Authoritative educational books, such as encyclopedias, give us the truth. In the Holy Scriptures, long before the virgin birth, the Creator speaks of Christmas being celebrated, as Yeremyah 10:1-5 indicates.
The Encyclopedia
Britannica, Volume II, under Christmas,
says:
In
the Roman world, the Saturnalia was a time of
merrymaking and exchanging of gifts. December 25th was also regarded as
the birthdate of the Iranian Mystery god, Mithra, the Sun of
Righteousness.
On the Roman
New Year houses were decorated with greenery and
lights and gifts were given to children.
To these
observances were added the German and Celtic Yule
rites...Food
and good fellowship, the Yule log and Yule cakes,
greenery and fir trees, gifts and greetings all commemorated different
aspects of this festive season. Fires and lights, symbols of warmth and
lasting life have always been associated with the winter festival, both
pagan and Christian.
In
A Book of Christmas,
by William Sansom, McGraw-Hill, pages 28-39, we find the following
information:
To
get green food for his beasts and later for himself when
the first corn was planted, primitive man needed rain and sun. So, with
their primitive eyes on the great and mysterious sky...the first
religious instincts prayed to the sun! The
moment of the
Sun's Annual rebirth
in late December was one of the vital
religious times of the year. This time
of year was also the
least laborious. There was time to
make merry.
Early Northern people, who had no exact astronomical findings began
their Winter
festivals earlier...in
November...
when the signs of the sun's recession... (dying) and the scarcity of
animal food made the slaughter of the increase of the herd necessary.
Later, the ceremonies moved forward to mid-December and the
anticipation of the Saturnalia...that wonderful, heartwarming,
emotional festival introduced by the
Romans by
their occupation of the then-known world.
In
Roman Times...a Pre-Christian
Message
of 'peace and god's will' to all men accompanied the Saturnalia. The
Saturnalia was within the solstice
and Saturnalia-Kalendae
period...starting
December 17 and going through January 1st.
The Roman Saturnalia is recorded in writing and was the function of a
highly civilized people. The first period of feasting was generally for
seven days. The god
celebrated was Saturn...farmer
of a former gold age and eater
of his own children.
The
giving of presents...particularly candles and dolls
called Sigillaria
also derives from the insistent origin
of human sacrifice at this time of year.
Directly
following the Saturnalia was the Kalendae...more
mathematically concerned with the date of the new Roman
year...and
the celebration
of the god Janus,
god of doors (as
a two-way engine) who looks back on the past and forward to the future.
One
may think of the Saturnalia as 'Roman in
Rome'...but
the truth is: The
Roman Empire
was a World-Ruling
Empire at that
time. The customs
of Rome
were spread to all the known world.
Britons and Celts, Indians and Egyptians were all called part of the
Roman Empire at one time. These nations brought their own Sun
Worshiping Cults
to join into the
Saturnalia
Celebrations.
It was an Empire-Wide
Celebration.
All the people in this Empire, save only a few...gathered in their
homes to drink wine...to dance and sing...to light their
candles and exchange presents...giving
their children the
little clay dolls that represented their former sacrifices.
The
Feast
of Fools and
the Lord
of Misrule
derived directly from the Saturnalia. Many
other customs have become engrafted into the ancient
celebration
occurring at this time of year. Mummers and Wild
Men roam the British Isles and Europe. The Mari Lwyd ritual in Wales is
reviving. The evergreen
tree is an ancient custom
incorporated. The Vikings gave their Yule...the druids
donated their
magic mistletoe...the
Father
Christmas in
Briton and the Santa
Claus of German
origin were
all donated and incorporated into the holidays
known worldwide
as Christmas and New Year.
It
was not
until
the middle of the fourth century
c.e.
that the 'Birth' of the Messiah was officially
celebrated at the time of year when the lighting of fires...the
praising of the new sun...relaxation
and feasting was set on
the very same date as that of the birth of the sun god...Mithra.
MITHRAISM: The worship of Mithra shared many similarities with the newer Christian ceremonies. There was baptism, a sacramental meal, and observance of Sunday, and the god himself was born on December 25th.
In the earliest millennium, the great mother goddess was a symbol of procreation and fertility and was worshiped in every corner of the world. This mother goddess was pictured as the sun and earth and her consort as the moon and the natural elements.
The Babylonians worshiped a goddess mother and a son, represented in pictures and images as a mother with her son in her arms. From Babylon this worship of the mother and her child spread to the ends of the earth.
In Egypt, Osiris, the Sun God, the son/husband of Isis was born on December 25th. In the Syrian Mystery Religion, Astarte—Semiramis wept over Adonis—Nimrod. The birthday of Adonis, the Sun God of Syria, was December 25th. The festival of Mithras, the Sun God of Ancient Persia, was celebrated on December 25th. Tree worship and celebrating a birthday on December 25th did not start in the Christian Era.
Mithraism,
or
Persian Sun God worship was
a well known religion in Yahshua's day. The Romans became acquainted
with this religion about 200 b.c.e., by the year 200 c.e., it was
popular in the Roman armies. Mithras was a manifestation of the power
of the sun. The emblem of Mithras read: Sol Invictus—the
Invincible Sun. The cult of Mithras ennobled fighting as a manly virtue
and was especially attractive to the Roman soldiers.
Diocletian, who brought the most severe persecution forward, worshiped Mithras. His successor, Constantine, who was named the savior of the Christian religion, also worshiped Mithras.
Collier's
Encyclopedia,
Volume 9, page 431, says:
As
social and economic conditions became worse, the
Roman masses turned more and more to the colorful, strongly emotional,
and superstitious mystery religions imported from the East. The
cults of the Great Mother, of Isis, and of Mithras were the most
popular. They all emphasized spiritual salvation and a future
life—in a word they offered comfort.
Constantine was a pagan worshiper of Mithra. He used religious toleration for the Christians as a political ploy to strengthen his own power as the pagan emperor of Rome.
The Last Two Million Years, by The
Readers
Digest Association, pages 217-218, says:
By a
stroke of tactical genius the Church, while intolerant of
pagan beliefs, was able to harness the powerful
emotions
generated by pagan worship. Often,
churches were sited where
temples had stood before, and many
heathen festivals were
added to the Christian calendar...
By
harnessing the emotions generated by
pagan religions, one can truthfully say that the pagan religions are a
part of Christianity.
The
most popular pagan festival was the birthday of the
Invincible Sun on December 25th. The Mithraic and Roman religions were
already celebrating the rebirth of the sun. It was not a hard task to
place the mask of Christianity over this pagan birthdate and call it
the birthday of Jesus.
Strange
Stories Amazing Facts, by The
Readers Digest Association, pages 283-284, says:
Christmas
and Easter, although
the greatest
festivals in the Christian calendar, are
celebrated with
customs that originated in superstition and heathen rites hundreds of
years before Christ was born.
Even
the dates owe more to pagan practices than to the birth
and resurrection of Jesus. It was not
until the fourth century
that December 25 was fixed arbitrarily as the anniversary of the
Nativity—because the
pagan festivals from which so
many Christmas customs spring were held around that time.
Although
Christianity has swept the world in a relatively
short time, as the histories of great religions go, the early
missionaries faced an uphill task. The pagans
were reluctant
to give up their false gods and ancient practices.
So
the missionaries, unable to convert them easily to an
entirely new code of worship, did the next best thing. They
took the pagan festivals as they were and gradually grafted the
observances of the new faith onto these festivals and the rites and
customs surrounding them.
December
25 was not called Christmas until the
ninth century. Until
then it had been the Midwinter Feast, a
combination of the Norse Yule
Festival and the Roman
Saturnalia, both of
which took place in late December.
Holidays
Around The World,
by Joseph Gaer, page 133, says:
The
Old Winter Solstice
Christmas
is a very old holiday.
It clearly started
as a celebration of the passing
of the winter solstice, and the start of the sun's return journey from
the north to the south.
All
the early nations of the earth joyfully celebrated the
arrival of this season in the sun's journey. The ancient Romans
observed this time with a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of
agriculture, and it was called
Saturnalia. This
festival was observed with great merriment and abandon. Gifts
were exchanged.
When
Emperor Constantine decreed Christianity as the new
faith of the Roman Empire, early in the fourth century, the Christians
gave the holiday an entirely new name.
They
called the holiday the Mass of
Christ,
or Christ
Mass,
which was shortened to Christmas.
And they declared that Christmas was the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth.
Though
the exact day and year when Jesus was born are not known.
All of the practices of Christmas have come from paganism. They are merely the modern practices of the same worship that Yahweh says is an abomination to Him.
Regardless of the fact that these pagan festivals are covered with the mask of Christian respectability, they are still the ancient worship of Nimrod, the mighty one of the earth who opposed Yahweh.
Holidays Around The World, by Joseph
Gaer,
page 137, says:
A
Happy New Year! The date we
celebrate as New
Year's, like the
date of Christmas, is an
inheritance from the Romans.
Bah! Humbug!
Christmas and New Year go together like hand and glove today, just as they have from ancient ages. The ancient birth of the male moon was modernized as Christmas, which the whole world is celebrating today.
Spreading a feast of luxuriant lucky foods and toasting drink offerings to 'good luck' still takes place in today. The Feast of Hogmanay is still celebrated with special foods and hard liquors, on the evening before New Year's day, 'for good luck.'
Collier's
Encyclopedia, Volume 6, 1980,
page 404, tells us:
During
the Saturnalia Roman citizens used to give "good
luck'' gifts (strenae) of fruits, pastry, or gold to their friends on
New Year's Day.
These
good luck gifts are in honor of the
Gods of fortune and destiny.
Yeremyah
7:18—
How
the
children gather wood, and the
fathers kindle the fire, while the women knead dough to make cakes for
the Queen of Heaven, and how they pour
out drink offerings to
the hinder gods (elohim),
so they may act defiantly against
Me?
There is no question that the first day of the pagan New Year is spent in acquiring `good luck' from the Gods of Luck—Fortune and Destiny.
There is also no question that the ancient festivities of Saturnalia—Brumalia—Chag Meni are nothing more than the Christmas—New Year of today. Christmas and New Year is still the ancient pagan worship of the ancient pagan Gods Yahweh tells us is an abomination to Him.
Holidays Around the World, by Joseph
Gaer,
pages 138-139, says:
A
great temple with immense gates was built to Janus. And
when Rome was at war, the gates of the temple of Janus stood open. But
when peace was declared, the gates were closed with great rejoicing.
There
was also great rejoicing before the gates of
the temple of Janus on New Year's Day when the people gathered to do
homage to the god of all beginnings. Gifts were exchanged among
friends. Resolutions to be
friendly and good to
each other were made. And the entire day was given to festivities.
When
the Romans under Constantine accepted Christianity as
their new faith, they
retained the Festival of Janus as their
New Year's Day.
Janus, the God that the month of January is named for was the Father of the Gods, and at the same time the mediatorial divinity. He is identified with Bacchus or Adonis (the Sun God) and was invoked in the Religion of Mystery as Satur, Saturn, Mystery.
A Dictionary of Non-Christian Religions,
page 246, says:
Saturn,
Saturnalia. Saturn
was a Roman
god... identified with the Greek Kronos. His festival, the Saturnalia,
was on 17 December. There was a Lord of Misrule and presents were
exchanged. Some of
this was transferred into Christmas and
New Year festivities. Saturn
was also a planet from which
Saturday is named.
Strange
Stories, Amazing Facts,
by The Readers Digest Association, pages 283-284, tells us of some of
the customs that were transferred to Christmas and New Year:
Weeklong
feast: The seven days of Roman
feasting
were an occasion for exchanging
presents__one
of the pagan customs that was gladly incorporated into Christmas.
In
the centuries that followed the Norman Conquest, as
Christianity gained a firmer hold, carols and the Nativity play were
added. And Father Christmas evolved as a mixture of the red-robed Lord
of Misrule and St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), the patron saint of children.
The mistletoe:
Mistletoe, a plant sacred
to the Druids, was hung outside Viking homes as a sign of peace and
welcome to strangers.
The
custom of kissing under the mistletoe has been
traced to the Roman Saturnalia. It has
also been associated
with certain primitive marriage rites.
It
is a proven fact that the festivities of
Christmas and New Year are the same worship to the same pagan Gods
which Yahweh tells us is an abomination to Him. Yahweh also says to us
in:
Yeremyah
10:2-5—
2
This is what Yahweh says: Do not learn
the way; religious
practices, of the
heathen; Gentile
nations; and do not
be deceived by the signs of heaven;
though the heathen are deceived by them; using them
to set
their feasts.
3 For
the religious customs
of the peoples are vain; worthless!
For
one cuts
a tree out of the
forest, the
work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4
They
decorate it with silver and with gold;
they fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that it will not move; topple
over.
5
They are upright,
like a palm tree, but
they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by
themselves. Do not give
them reverence! They cannot do evil,
nor is
it in
them to do righteousness!
Yahweh has told us emphatically, "Do not learn the way of the heathen!'' The way of the heathen is written in the chapters of man's customs and traditions that have come down from Nimrod—Semiramis—Ninus—mother—son—husband adoration—worship.
Satan makes the emotional holidays at this time of the year seem so right. But to know these customs and traditions are the worship of pagan Gods and then to still willfully participate in them is an abominable sin.
To know that these Christian holidays of Christmas and New Year are nothing more than the worship of the ancient pagan Gods is to also know that to bow down and worship them is breaking the first two of the Ten Commandments.
What is Yahweh's Word on this pagan worship?
Deuteronomy
12:30-32—
30 Be
careful not to be ensnared
into following them
by asking about their gods
(elohim), saying: How did these
nations serve their gods (elohim)? I also will do the same.
31
You must not worship Yahweh your Father in their
way, for every abomination
to Yahweh, which He hates,
they have done to their gods (elohim). They even burn their sons and
daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods (elohim).
32
Whatsoever I command you, be careful to observe
and do it, you
shall not add to it, nor take away from it.
Yahweh also shows us the judgment of the religious system of Mystery Babylon the Great, mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.
Revelation
18:2,8—
2 And
he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying: Babylon
the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation
of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every
unclean and hateful bird.
8
Therefore, her plagues will come in one day__death,
and mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for
strong is Father Yahweh Who judges her.
To
those of Yahweh's House whom He has
called or is calling in these Last Days, to all who would enter into
His Kingdom, Yahweh says:
Revelation
18:4—
And I
heard another voice from heaven, saying: Come
out of her, My people, so that you do not partake in her sins, and so
that you do not receive of her plagues.
Yahweh
promises to His servants, those who
obey every Word that proceeds from His mouth:
Revelation
22:14—
Blessed
are those who keep His
Law, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in
through the gates into the city.
Personal Note From The Editor
When most people first begin to study the Scriptures for themselves, they are shocked to find that the Scriptures do not say what the churches teach.
The followers of Yahshua, the Disciples and early believers, did not celebrate these pagan days. Do not be deceived, these pagan celebrations were being observed even during the time of the apostles, but Yahweh's people did not observe any of these pagan celebrations.
The
Apostle Shaul warned the flock of Yahweh of the changes
that he knew would take place in:
Acts 20:29-30—
29
For I know this, that after my departing grievous wolves
will enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
30
Also among your own selves will men arise,
speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after themselves.
Shaul knew Yahweh's Way of Salvation would be rejected by ones there. He knew these men would turn back to the pagan worship he had taught against for three years. He warned them night and day with tears.
The apostles and early believers never taught the pagan custom of Christmas. This deception was brought into the congregations after the death of the apostles.
This celebration was not a new doctrine by any means. The pagans had been practicing these celebrations hundreds of years before Yahshua was born!
These celebrations were condemned by the early
prophets.
Yeremyah had this to say about the pagan celebration which early
Christians renamed Christmas:
Yeremyah
10:1—
Hear
the word which Yahweh speaks concerning
you, O house of Israyl.
The world does not hear Yahweh's Words. The reason this world does not hear the Word of Yahweh is because Satan has deceived this whole world, as we are told in Revelation 12:9. Yahweh's Word is very clear. The world does not practice what the prophets under Yahweh's inspiration taught.
Yeremyah
10:2—
This
is what Yahweh says: Do not learn the way;
religious practices, of the heathen;
Gentile nations; and do not be deceived
by the signs of heaven; though the heathen are deceived by them; using
them to set their feasts.
The people of this world have disobeyed Yahweh not only by learning heathen ways, but also by practicing these heathen ways yearly.
Yeremyah
10:3—
For
the religious customs of the
peoples are vain; worthless!...
Notice
what Yahweh says in Yeremyah
10:3. This custom that all the world practices is
a vain
custom. This custom will not bring Salvation, but its vanity will most
definitely bring death. We are also told in Yeremyah what this vain
custom is that Yahweh tells us not to learn:
Yeremyah
10:3-5—
3
...For one cuts a tree
out of
the forest, the work
of the hands of the workman, with the
ax.
4
They
decorate it with silver and with gold; they
fasten it with nails and with hammers, so that
it will not
move; topple over.
5
They are upright,
like a palm tree, but
they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by
themselves. Do not give
them reverence! They cannot do evil,
nor is
it in
them to do righteousness!
This
vain custom that Yahweh commands us
not to learn is practiced by all of Christendom every year. They cut
their evergreen trees, and they deck their trees just as they did in
the time of Yeremyah. This world thinks nothing of practicing this vain
custom, although it is a custom of worship to pagan gods! The practice
of this vain custom also breaks the First Commandment: "I am Yahweh,
you shall have no hinder Gods.''
The breaking of Yahweh's Law is sin (I Yahchanan 3:4). The wages you earn for practicing sin is death (Romans 6:23)! This world believes the fact that Yahweh inspired these Scriptures to be written. His Words are there for all to read, but they refuse to believe what Yahweh says. Yahweh says throughout the Scriptures that this vain way leads to death, and if you practice these vain customs which Satan instituted, you are a servant of Satan and not of Yahweh.
Romans
6:16—
Do
you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants
to obey, his servants
you are whom you obey__whether
of sin, which
leads to
death, or of
obedience, which
leads to righteousness?
It was through ignorance, and the dread and fear of the signs of a dying sun, that this vain custom of Christmas was introduced, though it was not called Christmas at that time. What is even more amazing is the fact that today's educated world still worships Satan through these vain customs that pagans practiced because of their ignorance.
Christmas is not a new doctrine ordained by any of the followers of Yahweh. It's an old, pagan practice from the worship of Baal.
Christmas, and other pagan practices, brought on the death of the first established House of Yahweh. Satan managed to slowly bring pagan practices and false doctrines into The House of Yahweh after all of the apostles died. The apostles fought against these practices and doctrines until their deaths.
As
the apostles would not yield to pagan customs or false
doctrines, we also should not yield to churches today that teach these
doctrines. Yahshua gave us this warning in:
Yahchanan
Mark 7:7—
But
in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrine the
commandments of men.
These
pagan customs and practices are the
worship of pagan Gods that Yahweh warned against in:
Deuteronomy
12:30-31—
30 Be
careful not to be ensnared into following them by asking
about their gods (elohim),
saying: How did these
nations serve their gods (elohim)? I also will do the same.
31
You must not worship Yahweh your Father in their way, for
every abomination to Yahweh, which He hates, they have done to their
gods (elohim). They even
burn their sons and daughters in the
fire as sacrifices to their gods (elohim).
What is the Way of worship that brings Salvation? Your Savior, Yahshua Messiah through Yahweh our Father, gives you the answer__and it is not through the worship of pagan Gods.
Mattithyah
19:17—
...if
you would enter into life, keep the Laws.
Mattithyah
4:4—
But
He answered, and said; It is written: Man does
not live by bread alone, but by every word (Law) that proceeds out of
the mouth of Yahweh.
Pagan practices will not lead to eternal life. Those who follow vain customs are called whoremongers and worshipers of Gods by Yahweh. Yahweh also says such will suffer the second death in Revelation 21:8.
The only way to everlasting life is Yahweh's Way. There is no other way. PRAISE YAHWEH!