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“Christmas”[1] is firmly rooted in religious traditions and the ways of the world. Having this identity it offers a distracting alternative to the harsh and monotonous realities of life. Although it proves highly disagreeable to many Christians, it’s still worthwhile taking a closer look at the overall impact of the Christmas season. Is it really harmless? At the very least we should ask ourselves if it’s worthy of all the attention it receives.
Once Upon a Time, Long Before Christmas, there was History…
25th December—the Big Day. If you don’t already know, the date itself serves as a warning that all is not well. If you travel to the somewhat misnamed “Holy Land” in late December and come across shepherds out in the fields at night watching over a flock, you might have to call for a doctor and a vet—it gets very cold indeed! Can be wet too.
OK, it might not be as dramatic as all that, but the point is this: there’s no good reason to believe Christ was born in December. In fact there are non-Christian reasons why we adopted the 25th as His birth date. It was certainly a significant date long before the Christmas festival began, and predates the birth of Christ.
Although it’s largely irrelevant in our modern secular society, it’s still worth pointing out that the Christian basis for Christmas is worse than threadbare.[2] There are plenty of sincere Christians who make an effort to put Christ back into Christmas, but does the Jesus of the Bible really belong there? There’s a big difference between the celebration of the Christmas Season and ancient Bible texts that tell us about the birth of Jesus Christ. We can say with certainty that the first Christmas celebration happened a long, long time after He was born. Shouldn’t we be thinking for ourselves rather than buying into whatever gets dumped on our laps, regardless of how religiously popular it is?
Christmas is an uncomfortable mix of Christian beliefs and non-Christian practices. It’s obvious that atypical Christian behaviour, like feasting, giving gifts and decorating trees, for example, have no direct association with Christ’s body, the Church. There are good reasons to believe that a few centuries after the birth of Christ the big Christianised religion of the day eventually allowed established cultural traditions to get mixed up with Church practices and beliefs. With the passing of time celebrating the birth of Christ became an official so-called Christian festival that incorporated popular customs that have continued to the present day.
From a purely Christian scholarly perspective nothing can compete with the authoritative content of The New Testament. Within the true Church this isn’t as obvious as it seems. It should go without saying that if you’re after the most accurate definition of the Christian faith, its practices and beliefs, then the New Testament is by far the most reliable ancient text available. Where else should we go? Many millions of intelligent Christians read it daily and consider it to be the essential Word of God, even after 2000 years of cultural diversification. It’s true that it doesn’t fare well in the hands of fundamentalist extremists, but we could say that about a lot of things.
Why does this unrivalled source of sound God-breathed Christian teaching have nothing to say about one of the major festivals in the so-called Christian calendar? (By the way, we could ask the same question about Easter.) The New Testament does indeed refer to the birth of Christ, but we read nothing about the true Church’s far-reaching annual celebration of Christmas. There’s not one verse or sentence that teaches us how important it is to set aside a very special day to mark Christ’s birth. But this should come as no surprise as it was never celebrated in the first place.[3] The religious Christmas festival has been mixed into authentic Christian practices. What are the implications of this?
Its origins, widespread appeal and substantial imperfections (see below) bother some Christians, and rightly so. When the world and false religion is madly in love with something, shouldn’t genuine Christians be at least a little bit cautious? But few are. Stop for a moment and consider the worldly characteristics of the Christmas season in the light of 1st John 2:15-17:
Once Upon a Time, Long Before Christmas, there was History…
25th December—the Big Day. If you don’t already know, the date itself serves as a warning that all is not well. If you travel to the somewhat misnamed “Holy Land” in late December and come across shepherds out in the fields at night watching over a flock, you might have to call for a doctor and a vet—it gets very cold indeed! Can be wet too.
OK, it might not be as dramatic as all that, but the point is this: there’s no good reason to believe Christ was born in December. In fact there are non-Christian reasons why we adopted the 25th as His birth date. It was certainly a significant date long before the Christmas festival began, and predates the birth of Christ.
Although it’s largely irrelevant in our modern secular society, it’s still worth pointing out that the Christian basis for Christmas is worse than threadbare.[2] There are plenty of sincere Christians who make an effort to put Christ back into Christmas, but does the Jesus of the Bible really belong there? There’s a big difference between the celebration of the Christmas Season and ancient Bible texts that tell us about the birth of Jesus Christ. We can say with certainty that the first Christmas celebration happened a long, long time after He was born. Shouldn’t we be thinking for ourselves rather than buying into whatever gets dumped on our laps, regardless of how religiously popular it is?
Christmas is an uncomfortable mix of Christian beliefs and non-Christian practices. It’s obvious that atypical Christian behaviour, like feasting, giving gifts and decorating trees, for example, have no direct association with Christ’s body, the Church. There are good reasons to believe that a few centuries after the birth of Christ the big Christianised religion of the day eventually allowed established cultural traditions to get mixed up with Church practices and beliefs. With the passing of time celebrating the birth of Christ became an official so-called Christian festival that incorporated popular customs that have continued to the present day.
From a purely Christian scholarly perspective nothing can compete with the authoritative content of The New Testament. Within the true Church this isn’t as obvious as it seems. It should go without saying that if you’re after the most accurate definition of the Christian faith, its practices and beliefs, then the New Testament is by far the most reliable ancient text available. Where else should we go? Many millions of intelligent Christians read it daily and consider it to be the essential Word of God, even after 2000 years of cultural diversification. It’s true that it doesn’t fare well in the hands of fundamentalist extremists, but we could say that about a lot of things.
Why does this unrivalled source of sound God-breathed Christian teaching have nothing to say about one of the major festivals in the so-called Christian calendar? (By the way, we could ask the same question about Easter.) The New Testament does indeed refer to the birth of Christ, but we read nothing about the true Church’s far-reaching annual celebration of Christmas. There’s not one verse or sentence that teaches us how important it is to set aside a very special day to mark Christ’s birth. But this should come as no surprise as it was never celebrated in the first place.[3] The religious Christmas festival has been mixed into authentic Christian practices. What are the implications of this?
Its origins, widespread appeal and substantial imperfections (see below) bother some Christians, and rightly so. When the world and false religion is madly in love with something, shouldn’t genuine Christians be at least a little bit cautious? But few are. Stop for a moment and consider the worldly characteristics of the Christmas season in the light of 1st John 2:15-17:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (New American Standard Bible).
Church members and their spiritual leaders who are so enthusiastic about Christmas do not consider its dubious origins to be of any serious consequence. When did you last come across a church that publicly questioned the validity of Christmas or highlighted the stress and obsessive commercialism that stem from it year after year? True, in the overall context of church life it’s a side issue, but shouldn’t it be fairly addressed? Why should the Christmas Season get a free pass?
But we needn’t dwell too long on Christendom’s global preoccupation with Christmas. When you think it over religion doesn’t matter much because the vast majority of people in the world get heavily involved with Christmas for reasons that aren’t remotely theological. Truth be told, it’s the unholy marriage of commercialism and man-made religious tradition that keeps ‘Xmas’ alive.
Conform and Spend
Irked by tacky worldliness and avaricious commercialism lots of Christians tell the world, “Christmas is all about Jesus. He’s the reason for the season, so let’s put Christ back into Christmas!” This problematic opinion draws attention to the unchristian character of a manic festival that drives most of us round the bend. It’s more about Santa, frantic shopping, fake snow and tidings of good beer than stirring up our responsibilities in Christ. How many adults really “Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” (famous song by UK pop band Wizzard)? Not many.
Believing defenders of Christmas are sincere and their intentions honest. For many true Christians Christmas is an opportunity to express their appreciation of the incarnation story. Fair enough, but there are other things they don’t appreciate. Each year the marked deficit in their post-Christmas bank balances will tell a story that’s anything but heart-warming. From October to the hectic January sales the Christmas season is a moneymaking frenzy that bamboozles the population out of billions year upon year. Consider for a moment that UK Christmas shoppers will spend around £9 billion in the week before Christmas Day. Just one week. That’s over £53,000,000 an hour.*
Would you not agree that our minds are regularly manipulated and conditioned by the world to the point we can’t escape the toxic spirit of the Christmas season? Aren’t we tirelessly enticed to spend, spend and then spend some more? And the pressure to do what everybody else is doing is immense. Should we just go with the flow? Does it matter? Is anyone bold enough to do whatever it takes to break free from this hectic cycle? In truth, many are compromised by Christmas to the extent that they are incapable of coming to terms with its harmful consequences.
Let’s face it, at Christmas the little children—bless them—can get greedy. Who can blame them. Expectations are high. Most of them would be put out if they didn’t get lots (and lots) of gifts on Christmas morning. Mammoth advertising campaigns see to it that they know what they want. This Christmas many parents will once again spend a small fortune on gifts that may well lie forgotten within a few months. Adults must conform or be considered a disappointment.
Recent research by a toy manufacturer (!) suggests that £1 billion is wasted each Christmas on children’s toys possibly because 8 out of 10 children are “disappointed” with their gifts. This is all the more surprising when we learn that on average £378 is spent on each child. Maybe this waste of money is caused by friends and family who are clueless—76% don’t know what gifts to buy for kids.
Rampant commercialism often results in challenging debt that can spiral out of control and take a long time to sort out. In the U.S. the average person can face around $1000 of Christmas debt.[4] Unsurprisingly finance companies are tripping over themselves to cash in on this foolishness by offering “Christmas Debt Consolidation Loans” that promise to ease the burden. But nailing debt to debt will always be a short-sighted solution.
British door to door lenders can arrange loans for low income families to help them get over the Christmas period, but the interest can be shamelessly extortionate. In one publicised example £155 was paid back to clear a £100 loan. This is simply cashing in on people’s misery. There’s so much pressure on families to spend at Christmas that they willingly get into debt that in some cases can take a full 12 months to clear. A vicious cycle indeed.
An independent UK company that deals with debt £10,000 and over recorded a 275% surge in calls due solely to the demands of a Christmas season. Generally UK household debt is rising at a faster rate than in the U.S. and most major European countries. The average UK household debt (excluding mortgages) stands at £8500. Over 8 million Britons are recognised to be in serious debt. The last thing they need is Christmas madness.
A recent survey estimated that over a third of Britons would spend more than their expected budget at Christmas. The financial demands of the festive season are one reason why personal debt in the UK is estimated at £1400 billion. This essay was written in Northern Ireland where the average household is almost £7000 in debt. Christmas just piles on the pressure. And financial worries partly explain another Christmas problem.
Depression, Aggravation and Isolation
We all believe that Christmas should be a time for all the family, although nobody would be foolish enough to suggest we should rely on it for family bonding. We rightly consider ourselves privileged if we cherish happy memories of cosy family times around the tree opening presents. That’s fine, but there’s another side to the story here.
There are those who have very different Christmas memories and each year triggers another wave of difficult emotions. There are many reasons for bad experiences at Christmas. Life comes with no guarantees at any time of the year but unhappiness can cut more deeply when expectations are foolishly high. The Christmas ideal comes complete with an absurdly contrived positivity. Why do we tolerate it? Where does godly wisdom go at Christmas?
These crazy, heightened and unrealistic expectations saturate our newspapers, TV programmes, Internet sites and magazines. Our minds are programmed and conformed. But don’t you agree that the harsh reality of day-to-day living in our modern society often paints an altogether different picture? For example, it’s an uncomfortable thought that many will soon spend their first Christmas without a loved one. There will be an empty chair. Life is hard. The Christmas Season is a prescribed and eagerly anticipated merrymaking that can quickly become a nasty mess when the real world brings more than its fair share of problems and heartaches.
We briefly considered the all-to-common pressures related to debt that’s fuelled by unwise spending habits. Beyond doubt this is just one of many reasons why there are more suicides and serious bouts of depression at Christmas than at any other time of the year. The Samaritans receive more crisis calls over Christmas than at any other time of the year. Statistics show that doctors prescribe more tranquillizers and anti-depressants throughout the Christmas Festival. More people go to specialists with mental problems at or because of Christmastime. Marriages are under more pressure during the Christmas period.
MORI UK polls have found that one in six says that Christmas is a time of year he or she dreads and, peculiarly, 11% of parents won’t even see their children on Christmas Day. It’s ironic too that family togetherness over the Christmas and New Year holiday season results in a significant increase in domestic violence.
Majority Rule?
It seems that these glaring inconsistencies are insignificant to those who are heavily into the irrationality of seasonal cheer. “Don’t be so grouchy. Make the most of it. Lighten up!” But, should we ignore the evidence and simply give in to majority rule?
Out there in the world, the real problem of Christmas lies in the modern individual’s inability to be an individualist. It’s true that society in general is no longer brainwashed en masse by objectionable religious dogma, but it’s always easier to run with the in-crowd. Far too many are OK with being conditioned and shaped by the classic Christmas template. Surely as unique individuals it’s time to start thinking for ourselves rather than conforming to the seasonally adjusted expectations of others.
When the case has been made, opinions and facts shared, we can either sweep this festive shambles under the carpet or face up to the fact there’s something seriously wrong with Christmas. The Christmas Season has a tendency to favour those with the fewest problems and the least stress while inevitably putting more pressure on those who struggle to cope.
But more importantly, the dominant characteristics of the Christmas Festival clash with the fullness of the “teaching of Christ”[5] in the Bible. We are called to be strangers in a corrupt world, just like God’s chosen long ago who were “aliens in the land of Egypt” (consider 1st Peter 2:11 and Deuteronomy 10:19). But instead we’re right at home in the thick of it. We have our hands in our pockets while rosy sentiment and big business overthrow biblical values and derail common sense.
[1] “The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131” ([Roman] Catholic Encyclopedia). It should be argued that the Christmas Festival is a Roman Catholic invention.
[2] A number of online resources are worth looking at in this regard. There are religious websites out there that clearly lose the plot, but a few contain challenging and educational information. Just do a search for “pagan Christmas”, or something similar. David Pawson may be considered a reliable source of credible information. Beyond doubt there are real issues with Christmas that clash with many biblical principles and the character of historical, pre-Roman Catholic Christianity.
[3] As Christians maybe we should think in principle about Paul’s response to a body of believers who were making a big fuss over special days and seasons, just as they had done before they came to Christ and joined a local church. In a letter he told them he was afraid for them because of their beliefs. Consider Galatians 4:8-11 and Colossians 2:6-3:3. It’s clear that those who have accepted Christ have no need of a religious calendar.
In an attempt to justify celebrating Christmas, some counteract this important principle in the Book of Galatians by appealing to the points raised by Paul in Romans 14. But when all is said and done, can we really imagine the apostles and mature spiritual leaders in the early Church making a big fuss about any kind of official festival that had objectionable origins, pagan connections, a corrupt religious evolution, and was shot through with the spirit of the world? Seriously? If it can be demonstrated that the Christmas Festival wasn’t given by God to the true Church of Scripture, is it wise to promote it today?
[4] Revised note: In 2022 household debt in America reached $16 trillion. A huge number of Americans are literally living on borrowed money.
[5] 2nd John v. 9.
