The celebration of Christmas is not commanded in Scripture. For those of us with a high view of Scripture, perhaps this thought makes us wince. It should. After all, this un-commanded celebration demands more time, energy, and financial resources than any other day of the year, all expended to celebrate a day not celebrated in the New Testament. How did we get here?
A Smidgeon of History
Perhaps you know the answer to the question already, but it's quite simple. Ancient pagan holidays celebrated the winter solstice. There was also a tradition that celebrated the birth of the ancient god Mithras on December 25. By the fourth century, Christians robbed the day of its original meaning and changed the significance of the day when they decided to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Since the date of Christ birth was unknown, this date -- the twenty-fifth of December -- was sufficient. Thus was born the "Christ mass," or Christmas. They took a pagan holy day and hijacked it for a Christian celebration. Again, you probably knew that.
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