Online Reporter
Cuthbert Mavheko, Features Correspondent
THE festive season is upon us once again, and millions of Christians around the world are preparing to celebrate the birth of the greatest prophet who ever lived — Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Scores of families and some churches have already begun preparing for this significant event — Christmas. Traditionally, Christmas is a time for exchanging gifts, a time when families and friends come together to celebrate the birth of the Redeemer of mankind — Jesus Christ.
Of all times of the year, the festive season is indeed a time to be happy and joyful. But what does the Bible say about Christmas? Is it truly a holiday that Christians should celebrate?
One pertinent observation I have made since embracing the Christian faith is that most Christians generally believe what they do because the church or society to which they belong believes that way. By nature, we tend to follow the crowd, whether right or wrong.
This perhaps explains why many people today have accepted numerous aspects of Christmas that are not biblically based. But does Christmas really commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ? Was He born on December 25? These are some of the questions that remain unanswered in today’s spiritual wilderness of religious confusion.
The Holy Bible, which is the infallible, divine revelation of truth given by the Creator of mankind, counsels us to: “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
As Christians, we have a sacred obligation to follow the example of the Bereans of ancient Greece, who searched the Scriptures daily to verify the authenticity of what the Apostle Paul preached to them (Acts 17:11). We should not swallow — hook, line, and sinker – what is being preached in some churches today, namely that we should celebrate Christmas. Instead, we should study the Holy Bible without prejudice and ask God for wisdom to understand it.
This will enable us to determine whether Jesus Christ was truly born on December 25 and whether He instructed His disciples, who constituted the first New Testament Church, to celebrate His birthday on that date.
The key point to note is that the early Church modelled a Christianity that all who claim devotion to the Christian faith should follow and emulate. Let this point be emphasised: Jesus Christ is the originator and founder of the Christian faith, and Christianity is built upon His teachings.
However, the tragic irony is that today, most professing Christians know very little about Jesus Christ and His teachings because they do not use the Holy Bible in its entirety as the source of their faith. Instead, many Christians follow the precepts of men, based on misinterpretation of the inspired Word of God and faulty human reasoning.
While the Holy Bible is the authoritative Word of the Creator God, the saddening reality is that it is the most misunderstood, distorted, falsely interpreted, and misrepresented book. That is why the debate about whether
Christians should observe Christmas has persisted for centuries.
God directs Christians through His Word — the Holy Bible. This book reveals God’s standard by which our traditions, experiences, thoughts, and actions are judged.
To deepen my own understanding of the Bible, some years ago I enrolled at Ambassador College for a two-year Bible correspondence course. During my research and extended study of the Scriptures, I emptied my mind of all prejudice and preconceived ideas. I found irrefutable proof that Christmas does not celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ — that this very popular event has its roots and origins in paganism.
Many encyclopaedias and other reference works unanimously assert that Christmas originated from heathen practices and was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church some 400 years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In my research and in-depth study of the Bible, I discovered that the celebration of Christmas was not instituted by God, but by the Roman Catholic Church. Perhaps most importantly, I also found that during His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ never, in word or deed, instructed His apostles — who constituted the first New Testament Church — to celebrate His birthday on 25 December, or on any other day. Instead, during His farewell meal (the Last Supper), Jesus Christ commanded His disciples to commemorate His death (Luke 22:19). The Apostle Paul also instructed Jesus Christ’s followers to commemorate His death (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). Inexplicable though it may seem, the exact date of Jesus Christ’s birth is not known.
In any case, if Jesus Christ wanted His followers to celebrate His birth, He would have commanded that it be done and revealed the exact date in the Bible. But the plain truth, which must be told without fear of criticism or contradiction, is that there is no biblical record of Jesus Christ, His apostles, or His Church ever celebrating His birth.
Most professing Christians assume that the custom of celebrating Christmas can be found in the Bible. This line of thinking is misguided and far removed from reality. Certainly, the story of Jesus Christ’s birth is recorded in the Scriptures, but not the date of His birth.
As I have already stated, the original apostles did not observe Jesus Christ’s birth, and no Christian in the biblical record ever did. This fact is confirmed by the 1944 edition of the Encyclopedia Americana, which says: “It (Christmas) was, according to many authorities, not celebrated in the first century of the Christian Church, as the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than their birth . . . A feast was established in memory of this event (Christ’s birth) in the fourth century. In the fifth century, the Western Church ordered it to be celebrated forever on the day of the old Roman feast of the Sol (the sun), as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.”
Other historical sources state that December 25 was established as the date of Jesus Christ’s birth because it coincided with the ancient pagan festival of Saturnalia, which honoured Saturn, the agricultural god.
This festival was marked by revelry, gambling, and excessive consumption of alcohol. Concerning the observance of Saturnalia, the ancient Greek writer, poet, and historian Lucian wrote: “There was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s last day — December 25 — as the birthday of Jesus Christ.”
Most Christian holidays observed today — Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, and others — are not mentioned in the Holy Bible. By contrast, the Holy Days that God commanded to be observed are almost entirely forgotten. Unlike the confusing, conflicting, and often meaningless holidays of this world, God’s Holy Days, outlined in Leviticus 23, depict His plan of salvation for mankind.
The Holy Bible shows that Jesus Christ, our perfect example, was raised in a family that faithfully observed God’s Holy Days. To illustrate, His parents went to Jerusalem every year for the Passover Feast: “And when He was twelve years old, He came to Jerusalem with His parents for the Passover Feast, according to the custom of the feast” (Luke 2:41-42).
Although He was only 12, the young Jesus spent several days “in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions” (verse 46). The Scriptures further reveal that Jesus Christ continued to observe God’s Holy Days throughout His earthly ministry.
As Christians, we have a moral and spiritual obligation to emulate and follow Jesus Christ in all that we say and do. Some truths need to be repeated until they sink in: there is not an iota of evidence in the Bible to support the falsehoods being peddled by some modern-day evangelists that Jesus Christ and His disciples celebrated Christmas.
The plain biblical truth is that Jesus Christ and His disciples did not celebrate Christmas. By contrast, the Scriptures reveal that they faithfully observed God’s Holy Days — the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, and others. On the Day of Pentecost, for example, God gave the Holy Spirit to His true Church (Acts 2:1-4). As I have already emphasised, these Holy Days portray God’s plan of salvation for mankind. That, however, is a topic for another day. I rest my pen.
*Cuthbert Mavheko is a freelance writer and theologian. He can be contacted on 0773963448 or 0775522095 or via email mavhekoc@gmail.
