THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS

Hi guys! What do you think about when I say the word "Christmas"? Do you think about Santa Claus, presents, Christmas trees, the birth of Jesus, Noel, Sun worship, or other pagan traditions?

There are so many different stories about Christmas. Some say it's about the birth of Jesus Christ, others say, no, it's about different pagan traditions, celebrations.

So, what is the truth? We got so many questions from you guys asking us a lot of different questions about Christmas. So in this video, I'm going to answer the main question that I think most of you have, and that is, "Should Christians celebrate Christmas"?

Now, what does the Bible say about Christmas? Well, if you look through it, it says nothing, absolutely nothing. It doesn't even mention the date of Jesus' birth.

It's very specific on many things, for example, Luke 2 says, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger. Jesus fulfilled around 300 old testament prophecies, many about His birth, but nowhere does it say anything about the date of His birth.

It doesn't say that He was born on the 25th of December, and I think if God wanted us to know, He would have told us, but He didn't. So is it wrong to remind ourselves of the birth of Jesus Christ and what it means for us?

Is it wrong to celebrate it? Well, no, the Bible does not say that it is wrong, but I can tell you that God cares more about the way you celebrate something than just to celebrate it for tradition's sake.

He says in Isaiah 1:13, “Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to Me; new moon and Sabbath and a calling of convocations- I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.”

Do you understand what God is saying here?

He doesn't want anything from us if it's not from a right and pure heart. Let's continue. "Your new moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.”

Human religious traditions or feasts mean absolutely nothing to God if your heart is not right, if you don't have a relationship with God. He then says, "When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you, even though you make many prayers,

I will not listen; Your hands are full of blood, wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."

All right, so you get it. God is crystal clear. So what is Christmas? When did it really start? Well, first, you need to understand that Christmas means something different for different people. The traditional Christian Christmas goes back to 25 December around 273 AD.

and at this time there were also two other pagan festivals, that worshiped the sun during the reign of Constantine, who made Christianity the religion of the empire. They formally started to celebrate Christmas on 25 December 336 AD.

Now, many people believe that the church specifically chose the 25th of December, this date to celebrate Christmas, to celebrate Christ, because they wanted to counteract the influence of paganism, which honored the sun on the same day.

Some Christians liked it, some did not, and even until this day, there are some Christians who still argue about this. And it really saddens my heart to see how easily Christians fight about these things, and they just allow the devil to come between them.

Now, let me explain this to you a little bit better with the help of crosswalk.com. First; people celebrated different holidays or different festivals on the 25th of December.

From Jewish Hanukkah to pagan winter solstice, to German Yule, to Roman Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which is the birth of the unconquered sun. And they celebrated these days with different things, like trees, different decorations, mistletoe, Yule logs, and so forth. And then Christians added the birth of Christ to this day to counter pagan beliefs.

This is one theory, I'll mention another one as we continue. December 25 was the Saturnalia festival of emancipation, gift-giving, and the triumph of light after the longest night.

And then when Christians heard about this they saw truth in this pagan tradition, because they saw Jesus Christ, that's the light of the world, light over darkness that He is the light conquered sin.

Remember Luke 1:78 says, “Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

There's also another reason why the western church might have chosen the 25th of December to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Some thought that March the 25th was the date of the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ.

in Mary's womb, and then, of course, nine months later, what do we have? 25 December. Now, the calendar of the western church was set during Constantine's reign, while the eastern church kept it on the 6th of January for some time.

Now, look, I believe that the church of that time wanted to overcome evil with good, and that's why they changed the meaning of some of the pagan practices. For example, the evergreen trees were the symbol of eternal life. Martin Luther introduced them to the reformation church as a picture of our eternal life in Christ.

He did it by bringing in a tree to his family on Christmas Eve, lit with candles. So what do the candles mean? It symbolizes that Jesus Christ is the light of the world, according to John 8. And the gifts on Christmas day, what do they mean?

They are a reminder of the gifts of the magi to baby Jesus and also Jesus, who gave Himself to us so that we might be saved. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 says, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.”

And then what about the bells? They symbolize the good news. Bringing out the news that Jesus came down to earth and took our sins on the cross, and died in our place so that we might be saved.

And red is the color of Christmas, but what does it mean? You can probably guess it, right? It reminds us of Jesus Christ's blood that flowed on the cross for us.

And what about Santa Claus? Santa Claus is a Dutch word that's actually "Sinter Claus", which is 'Saint Nicholas' in English. Now, who was Saint Nicholas? Well, just so you know, I'm not catholic, but this is the story behind it.

Saint Nicholas was a bishop of a church in Asia Minor today we know it as Turkey. And he basically left money in a stocking on the doorstep of a poor family. Why did he do it? Because he knew that the family might have to sell their children into slavery because they were so poor.

So, he just left money in a stocking on their doorstep. So, what does the word Christmas mean? Christmas. Christ-mas. The first part points to Christ, and the second part points to mass.

Meaning a mass service, also known as communion or Eucharist. This is where we as a family of Christ, brothers, and sisters, come together, and we have Holy communion where we remember what Jesus did for us, on the cross.

He died for us, in our place for our sins, and then He rose again after three days from the grave. So, should Christians celebrate Christmas? Well, in my opinion, it's absolutely your choice, but it depends on how you celebrate it.

Yes, Christmas does have a pagan history and it does have Christian history. You can even see all the Pagan things in it now with a certain perspective.

So, if you feel that you want to celebrate Christmas, you want to celebrate that Jesus Christ came down to earth and He was born here to save us, then you can do it with your family.

But if you feel that you should not celebrate Christmas then don't do it, but then at the same time don't judge other Christians for doing it. Don't put it on as a badge of honor and saying, like 'I know the truth and you guys are sinning'.

When I spoke to some Christians who do not believe in Christmas, they have this pride kind of feeling, and they feel better than other Christians. That's not right.

This is where we as Christians come together as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we remind ourselves that Jesus Christ came to earth and He died on the cross for our sins, and after three days, He rose again from the grave.

Colossians 2:16 says, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink.” Now, listen to this. “Or with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

Look, guys, at the end there's no Biblical reason why you should or you should not celebrate Christmas, but I personally will celebrate Christmas with my family, because for me.

Christmas is not about Santa Claus, presents, or reindeer, it's about the birth of Jesus Christ, and I feel that it is good to remind myself, and my family, of this amazing day.

Someone once said, "We hold this day Holy, not like the pagans, because of the birth of the sun, but because of God who made it." Christmas, for me, is about coming together as a family once a year, to remind ourselves of the birth of Jesus Christ and what that means for us.

The gospel not only transcends culture but transforms it, so for us to come together, and just remind ourselves what Jesus really came to do here on earth. God became human for us, to rescue us.

John 3:16 says, “For God so love the world", that's the whole world, everybody in it, me, you. It doesn't matter where you're from, who your parents are, how much money you have, none of that matters.

Not your education, nothing, He loves you for who you are. For who He made you be and The Bible says,

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God, and this is the judgment the light has come into the world, and people love the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil."

The real question you should ask is not should "Christians celebrate Christmas", but "Why did Jesus Christ come down to earth, in the flesh as a human being?" Why? If you don't know the answer here, and I’ll see you there. And always remember, God loves you, and I love you too. Bye!