian celebrations, being indistinguishable in practice were a pagan feast, and became the tradition at the time of "Christmas" and these customs are the reason for the date "Christmas" was set.
The tree has elements of solstice and nature worship. It was celebrated with revelry.
These drunken revelries pagan feasts under the banner of "christian" appointment are the heart of Nicholation/Saturnilian doctrine. The deeds are documented
"The letter to the church at Pergamum specifically charged them with having seduced people into eating meat offered to idols and into acts of fornication. The decree of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:28, 29) had laid down also two specific conditions upon which Gentiles were to be admitted into Christian fellowship: they were to abstain from things offered to idols and from fornication. These were the very regulations which the Nicolaitans violated.They were a people who used Christian liberty as an occasion for the flesh, against such Paul warned (Gal 5:13). The enticement to such a course of action was the pagan society in which Christians lived where eating meat offered to idols was common. Sex relations outside marriage were completely acceptable in such a society. The Nicolaitans attempted to establish a compromise with the pagan society of the Graeco-Roman world that surrounded them. The people most susceptible to such teaching were, no doubt, the upper classes who stood to lose the most by a separation from the culture to which they had belonged before conversion.It may be that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans was dualistic. They prob. reasoned that the human body was evil anyway and only the spirit was good. A Christian, therefore, could do whatever he desired with his body because it had no importance. The spirit, on the other hand, was the recipient of grace which meant that grace and forgiveness were his no matter what he did. They were those ready to compromise with the world. They were judged by the author of Revelation to be most dangerous because the result of their teaching would have conformed Christianity to the world rather than have Christianity change the world. Eusebius indicated that this sect did not last very long, and in all probability the only knowledge of their teaching that is possible will be found in the slight references to them in Revelation" Encyclopedia of the Bible, Biblegateway
Starting with the Nicolaitans as mentioned in the Bible by Christ, as hating their deeds. The Nicolaitans were disregarding what God's word said in matters of eating, were engaging in hedonism and sexual immorality . Nicolaitans being named after Nicholas- engaging in feasts after his own name
"Many of those who say that they confess Jesus, and are called Christians, eat meats offered to idols, and declare that they are by no means injured in consequence. Confessing themselves to be Christians, and admitting the crucified Jesus to be both Lord and Christ, yet not teaching His doctrines, but those of the spirits of error. ...[They are those who] teach to blaspheme the Maker of all things, and Christ, who was foretold by Him as coming, and the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, with whom we have nothing in common, since we know them to be atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful, and confessors of Jesus in name only, instead of worshipers of Him. Yet they style themselves Christians, just as certain among the Gentiles inscribe the name of God upon the works of their own hands, and partake in nefarious and impious rites. Some are called Marcians, and some Valentinians, and some Basilidians, and some Saturnilians, and others by other names; each called after the originator of the individual opinion...the name of the father of the particular doctrine"- Justin Martyr Dialogue with Trypho (Chapters 31-47)
Justin Martyr shows that the same practices of the Nicholatians were done by the Saturnilians, and that each group was calling themselves Christians in name but their actions were that which were contrary to scripture. They stated that they are Christians, but they are atheists, impious, unrighteous, and sinful.
"Gradually a number of prevailing practices of the nations into which Christianity came were assimilated and ...were combined with the religious ceremonies surrounding Christmas. The assimilation of such practices generally represented efforts by Christians to transform or absorb otherwise pagan practices."
"The Feast of Saturnalia in early Rome, for example, was celebrated for 7 days from the 17th to the 24th of December and was marked by a spirit of merriment, gift giving to children and other forms of entertainment. Gradually, early Christians replaced the pagan feast with the celebration of Christmas; but many of the traditions of this observance were assimilated and remain to this day a part of the observance of Christmas. Other nations, the Scandinavians, Germans, French, English and others, have left their mark . . . as well (pp. 804, 805)."The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible
The Nichalitians and Saturnilian celebrations, being indistinguishable in practice were a pagan feast, and became the tradition at the time of "Christmas" and these customs are the reason for the date "Christmas" was set.
"Various symbolic elements of the pagan celebration, such as the lighting of candles, evergreen decorations, and the giving of gifts, were adapted to Christian signification. Later as Christianity spread into northern Europe, the Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavic winter festivals contributed holly, mistletoe, the Christmas tree, bonfires, and similar items."The Christian Encyclopedia
The Evergreen tree, gifts, and the lighting of candles that are the customs of Christmas, haven't Biblical root or command, but are incorporated pagan customs that the people still practice. They are documented pagan customs that relate to winter festivals rather than God's Holy appointed times and His set apart days.
"The giving of presents was a Roman custom; while the yule tree and yule log are remnants of old Teutonic nature worship. Gradually the festival sank into mere revelry . . . . The custom was forbidden by an act of parliament in 1555; And the reformation brought in a refinement in the celebration of Christmas by emphasizing it Christian elements." Unger's Bible Dictionary
"Lord of Misrule, official of the late medieval and early Tudor period in England, who was specially appointed to manage the Christmas festivities held at court, in the houses of great noblemen, in the law schools of the Inns of Court, and in many of the colleges at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. During his reign, which lasted anywhere from 12 days to 3 months, the Lord of Misrule was responsible for arranging and directing all Christmas entertainment, including elaborate masques and processions, plays, and feasts. The lord himself usually presided over these affairs with a mock court and received comic homage from the reveler" Encyclopedia Britannica
These drunken revelries pagan feasts under the banner of "christian" appointment are the heart of Nicholation/Saturnilian doctrine. The deeds are documented
"lasts a week; that over, I am a private person, just a man in the street. Secondly, during my week the serious is barred; no business allowed. Drinking and being drunk, noise and games and dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping of tremulous hands, an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water,--such are the functions over which I preside. But the great things, wealth and gold and such, Zeus distributes as he will."Works of Lucian Vol. IV: Saturnalia
Lawlessness, Drunkenness, Sexual immorality and gambling are the customs that are the origins of Christmas, Not the fruits of the Spirit nor adherence to God's word.
"Consequently the Circumcision fell on the first of January. In the ages of paganism, however, the solemnization of the feast was almost impossible, on account of the orgies connected with the Saturnalian festivities, which were celebrated at the same time. Even in our own day the secular features of the opening of the New Year interfere with the religious observance of the Circumcision, and tend to make a mere holiday of that which should have the sacred character of a Holy Day. St. Augustine points out the difference between the pagan and the Christian manner of celebrating the day: pagan feasting and excesses were to be expiated by Christian fasting and prayer "-The Catholic Encyclopedia (P.L., XXXVIII, 1024 sqq.; Serm. cxcvii, cxcviiiThis shows that the people were having issue with the mixing of orgies and paganism into their feasts in which they were trying to invent.
"Encyclopedia BritannicaSaturnalia, which is of the same customs of the Nicolaitans, the same practices that were incorporated to Christmas, is a pagan celebration to the god Saturn. It lists the same customs of misrule an immorality. It lists the same customs of gift giving. it lists the same house decorating and lights that were incorporated to christmas. The symbolism of human sacrifices of the pagan world are mixed with Christ.SaturnaliaSaturnalia, the most popular of Roman festivals. Dedicated to the Roman god Saturn, the festival’s influence continues to be felt throughout the Western world.The Temple of Saturn, with the Temple of Vespasian (also called Temple of Vespasian and Titus; right foreground), among the ruins of the Roman Forum, Rome.Originally celebrated on December 17, Saturnalia was extended first to three and eventually to seven days. The date has been connected with the winter sowing season, which in modern Italy varies from October to January. Remarkably like the Greek Kronia, it was the liveliest festival of the year. All work and business were suspended. Slaves were given temporary freedom to say and do what they liked, and certain moral restrictions were eased. The streets were infected with a Mardi Gras madness; a mock king was chosen (Saturnalicius princeps); the seasonal greeting io Saturnalia was heard everywhere. The closing days of the Saturnalia were known as Sigillaria, because of the custom of making, toward the end of the festival, presents of candles, wax models of fruit, and waxen statuettes which were fashioned by the sigillarii or manufacturers of small figures in wax and other media. The cult statue of Saturn himself, traditionally bound at the feet with woolen bands, was untied, presumably to come out and join the fun.""The influence of the Saturnalia upon the celebrations of Christmas and the New Year has been direct. The fact that Christmas was celebrated on the birthday of the unconquered sun (dies solis invicti nati) gave the season a solar background, connected with the kalends of January (January 1, the Roman New Year) when houses were decorated with greenery and lights, and presents were given to children and the poor. Concerning the gift candles, the Romans had a story that an old prophecy bade the earliest inhabitants of Latium send heads to Hades and phota to Saturn. The ancient Latins interpreted this to mean human sacrifices, but, according to legend, Hercules advised using lights (phos means “light” or “man” according to accent) and not human heads." Encyclopedia Britannica
Some of the most depraved customs of the Saturnalia carnival were intentionally revived by the Catholic Church in 1466 when Pope Paul II, for the amusement of his Roman citizens, forced Jews to race naked through the streets of the city. An eyewitness account reports, “Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for spectators. They ran… amid Rome’s taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.”- David I. Kertzer, The Popes Against the Jews: The Vatican’s Role in the Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001, page 74
"For the English Protestants who left in the early 1600s for Plymouth seeking religious freedom, such Bacchanalian festivities to mark the birth of Christ were utterly scandalous. And so true to the city’s “banned in Boston” reputation, the Puritans renounced English traditions and declared Dec. 25 a workday, even going so far as to criminalize Christmas from 1659 to 1681.One prominent Boston minister, Increase Mather, a 1659 Harvard College graduate who served as its president from 1681-1701, led the opposition, railing in his writings against Christmas celebrants “consumed in Compotations, in Interludes, in playing at Cards, in Revellings, in excess of Wine, in mad Mirth.” Christina Pazzanese The Harvard Gazette
The Puritan minister Increase Mather spoke out against Christmas and its pagan roots in 1687 stating that those who celebrated it:
"In the pure Apostolical times there was no Christ-mass day observed in the Church of God. We ought to keep the primitive Pattern. That Book of Scripture which is called The Acts of Apostles saith nothing of their keeping Christ’s Nativity as an Holy-day...Why should Protestants own any thing which has the name of Mass in it? How unsuitable is it to join Christ and Mass together? ...It can never be proved that Christ’s nativity was on 25 of December...who first of all observed the Feast of Christ’s Nativity in the latter end of December, did it not as thinking that Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens’ Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian ones." -"A Testimony against Several Prophane and Superstitious Customs" Increase Mather
Historically the recognition that "Christmas" is pagan was not a secret. It was once illegal due to the paganism.
"The celebration of Christmas remained a final obstacle to a strict Sabbatarianism. AtChristmas was historically against holy days and Sabbatarianism.
first the Council agreed to celebrate it on the nearest Sunday, but it was actually the
Consistory who voted to celebrate it instead on the traditional date. It wasn’ t until
November 1550, that Genevans adopted a strict Sabbatarian system. They decided by a
unanimous vote of the General Assembly that henceforth they would recognize no holy days except Sundays and would celebrate Communion only on Sundays."Preaching, Praying and Policing the Reform in Sixteenth-Century Geneva" Ph.D Thesis by Thomas A. Lambert
"Finally, in 1550, Calvin managed to get the Genevan authorities to outlaw Christmas and to mandate that communion would be celebrated only on Sundays, and not on “superstitious” pagan dates like December 25. Indeed, on December 25, 1550, the city council sat for business as usual, the courts were in session and businesses were all open under penalty of fine. Calvin, as usual, gave his weekday sermon on a book of the Old Testament and noticed something that upset him: there were more people in church than on a typical weekday. A committed soldier in the war on Christmas, Calvin boomed from the pulpit:I see more people than usual at sermon today. And why? It’ s Christmas day. And who told you? It seems so [to be a holy day] to poor beasts. There’ s the fitting label for all who came to sermon today in honor of the feast… But if you think that Jesus Christ was born today, you are beasts, indeed, rabid beasts." Ph.D Thesis by Thomas A. Lambert, historian
John Calvin, renowned preacher who founded the Calvinist ideology was fervently against Christmas and recognized that it is a pagan invention for "poor beasts", and worked for its prohibition.
Baptist Preacher Charles Spurgeon was also vocal on the fact that Christmas is neither Biblical nor the date which Christ was born. He states correctly and unequivocally that Christmas is not of divine authority.
“Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it, whether it be said or sung in Latin or in English; and, secondly, because we find no Scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Savior; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because [it is] not of divine authority.”“Many would not consider they had kept Christmas in a proper manner, if they did not verge on gluttony and drunkenness.”“If there be any day in the year of which we may be pretty sure that it was not the day on which the Saviour was born, it is the twenty-fifth of December.”- Charles Spurgeon
People today are engaging in the customs of paganism according to the nations and hanging wreaths every year even though God tells us to not worship Him in the customs of the nations.
Deut 12:29-32 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31 You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.
God tells us that we are to regard Him as Holy, Set apart. We do not regard Him as Holy by claiming Christ and engaging in the customs that Romans celebrate to Saturn, or Norse celebrate Jul, or Nicholatiants celebrate themselves.
Daniel 7:25 He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time
The one that is contrary to the Most High seeks to later appointed times and God's law. People take the meanings behind God's holy appointed times in Leviticus 23 and they ascribe them to different times, and different customs, of which God has said not to do, learn, or worship Him with.
Deuteronomy 16:21-22 “You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the Lord your God hates.
God tells us to not set up trees or sacred pillars next to His altar. We shouldn't be engaging in what His word states are pagan customs and saying "this is a feast to the Lord"
Jeremiah 10:2-5 Thus says the Lord,“Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens Although the nations are terrified by them; 3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion; Because it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 4 “They decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails and with hammers So that it will not totter.
"On 15 May, 719, Wynfrith (his name at birth) was sent to Germany by Pope Gregory II and given the name Boniface. His mission was to convert the unbelievers in that part of Europe to Christianity. He worked tirelessly in the country destroying idols and pagan temples across Germany and building churches in their place. In 732 he was made an Archbishop and founded or restored the diocese of Bavaria. It was on this trip, around the time of Winter Solstice, that he was said to have come across a group of pagans worshipping an old oak tree. Horrified by what he saw as blasphemy, the all-action Boniface grabbed the nearest axe and hacked down the tree. As he did this he called the pagans to see the power of his God over theirs. The feelings of the locals were understandably mixed, but Boniface’s actions seem mainly to have been taken in good spirit, with some of the tales saying he converted the pagans on the spot. This is where the story divides. Some say that Boniface planted a fir tree there, but the most common idea is that a fir tree grew spontaneously in the oak’s place. The fir was seen as an image of God and many believed its evergreen character symbolised the everlasting love of the Creator. According to the story, the next year all the pagans in the area had been converted to Christianity and hung decorations from the tree to celebrate what they now called Christmas rather than Winter Solstice. The story spread and soon Christmas trees became the norm in the newly converted Bavaria, and then spread out to become the tinsel strewn, electric lit, bauble hung festival we know today."- Roger Steer, Historian
2 Kings 17:33 They feared the Lord and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile.
2 Kings 23:7 He also broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes which were in the house of the Lord, where the women were weaving hangings for the Asherah
Just as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the Asheira cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church sanctioning “Christmas Trees”. Pagans had long worshipped trees in the forest, or brought them into their homes and decorated them, and this observance was adopted and painted with a Christian veneer by the Church.- Clement Miles, Christmas Customs and Traditions: Their History and Significance, New York: Dover Publications, 1976, pages 178, 263-271.
These continued the pagan customs with "christian" labels regarding the tree as the image of God.
Christmas is a pagan invention that has no grounding in scripture beyond mentioned customs which are prohibited.
Return to the Holy days of God. Remember, This custom is just like the example of the Golden Calf, when they made it and worshiped God/ YHVH with it, and then they rose up to eat and drink and play.
Exodus 32:5-6 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.”6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exellent!
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