Christmas is one of several winter solstice related holidays which share many similarities and are observed in late December. While commonly viewed by Christians today as a christian holiday, it actually does not have any biblical origin and originated as a variation of Pagan holidays such as the Roman holiday Saturnalia and the Germanic holiday Yule, both holidays predate the birth of Jesus Christ by centuries.

The holiday was not observed by the early Christian church and it wasn't until the late 4th century (over 300 years after the Death of Jesus Christ) that churches such as the Roman Catholic church decided to begin to adopt and integrate the pagan celebrations.

Based on the scriptures and events in the Bible, Jesus Christ's actual birth wasn't even in December. It is referenced in the Bible that shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks at the time of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:7-8). According to Celebrations: The Complete Book of American Holidays , Luke's account "suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night" (p. 309). Similarly, The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary says this passage argues "against the birth of Christ occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted" shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields at night. Additionally, Jesus' parents came to Bethlehem to register in a Roman census (Luke 2:1-4). Such censuses were never taken in winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and roads were in poor condition.

Pagan Origins

December 25 was the date of the winter solstice in ancient times (before subsequent drift due to chronological errors in the Julian calendar eventually left the solstice on its present date of December 21.) As such, many pagan winter holidays occurred on this date, which marks the shortest day of the year and the point where the days become longer again. Many customs from these holidays, particularly from the pagan Scandinavian and Germanic celebration of Yule in northern Europe, are transparently present in Christmas customs.

The pagan Scandinavian and Germanic people of northern Europe celebrated a twelve-day "midwinter" (winter solstice) holiday called Yule (also called Jul, Julblot, jólablót, midvinterblot, julofferfest) beginning on December 25. Many modern Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, the Christmas wreath, the Yule log, and others, are direct descendents of Yule customs. As Northern Europe was the last part to become Christianized, its pagan traditions had a major influence on Christmas. Scandinavians still call Christmas "Jul". In English, the word "Yule" is synonymous with Christmas, a usage first recorded in 900. It is believed that the celebration of this day was a worship of these peculiar days, interpreted as the reawakening of nature. The concept of Yule (Jul) occurs in a tribute poem to Harold Hårfager from about AD 900, where someone said "drinking Jul". Julblot is their most solemn sacrifice feast. At the "julblotet", sacrifices were given to the pagan gods to earn blessing on the forthcoming germinating crops. Julblotet was eventually integrated into the Christian Christmas. As a remainder from this Viking era, the Midsummer is still important in Scandinavia, and hence vividly celebrated.

Biblical References

The Bible makes it very clear that God does not approve of the adoption of customs from other religions (Deuteronomy 12:29-32, Leviticus 18:30, Matthew 5:17-18) and it is viewed as fornication of the truth (Jeremiah 3:6). Several customs attributed to the Christmas holiday are directly condemned in the Bible, most namely the practice of decorating a tree.