We have published a booklet which deals with the origin and practices of the holiday known as Christmas (“Don’t Keep Christmas”). Secular history also fully documents the many aspects of worship associated with Christmas observance, and one of the most widespread traditions involves that of Christmas trees.
The use of an evergreen tree for religious observance was founded in pagan worship practices. Its origin far predates Christianity. From history.com, “History of Christmas Trees,” we find these comments:
“Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, many ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness…
“Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition—as we now know it—by the 16th century when sources record devout Christians bringing decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles if wood was scarce…
“Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first records of Christmas trees being cut for display comes from the 1820s in Pennsylvania’s German community, although trees may have been a tradition there even earlier. As early as 1747, Moravian Germans in Pennsylvania had a community tree in the form of a wooden pyramid decorated with candles. But, as late as the 1840s, Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans…
“It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late in America. New England’s first Puritan leaders viewed Christmas celebrations as unholy. The [pilgrims’] second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out ‘pagan mockery’ of the observance, penalizing any frivolity…
“In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the influx of German and Irish immigrants in the 19th century undermined the Puritan legacy.”
In our booklet, “Don’t Keep Christmas,” we say on pages 23-24:
“Let’s also notice [Jeremiah] 10:2-5: ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Do not learn the way [Note in the Lamsa Bible: “Religion”] of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good.’
“Here we find a description of the Christmas tree. Some have said, however, that [Jeremiah] 10 only talks about a wooden idol that was carved out of a tree, but that it does not refer to decorating a Christmas tree per se. Remember, though, that the pagans believed that their gods ‑ Attis, Osiris, Dionysus ‑ lived as tree spirits in pine trees. They believed that their gods actually changed into those trees, and they carried these sacred trees to a certain place of worship, decorated them, and adored them as deities.”
Most of the world’s claimants to Christianity now fully embrace the many aspects of “keeping Christmas”—including bringing an evergreen tree or its symbolic equivalent into their homes and businesses in the time leading up to December 25th.
Even governments celebrate the selection and decoration of Christmas trees with great public ceremonies, such as tree lighting and gift-giving. Perhaps no other country has so fully adopted this practice as the United States. Now, many non-Christian people embrace Christmas—especially, its frivolity and commercialism.
Catholicism, representing the largest number of adherents to modern Christianity, is the source for the term Christmas, literally meaning, “mass on Christ’s day” (compare britannnica.com).
The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization founded by an American Catholic priest in 1882, is very active in perpetuating Christmas observance internationally. Note the mission statement concerning their program, “Keep Christ in Christmas”:
“Promote the true spirit of Christmas in homes, schools, parishes and communities. Councils will evangelize society through their faithful acts, celebrations and a variety of activities.
“The Knights of Columbus offers multiple activities that promote Christmas and the season of Advent in their proper context: Journey to the Inn, Spread the Light of Christ, Crèche or Advent Wreath Blessing, and the Christmas Poster Contest. These programs are centered on the example of the Holy Family and the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
“The Keep Christ in Christmas (KCIC) Program brings all KCIC activities together under one umbrella. It encourages councils to prompt their neighbors to shift from a preoccupation with materialism to the light of Christ and the spirit of giving. KCIC activities include whatever efforts best suit the parish and community of a particular council and do not need to originate from the Supreme Council.”
Countless other organizations, both secular and religious, actively support the many aspects of Christmas observance. However, ask someone WHY they observe Christmas or WHY they have a Christmas tree, and the answer centers on emotional aspects such as family time, the “spirit of giving,” or many other self-professed reasons.
Exactly how Jesus Christ fits into all of this, what the relevance of a fir tree is, or whether the commemoration of December 25th finds support in the Word of God concerning what Christians believe and practice, does not pass the test of what is TRUTH!
In fact, God condemns this kind of false worship, and every aspect of Christmas observance is founded on deceptive lies! We have already noted the explicit warning from God in Jeremiah, chapter 10, concerning the use of a tree as idol worship. Note what God states about man-made religious practices:
“‘I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, And righteousness like a mighty stream’” (Amos 5:21-24).
One must seriously consider whether the observance of Christmas and the use of all the associated paraphernalia, such as a Christmas tree, as well as the common decoration of houses and Christmas-related “things” or “kitsch” in front yards is something God hates and despises! We realize, of course, that we cannot escape what is going on around us. We can hardly enter a building this time of year where there is no Christmas tree (or, in many cases, a cross for that matter), or, when we enter a shop, never-ending silly Christmas songs (“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer”) are being played. What we are addressing here is our individual participation in those activities, including decorating or assisting in decorating a Christmas tree.
Do you call yourself a Christian? You can test yourself for proof by comparing your religious practices with what God commands. For instance, do you keep God’s commandment to observe the Sabbath day (Exodus 20:8-11), the seventh day of the week (Genesis 2:2-3), or do you observe Sunday, the first day of the week? Do you keep God’s commanded Holy Days (Leviticus 23), or do you participate in New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween? Do you falsely worship God through the idolatry of passed-down customs and practices, such as Christmas and the placing of a tree to adorn your home, or do you obey the commandment of God to not do these demonic inspired activities?
Christmas celebrations completely smother society in much of the world. Media, whether in print, in movies, or over the Internet, endlessly promotes “Christmas time.” “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” suddenly becomes the accepted form of greeting as December 25th draws near. But this activity does not bring people closer to God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ! Rather, this kind of blind worship is forbidden by God:
“And God spoke all these words, saying:‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments’” (Exodus 20:1-6).
God very specifically reveals HOW TO WORSHIP HIM. Celebrating Christmas with figurines representing Jesus and His family are an absolute abomination in God’s eyes! Yet, people have become so emotionally transfixed with all things pertaining to Christmas that most would not even consider rejecting the traditions of this holiday and instead investigate the Bible (and history) for the Truth!
The set up and use of Christmas trees in one’s home or business to pay tribute to Jesus Christ is false worship, and it is condemned by God. Then there’s the maddening flurry of purchasing and gift-giving, the drinking parties, the emotional Christmas family gatherings, the seasonal music, including the singing of Christmas carols—everything associated with Christmas observance is wrong in God’s eyes, and it is indeed sin!
As this world struggles to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” will you believe what the Bible reveals, that Christ has NEVER been in Christmas! Will you reject the worthless customs and traditions of Christmas and ask God to reveal His Truth to you? It can be found in the true good news Jesus Christ brought—the gospel of the Kingdom of God!
Lead Writer: Dave Harris
