The debate about the celebration of Christmas

By Eduardo E. González Álvarez

Every time we approach the end of a year, the old debate resurfaces about the
legitimacy of Christmas celebrations. Around it, Christianity is divided into two
camps: those who advocate for the celebration of Christmas and those who oppose it. In this
we present a brief analysis of the main aspects of the conflict, as well as a
summary of the arguments used by the contenders on this topic:
The origin of the festivity
1. Opposing argument: Christmas does not originate from pure Christianity, but rather from
paganism of Babylon approximately 2600 B.C. (Ramírez 2010).
Response from the defenders: That Babylon held a pagan celebration on a date
similar to that chosen to celebrate Christian Christmas does not mean that the latter is
a prolongation of the first.
a. Christmas (in Latin: nativitas, 'birth') is the biblical story of the birth of
Jesus (Luke 2:11), an event widely highlighted in the Gospel records.
b. When the Christian church celebrates the nativity of Jesus today, it does so with the purpose
to announce to the world that they have been born "a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," without having
for sure nor needing the exact date when the event occurred.
c. The date, the moment, and the reason that gave rise to the contemporary celebration
Christmas is neither defended nor needed; it is simply an opportunity to take advantage of.
proclaim his message.
2. Opposing argument: There is no doubt that Babylonian paganism transcended borders,
settling strongly in the polytheism of the Roman Empire. It is there where
celebrated December 25 as 'The Winter Festival' in commemoration of
birth of Tamuz (Saturn for the Romans), the embodied sun god (Ramírez 2010).
Response from the defenders: This is just one among the many pagan attributions to
origin of Christmas, all lacking absolute historical verification. They are
speculations drawn from the pagan background of the ancient world and are full of
contradictions.
a. Dr. Phillip Schaff, a notable church historian of the past century, wrote a
monumental work of eight volumes on the History of the Christian Church. According to
Schaff, history records that the ancients celebrated an annual victory of the sun.
about the long winter night. This religious festival was celebrated near the
winter solstice, on December 21–22 of each year. This tradition was
embodied in the Saturnal Festival. It was a celebration of images, gift-giving and
liberation of slaves (The Origin of Christmas Traditions, 1995).
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b. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Christmas is not included in the list of

Christian festivities of Irenaeus are not in Tertullian's list on the same topic.
the oldest known lists. The earliest evidence of
The concern about the date of Christmas is found in Alexandria, around the year
200 A.D., when Clement of Alexandria indicates that certain Egyptian theologians 'very
Curious people assign not only the year but also the actual day of Christ's birth.
on 25pashons (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus. Since 221
A.D., in the work Chronographiai, Sextus Julius Africanus popularized December 25.
like the date of Jesus' birth. For the time of the First Council of Nicaea in 325
In A.D., the Alexandrian Church had already established the Day of Nativity and Epiphany (ACI Press,
Christmas
Many have claimed that the date was adopted from a Roman celebration,
known as Sol Invictus, but this pagan festival did not start until half a century
after Julius Africanus pointed out December 25. More than anything,
Aureliano, the emperor who initiated the celebration of the Unconquered Sun in 274 A.D.
Capoccia 2002), took this date from the Christians (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
d. As William J. Thige (2013) argues, by the 3rd century AD, there was already a celebration of the
birth of Christ on December 25, even before the Romans celebrated the
Festival of the Unconquered Sun (Sol Invictus).

3. Opponent's argument: This festivity [The winter festival] was accompanied by orgies,
unrestrainedness and a great inclination towards the value of friendship, which was demonstrated by
gift exchange and presents for that date (Ramírez 2010).
Response: Although the ancients celebrated a corrupt pagan festival in such a manner
date, that is not the objective, the spirit or the way in which the church celebrates Christmas.
As in all other areas of life, we are in the world, but we are not of it.
the world nor do we govern ourselves by its sinful customs (Jn. 15:18, 19).
a. The church is the only trustworthy spokesperson for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus. If
the intention of others is to celebrate the birth of Tamuz, which no one can
to affirm that the motivation for contemporary Christmas celebrations is the church
He sanctifies both the occasion and the message of the birth of Jesus with his practice.
b. Since society takes a break in its calendar to celebrate Christmas as
A social, customary, and secular party, the church can well distance itself from this.
practice to celebrate a pious party of gratitude, fraternity, and annunciation
We celebrate the occasion, not the date. Thus
the church fulfills its ministry of being 'salt' and 'light' (Mt. 5:13, 14).

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4. Opposing Argument: The custom of decorating the doors of each house also emerged with.
flower and green leaf crowns, and by the way, the practice of decorating a tree with fruits and
decorative items related to the sun god (Ramírez 2010).

Response: Decorations do not constitute the center of the Christian Christmas celebration;
they are just visible reminders of their message. In that regard, they should not be bothersome.

The tree with much fruit is a biblical figure of God's blessing, of progress.
spiritual and of a pious Christian life (Ps. 1:3; John 15:2, 16; Col. 1:6, 10), in such a way
that this does not constitute a pagan symbol in our temples either.
b. At the foot of the tree, the representation of the worship that Jesus received on the day is placed.
from his birth. It is not Tamuz nor the tree, but Jesus who receives our
adoration.
c. But even if the use of Christmas decorations bothers any brother for
reasons of conscience (cf. 1 Cor. 8:9–13; 10:23, 29), it is indeed possible to do without such
ornaments, although not from the reality of the message they represent.

5. Opponent's Argument: The winter solstice festival, celebrated on December 25

each year, it became the official date of Jesus' birth, and the ancient custom of the
the delivery of gifts and presents was arranged based on the experience that they had
wise men visiting the child Jesus, giving him "gifts" (Ramírez 2010).
Response: There is no total certainty that the winter solstice occurred on the 25th
December, but on the contrary, the different sources propose a later date.
early.
a. The date of Jesus' birth is not recorded in the Bible. For this reason,
reason, not all Christian denominations agree on the same date. Some
they assert that the origins of the celebration on December 25th are located in the
customs of the peoples of antiquity, which were celebrated during the solstice of
winter (from December 21) some festival related to the god or gods
of the sun, like Apollo and Helios (in Rome and Greece), Mithras (in Persia), Huitzilopochtli
(in Tenochtitlan), among others. Some cultures believed that the sun god was born on the 21st
in December, the shortest day of the year, and that the days were getting longer as
that the god was getting older. In other cultures, it was believed that the sun god died that
day, just to return to another cycle (Wikipedia, s.v. "Christmas").
b. According to astronomers, on the night of December 21 to 22, the Earth is in its
the darkest moment, the night is longer, the daylight is shorter and the sun is
closest to the Earth than at any other time of the year (The Origin of
Christmas Traditions, 1995)
c. If one wanted to take it as such, this is a surprising image of the coming of
Christ to us. As John 1:4-5 states, the Word 'gave life to everything created,

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and his life brought light to all. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness will never be able to
"to extinguish it" (NTV). Jesus came to a world darkened by sin; He came as the
sunrise from above and offered the gift of salvation and liberation from the
servitude to those who served the darkness (The Origin of Christmas Traditions,
1995).
d. While the Julian calendar specified the length of the solar year much more
exactly like most of his contemporaries, a slight inaccuracy caused
the subsequent retrograde drift of the date of the solstice during the course of
the centuries. The Gregorian calendar that we use today (established by Pope Gregory
XIII in 1582), a derivative of the Julian calendar, reflects the length of the solar year of
much more precise way, causing a much slower drift (one day in a
time span of about 900 years). For religious reasons, this calendar
it was initially calibrated in such a way that the solstice would occur around the 21st of
December, the same as what happened in the Julian calendar during the fourth century
(Wikipedia, s.v. 'Historical controversy')
As a result of modern advances in mathematics and astronomy, a
The precise determination of the moment of the solstice is now known (and predictable)
up to fractions of a second; however, the unpredictable disturbances in the
The orbit of the Earth can cause, and in fact causes, small variations. The date
the exact date of a solstice (or equinox) can vary from year to year, in
part due to the cyclical rules in the calendar such as 'a leap day every four'
years, except for the years of centuries not divisible by 400". It can also vary.
locally due to the consideration of time zones and the international line of
date change (Wikipedia, s.v. 'Historical controversy'). This indicates that not all
On December 25, if any coincide, the astronomical event occurs that
supposedly gave rise to the pagan worship of the sun, which is why this day does not
constitutes in itself a contamination of the Christian celebration of Christmas.
In our context, the Christian celebrations of the nativity of Jesus occur in
different moments at the end of December, not necessarily on the 25th. Therefore,
we must not stop celebrating this event of great historical and biblical significance
just because someone appropriated a day for their celebrations in the past
Pagans. Doing so would emulate the attitude of the Pharisees and scribes of the 1st century AD.
which "strained out a gnat and swallowed a camel" (Mt. 23:24).
6. Opposing argument: According to tradition, Jesus was born in winter (on December 25th or
winter solstice), but a detailed study of the biblical references leads us to conclude
that the Lord was not born in winter, but in autumn, in the middle of the month of September or
early October (Ramírez 2010).
Response: This is a statement that is hardly verifiable. Just as it happens with the
most events of antiquity, the exact date on which it took place

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the birth of Jesus goes through great uncertainties, due to the disparity of the
calendars that were used.
Many believe that December 25 was chosen to coincide with (or even
replace) the pagan holiday known as Saturnalia or Saturnal Festival,
but there is no definitive proof for this. The fact is that we actually
We do not know what time of year Jesus was born. The first reference to the 25th of
December as the birthday of Christ comes from Julius Africanus, who wrote in the
first part of the third century (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
b. Some have held the opinion that the traditional date is impossible because in the
In winter, the shepherds would not have been out in the fields at night. The
common nighttime temperatures in December near Jerusalem are between 35 and
40 degrees Fahrenheit. If this can be used as a guide in this case, then the
the temperature would not have been unbearable for those shepherds. It is also possible that
the temperatures were above average that night, so that
this argument is not solid (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
In his article 'Christmas: The Winter Argument in Israel,' Oscar Morales (2012)
note that "according to the historical climate records in Jerusalem (www.
The average temperatures in the month of November range
between 17°C and 8°C; in the month of December between 13°C and 5°C; in the month of
January between 12°C and 4°C.” In his comparative analysis, this author concludes that
we would be facing a phenomenon similar to the levels of cold experienced in the
western zone of our country (Guatemala), where temperatures have
drops of four or five degrees below zero, especially in the area of the
Cuchumatanes, where the sheep graze peacefully during the days and nights
frosts.
d. Coincidentally, the Jews celebrate Hanukkah (the Festival of Lights) at that time.
same season of the year. According to the Hebrew calendar, the festival of Hanukkah
It begins on the 25th of Kislev and lasts for eight days. In Hebrew, the word "hanukkah"
means 'dedication'. The name reminds us that this holiday commemorates the
re dedication of the sacred Temple in Jerusalem following the Jewish victory over the
Syrians-Greeks in 165 B.C. (Hanukkah, Judaism.about.com).
e. Since the Jewish calendar is lunar-based, the first day of Hanukkah falls each
year on a different day - usually on some occasion between late November
and the end of December. In this year 2014, Hanukkah must be celebrated from the 16th to the 24th
December (When is Chanukah?, Chabad.org). It is difficult for someone to qualify as
pagan this Jewish festival simply because it is celebrated in the same season as the
year in which the ancients celebrated the Winter Festival.

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Messianic Jews also celebrate Hanukkah (or Chanukah, the Festival of Lights)
in that same season of the year, lighting a large nine-candle candelabrum,
the novena of which represents Yeshua, the Light that illuminates the world (Zaimov
2011).
g. December 25 is not necessarily the date that Jesus was born, but this does not
It detracts from the fact that remembering Jesus and what he did for us is of utmost importance.
importance (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
But if someone can provide conclusive evidence that Jesus was born in
September, October, or another month of the year, then let's move the celebration of your
birthday for that date, but let's not remove it from our Christian celebrations,
just like the candidates do.
7.Opponent's argument: The arrival of the magi occurred long after the birth of
Jesus. By that time, He was already living in His house (Matthew 2:9-11) and not in the stable. Obviously,
the gifts of the magi were not 'Christmas gifts' (Ramírez 2010).
Answer: That the visitors from the East did not arrive just at the moment and place of
bringing forth, but time later, does not nullify the biblical truth that his presence
they were delivered to Jesus in celebration of his birth as Savior, Priest and
Kings (Mt. 2:11). Both the journey and the search and the gifts of the visitors had
the purpose of honoring Jesus in his birth, as they themselves declare in
the biblical account (Mt. 2:2).
a. If gifts are symbols of paganism, then they should be abolished altogether.
occasion. However, they can also be used as the representation of
the greatest gift that human society has ever received. However, already the
gifts don't even happen at Christmas, but at the end of the year, like an exchange of
fraternal love among the members of the family or the Christian community.
b. Conversely, the Bible assures that God gives "gifts" to men (Ro.
11:29; 12:1, 4, 11; 1 Cor. 14:12; Eph. 4:8), the greatest of which is Christ himself:
Thank God for His indescribable gift!
c. Aside from the Christian origin of Christmas, this celebration has been blending its character
religious with the tradition of family coexistence, largely due to the
the popularity of this celebration and marketing. Starting in the 19th century the
Christmas begins to establish itself with the character it has today, as in that century it
popularized the custom of gift exchanging, created Santa Claus and the
custom of giving Christmas cards. Over time, marketing (in
Especially the North American) would take advantage of these customs to expand Christmas
around the world, giving a different character to the religious and with themes that little or nothing
they are related to the traditional Christmas celebration (Wikipedia, s.v. 'Christmas').

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8. Opposing argument: Jesus never commanded that the day of his birth be remembered; neither did he
there is no record that the apostles celebrated 'Christmas'. On the contrary, the
commandment that Christ left was to remember his suffering and death as a seal of a
new covenant and this was indeed practiced by his disciples and was done every first day of the
week (Luke 22:19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)(Ramírez 2010).
Response: The angels celebrated the birth of Jesus with great joy (Luke 2:13–14).
It would be contradictory for the human beneficiaries not to do so.
a. The shepherds were told the place where they would find the newborn Jesus with the
evident purpose of them going to pay homage to him (Luke 2:10–12, 15–18), which
It sets a biblical precedent that can well justify our Christmas worship.
b. Although we are not commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ, we find
precedents in the Holy Scriptures to do so. The angels (Luke 2:13) and the
pastors (Lk. 2:20) praised God for sending His Son to the world. Christians
they are definitely authorized to do this, and every day we should give to God
thanks for the arrival of Christ in this world! (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
c. The Holy Scripture emphasizes the use of reminders, just as in the account
of the twelve stones in Joshua 4:5-7, which were meant to serve as 'a memorial'
for the children of Israel forever." Sadly, Israel eventually was given
they forgot, and embraced mundane ideas. This is one of the main reasons why the
that Christians should celebrate Christmas: so that we never forget what
God has done for us (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
d. The curious thing is that the opponents of Christmas also oppose the celebration
of Holy Week for similar reasons. They also do not celebrate communion or the holy supper.
every Sunday due to the theological reasons cited for it or to the
convenience of not doing it this way. It is not even practiced in the same way that it
what Jesus and the first Christians did, which shows that neither the date nor the form
they impact the event that is commemorated.

Christianization of pagan practice

The December solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere: it is the point
where the days stop becoming shorter and start increasing again. Many
ancient societies observed the arrival of the solstice and the rising sun with festivals and/or
religious rituals. In the year 45 B.C., the Julian calendar, created from the best technology
of its day, was put into effect (Dershowitz and Reingold 1997, 169–171 et al). The
the establishment of the Julian calendar as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire had
geographically broad effects in the association in many cultures of the date of the 25th of
December with the solstice
Yule

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Some claim that many customs of these festive days, in particular of the
Scandinavian and Germanic celebration of Yule in Northern Europe, they are
transparently present in later Christmas customs. This suggests that
the date was taken directly from pagan customs, imprinting them a
Christian appearance, before having been the true birth of Jesus. Many
modern Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, the floral wreath
Christmas, the Yule log, and others, are direct descendants of traditions from the festival.
deYule. As Northern Europe was the last part of the region to be Christianized, its
pagan traditions had a primary influence on Christmas. In England, the word
Yule, whose first use was recorded in the year 900 A.D., is synonymous with Christmas.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, s.v. 'Yule'.
3. Like all other social or religious practices prior to the arrival of Christ, the celebrations
paganism that occurred in the world was filled with spiritual darkness. The arrival of
Christ brought a change: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt
in the land of the shadow of death, light shone upon them” (Is. 9:2; Mt. 4:15–16; Lc. 1:79).
4. Apparently, the rising Christianity sought the regeneration of the ancient pagan practice.
to highlight the prophetic event that changed the course of history: "But there will be no
always darkness for one who is now in anguish, just like the affliction that came to him in the
time that lightly touched the first time the land of Zebulun and the land of
Nathanael; for he will finally fill the way of the sea with glory, on that side of the Jordan, in Galilee
of the Gentiles” (Is. 9:1 RVR).
5. Historical evidence attests that around the year 360 A.D., the church was already celebrating the
birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ.
In Antioch, probably in 386 AD, John Chrysostom urged the community to unite.
celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25
1913, s.v. "Christmas"), although part of the community already observed that day at least
ten years before. Crisostomo affirmed in his preaching that "without the birth of
Without Christ, there is no Baptism, no Passion, no Resurrection, no Ascension, nor either
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit..."(The Origin of Christmas Traditions, 1995).
7. Over the centuries, the tradition grew to include Epiphany (manifestation),
the moment when Christ was circumcised on the eighth day after His birth.
The Eastern Church celebrates this event on January 6.
8. The trend towards syncretism as an evangelizing practice of the Catholic Church reached
extremes that made the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century necessary. However,
Some attribute to Martin Luther the introduction of the Christmas tree into the practice of
Reformed Church, as an image of our endless life in Christ. The custom
it started when Martín brought his family a "evergreen" tree the eve of a
Christmas and lit it with candles.

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9. The practice of the Christmas tree for some is consistent with the prophetic declaration of
Isaiah 60:13: 'The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, to
decorate the place of my sanctuary; and I will honor the place of my feet.
10. In the heavenly Jerusalem, there will be a tree planted by God for the life and health of all the
nations (Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14).
Many Christians use Christmas and its various symbols as reminders. Jesus Christ is
the main reason why many believers celebrate Christmas. A few, without
embargo, they become too caught up in the inquiry of how we came to use
Christmas as a reminder of His birth. Our focus should not be on the
origin of Christmas—or even in the symbols themselves. In fact, there are many reports
conflicting regarding the source of certain traditions. For example, some argue
that the Christmas tree has a Christian origin while others believe it has roots
paganas (Chaffey and Ham 2010).
12. The use of pagan symbols to represent transcendent spiritual truths
its importance for humanity has its origins in the Bible itself. As is known,
the serpent is a symbol of Satan in the biblical record (Gen. 3:1, 15; Rev. 12:9). However,
God commanded Moses to erect a bronze serpent figure as an antidote for the
deadly venom of the snakes in the desert. The fact that Christ has been raised
about a cross was compared to this event in the desert, and those who look towards it
they will live (Jn. 3:14, 15).

13. The cross was an object of shame and curse (Gal. 3:13), but when they hung Christ
about one of them (Acts 5:30), the cross became the most universal of symbols of
Christianity (Mt. 10:38; 1 Co. 1:17, 18; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20; 2:15; 1 Pet. 2:24).
Promoters of the elimination of the Christmas celebration
1. During the various Protestant reforms, the pagan elements introduced in the
Christmas was a source of controversy. Some groups, like the Puritans,
they dismissed Christmas as an entirely pagan holiday. Others dismissed
certain aspects of Christmas that they considered pagan, but sought to retain the
"essence" of the holiday as a celebration of the birth of Christ. This tension created
a debate is underway within some Protestant denominations about
on the proper observance of Christmas (Nissenbaum 1997).
The first documented controversy over Christmas was led by Christians, and
It began during the English interregnum period, when England was ruled by a
Puritan Parliament. The Puritans sought to eradicate from Christianity the elements that
they considered them pagans (because they were not of biblical origin). In 1647, the Parliament
English led by the Puritans abolished the celebration of Christmas, replacing it with a
day of fasting, and they considered it "a papist festival without any biblical justification," and a
time of extravagant and immoral behavior (The Cromwell Association 2001).

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3. The restoration of King Charles II in 1660 put an end to the abolition, but many clerics still
they disapproved of the celebration of Christmas. In Scotland, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland
He also discouraged the observance of Christmas. Santiago VI ordered its celebration in 1618.
but church attendance was sparse (Chambers 1885).
4. In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas, and the
The celebration was declared illegal in Boston from 1659 to 1681. The abolition implemented
by the Pilgrims was revoked by the English governor Edmund Andros, however, not
It was not until the mid-19th century that the celebration of Christmas became fashionable in the
Boston region (Schnepper 2012).
5. According to historian Ronald Hutton, the current state of the Christmas celebration is
mostly the result of a revival in England of this festivity during the
mid-Victorian period, which was led by Charles Dickens. Hutton argues that
in the work A Christmas Carol, Dickens sought to construct Christmas as a festival of
generosity focused on the family, in contrast with observations centered on the
community and in the church, the observance of which had diminished during the
late 18th century and early 19th century (Stations of the Sun: The Ritual Year in
England, Oxford Press.
In the 1820s, sectarian tensions in England had eased and some
British writers began to worry, as Christmas was on the way to
disappearance. Since they imagined Christmas as a time of sincere celebration,
they made efforts to revive the party. The book by Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol,
published in 1843, played an important role in the reinvention of the party of
Christmas, emphasizing family, goodwill, compassion, and celebration
familiar (Standiford 2008).
7. Although until the 19th century some Protestant churches stopped celebrating Christmas to
disconnecting from Catholicism, most, starting with Luther, continued to celebrate it the
December 25 (History of Christmas, 2004).
8. Modern Christmas celebrations emphasize commercial activity more than the festivities.
from the past, where religious activities predominated. In the early 20th century,
Christian writers, such as C. S. Lewis, had already noticed a discrete divide between the
religious observance and the secular of Christmas (Lewis, Exmas and Christmas).
Currently, the debate about the celebration of Christmas is active around the world.
The reasons may vary, but the intent is the same: to erase all memory of
birth of Jesus to be the Savior of the world. Such spirit has a unique source: the
spirit of the antichrist, "the man of sin, the son of perdition, who opposes and
raises against all that is called God or is an object of worship" (2 Th. 2:3–4 RVR).

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Biblical meaning of the Christian Christmas

1. Christian Christmas celebrates the day when "by the tender mercy of our God..."
the dawn visited us from on high” (Lc. 1:78).
2. Christian Christmas celebrates the arrival of the 'sun of righteousness' (Mal. 4:2). 'Thus he will visit us from
the sky the rising sun, to give light to those who live in darkness, in the most terrible darkness,
to guide our steps on the path of peace” (Luke 1:78–79 NVI).
3. The Christian Christmas announces the arrival of the "fulfillment of prophetic time" in which
God sent his Son, born of a woman and subject to the law. God sent him to redeem.
the freedom of those who were slaves to the law, in order to be able to adopt us as their own
children" (Gal. 4:4–5 NLT).
4. In our world today, we see the massive abandonment of biblical faith. England has lost almost
completely its Christian heritage and the United States is descending down the same path
dangerous route. Most people in these nations have very little understanding of the
Word of God, if you have any. As a consequence, for them 'the message of the
"the cross is foolishness" (1 Cor. 1:18) (Chaffey and Ham 2010).

5. The Christian Christmas proclaims "the great mystery of our faith," which is the following: "Christ
was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and
proclaimed to the nations. It was believed in the whole world and taken up in glory” (1 Tim 3:16)
NTV).
The enemies of the Christmas celebration
The main opponents to the celebration of Christmas have a common rejection.
fervent towards the Person and/or the work of Christ.

The Bible assures us that 'this is how we will know whether they have the Spirit or not.'
God: if a person who claims to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a human body,
that person has the Spirit of God; but if someone claims to be a prophet and does not recognize the truth
about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, of
what you heard is coming into the world, and in fact, it is already here" (1 John 4:2–3 NTV). Among the
enemies of Christmas are as follows:
1. The atheists. They reject Christmas because they reject Christ. The account of the birth of Jesus.
is filled with miraculous, supernatural, and divine events. Whoever celebrates the birth of
Jesus is compelled to acknowledge that the child born was conceived supernaturally and was
"a holy being, the Son of God" (Lk. 1:35), who was announced as Savior (Lk. 2:11) and
received as 'the messenger of God' (Mic. 5:2; Mt. 2:6; Lk. 2:25) to all nations (Lk. 2:30–
32).
a. This rejection was also prophetically announced in the days of the birth of
Jesus: "This child is destined to cause the fall of many in Israel, but
it will also be the joy of many others. It was sent as a sign from God, but

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many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts will come to light
deep from many hearts, and a sword will pierce your own soul" (Luke 2:34–
35 NTV).
b. Due to social pressure, it is impossible for the world to ignore the festivities.
During the holidays, atheists admit the celebration of a "festive day" for social enjoyment,
but they associate it with the year-end celebrations rather than the birth of Jesus.

2. The Muslims. The celebration of Christmas has occasionally been criticized in countries
who are predominantly Muslim. For them, Jesus has no meaning whatsoever, but
that Muhammad is the object of their worship.

a. Turkey, whose population is 99.8% Muslim, has adopted a version

Christmas secular and a Santa Claus named Noel Baba (from French Père Noël).
During the festive season of 2013, a group of young Muslims undertook
an anti-Santa Claus campaign, protesting against the celebration of Christmas
in the country. Claiming that Christmas is a "custom of Christianity" and something
that has nothing to do with Turkish culture, the group displayed a poster that
represented Santa Claus being hit by a devout Muslim
Welcomed: Turkish Campaigns, OnIslam.net.
3. Religious groups of particular doctrinal affiliation. Certain Christian confessions
They discard the Christmas celebration for theological reasons. These groups include the
Jehovah's Witnesses; supporters of Messianic Judaism; the majority of the
Sabbatarian denominations, such as the True Jesus Church and the Church of God (of
Seventh Day); the Christian Congregation in Brazil, the Christian Congregation in the United States
United and certain reformed and fundamentalist churches of various persuasions, including
some congregations of the Independent Baptist Church, Holiness, Apostolic
Pentecostal and Churches of Christ.
a. The Jehovah's Witnesses reject Christmas because they reject Jesus. Due to their
Arian modalist theological affiliation, they do not believe that Jesus is God and reject his
divine nature. Christmas makes no sense to them and rather constitutes a
lies for its doctrine.
b. Those affiliated with Messianic Judaism do not believe in a Jesus who was born to be the
Savior of all, but only of those descendants of Israel or Jewish proselytes.
The free offer of Christmas to the gentle world is an offense to their pride.
Jewish religious. Messianic believers continue using the name
"Yeshua" is traditionally used to identify Jesus, and they observe the Jewish Sabbath instead of the
Sunday. They also do not celebrate Christmas, Easter, or any other traditional holiday.
Christians. They claim to follow a 'more biblical' lifestyle, which only recognizes
strictly the historical dates of the birth and death of the Savior as they were
observed in the Festivals of Israel. Messianic Jews claim that no one

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they really know the exact date when Savior was born, but every day they
they glorify Him and His sacrifice for the world. Most of the members of the
Messianic Jewish congregations commemorate Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, in
which Yeshua is celebrated as the main light that shines in the world. The novena
Hanukkah Menorah candle, called Shamash, they also see it as a
representation of Yeshua, because he illuminates the rest of the candles and the rest of the
world (Zaimov 2011).
c. Most Sabbatarian denominations do not accept that Jesus brought salvation.
free for all, but only for those who with their observance of the law
make them deserving of God's grace. They also do not admit that the work of Jesus is
complete, but it is still pending acceptance by the Father. For this reason, the
Christmas lacks a practical purpose for them.
A measured stance on Christmas
When analyzing the arguments against the celebration of the nativity of Jesus in the
church we discovered that rejection is based on poorly supported historical interpretations
reliable, intentional exaggerations of social customs, attribution of paganism to
everything that remembers the birth of Jesus, and even, direct rejection of the Person and work of
Jesus Christ.
Since the entire world warmly welcomes the arrival of Christmas and from
in ancient times, the church took this opportunity to commemorate and announce the arrival of
Savior of the world, we conclude the following:
The church should not lose the spiritual depth of the birth of Christ due to the
association that some make with the pagan celebrations of antiquity, whose
objectives have been eradicated from the contemporary celebration of Christian Christmas
and they are no longer present in today's secular celebrations.
The church must not lose the spiritual enjoyment of the Christian celebration of Christmas.
due to its association with the petty commercial interest or the banality of its
secular celebration.
3. The church must not forget the spiritual despair in which the world finds itself.
today, despite the charms of its Christmas festivities.
4. The church should take advantage of the social connotation of Christmas celebrations to
to practice their social ministry. For these purposes, it could promote the following practices:
a. Give a gift to Jesus: love, devotion, obedience, service.
b. Like Christ, give to those dispossessed who cannot repay you.
c. Stop to feel the darkness that reigns outside at night, and then give it
Thank God for sending the Light of the world.

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d. Read the Holy Scriptures with the family and recall the event of the first
Christian Christmas.
e. To start or emphasize some traditions that clearly point to Christ. The
theater performances, Christmas music concerts, the crusades
evangelistic, the visitation to the poor, the widows, the sick, the service of
donations and offerings, feeding the hungry, all of them could be
employed as vehicles of the Christmas spirit towards a needy world.
f. Enjoy this wonderful time of year; do not miss the season due to haste or the
prejudice.
g. Keeping our focus on why we celebrate the birth of Christ and how the
symbols remind us of that truth. We should use these things to show how
we can insist on the truth of the Word of God and live that truth in our
lives (Chaffey and Ham 2010).

Author:
Rev. Eduardo E. González Álvarez
Superintendent Western District
Assemblies of God, Cuba.

Reviewers:
Lic. Virgen Arelis Peña
Lic. Ariel Sánchez Castellanos
Pastor Waldy González Monduy

THE DEBATE ON THE CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS | Eduardo E. González Álvarez. December 2014
 15

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Chaffey, Tim and Jeremy Ham. 2010. Miscellaneous Misconceptions About Christmas: Clearing
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Ramírez Ortega, Jaime. 2010. Biblical Arguments Against Christmas Traditions.

InternetThe provided text is a URL and does not require translation.Accessed on
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The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Internet,
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The Cromwell Association
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What Is a Hanukkiyah? Internethttp://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/g/chanukkiyah.htm.

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Messianic Judaism: The Followers of Christ Who Do Not Celebrate
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THE DEBATE ON THE CELEBRATION OF CHRISTMAS | Eduardo E. González Álvarez. December 2014