*In this post, I refer to Jesus as “Yeshua” because that’s how we say His name in our home. There’s no right or wrong way to pronounce it.
Jonathan and I are Pronomian Christians.
This is a pro-Torah/law branch of Christianity that split away from the Hebrew Roots Movement and Messianic Judaism in hopes of discarding some harmful theology, adopting an official set of beliefs, and eventually becoming a recognized Christian denomination.
People in the Hebrew Roots Movement most often stop celebrating Christmas because they believe it has pagan origins.
What’s wrong with pagan origins? A custom that has pagan origins would be based on the worship of other gods and goddesses, which is an abomination for people who follow YHWH.
Jonathan’s family stopped celebrating Christmas for this reason when they joined the Hebrew Roots Movement in 2005.
I grew up part of the non-denominational, Holy Spirit-filled sector of Christianity, and we celebrated Christmas my entire life.
When I first became interested in the Hebrew Roots Movement and joined a Torah study that met on Shabbat at age 18, I kept celebrating Christmas even though I started celebrating Biblical holidays like Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot as well.
I moved out of my parents’ house to the Charlotte, North Carolina area at age 19 in 2014. There, I joined a new Torah study that convinced me Christmas had thoroughly pagan origins and if I celebrated it, I would be dishonoring God.
So, in December 2015 I told my family I wouldn’t be coming for Christmas. I hurt my family deeply, and they didn’t understand at all. Even though I didn’t fully research what my Torah study friends told me about Christmas, I stopped celebrating it out of fear.
You might be wondering if I still believe Christmas has pagan origins. The answer is no.
How can I be sure Christmas doesn’t have pagan origins?
Reason 1.) The people who claim Christmas has pagan origins often say it originated from one of two winter Roman holidays, Saturnalia or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti.
The argument most often cited is that the church leaders who chose December 25 to celebrate Christ’s birth wanted to select an established Roman day of celebration where people could mix Christian tradition with the pagan ones they were already accustomed to.
My first objection to this argument is that Saturnalia is a mid-December festival that doesn’t line up with the December 25 and January 7 dates the Western and Eastern divisions of the church decided to claim as Christ’s birth dates.
Moreover, Saturnalia customs don’t resemble historical or modern Christmas celebration at all.
Dies Natalis Solis Invicti was celebrated on December 25th, but there’s one problem.
Christmas was first celebrated in 336 AD.
In contrast, the Roman festival Dies Natalis Solis Invicti wasn’t celebrated until 354 AD, according to the Philocalian calendar.
Given this conflict, if anything, Rome may have chosen to place the celebration of Dies Natalis Solis Invicti on the newly established Christmas Day because of the rising popularity of Christianity between the years of 313-380 AD before Emperor Theodosius established Christianity as the official religion of Rome. Not the other way around.
Reason 2.) In the early church, mixing Christian traditions with pagan ones was strongly discouraged. The Epistles of the New Testament discuss how the early church integrated gentile Christ-followers into the church without allowing the continuation of their prior religious rituals at the same time.
It’s highly unlikely church leaders would have chosen a date to celebrate Christ’s birth based on a practice the early church just did not endorse.
In fact, we know several reasons why they chose December 25 that I’ll share in a moment.
Reason 3.) Most of the information spread around about the pagan roots of Christmas comes from an 1853 book called Two Babylons, featuring a whole lot of nonsense fabricated by a man named Alexander Hislop. The contents of this book have since been disproven by scholars.
After Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion in 380 AD, the practice of Christianity became much more popular and widespread.
Prior to 313 AD, Christians and other unapproved religious groups were severely persecuted by the Roman Empire.
After Christianity’s legal acceptance in 313 AD, the Christian religion spread throughout the Roman Empire, and later throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, following the fall of the Roman Empire.
It was then that the customs of other cultures started to absorb into Christian holidays and traditions.
This is where the potential for “pagan” aspects leaks into the history of Christmas.
Certain Christmas traditions like the evergreen tree, yule log, mistletoe, caroling, and Odin (who later evolved into St. Nicholas and then Santa Claus) originated from Germanic winter solstice celebrations that may have incorporated the worship of their gods and goddesses.
I’m not a Bible scholar myself, but I follow several and their work has significantly impacted me. If you want to learn more about why Christmas doesn’t have pagan origins, take a look at this research compilation from Tyler Dawn Rosenquist.
So, how did the early church choose December 25 to celebrate Christ’s birth?
The gospels of the New Testament didn’t include an exact date for Christ’s birth. I believe this is because the authors were far more concerned with who Yeshua was and what He did than when He was born.
So, when the early church decided it was time to choose a date to celebrate Christ’s birth, there were several options in consideration. These included dates in the spring, fall, and winter for a variety of reasons.
The late December and early January dates may have been chosen because of a Jewish tradition that says great prophets are conceived on the same day of the year they die. This would place Yeshua’s conception on Passover.
Because the Western and Eastern churches disagreed about when Passover falls on the Gregorian calendar, they decided on on December 25 (Western calculation) and January 7 (Eastern calculation) to celebrate His birth, respectively.
Additionally, researchers believe the early church placed significance on the winter solstice being the shortest and darkest day of the year. However, that darkness could be symbolically defeated by Yeshua arriving as the Light of the World on December 25 or January 7.
It’s also possible the early church decided to celebrate Christ’s birth on December 25 because the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins Kislev 25 on the Hebrew calendar, which often lands during December on the Gregorian calendar.
With Yeshua claiming the title Light of the World, it would be fitting to celebrate His coming during the Festival of Lights.
Next begs the question – if Christmas doesn’t have pagan origins, why don’t we celebrate it?
1. Scripture gives us a clue about the time of year Yeshua was born, and it isn’t December 25.
In an indirect way, scripture infers the time of year in which Yeshua was born.
Luke 1:5 says, “…there was a cohen (priest) named Zechariah who belonged to the Aviyah division.”
This is important because there were 24 priesthood divisions, and each division ministered at the temple during two established weeks per year. In addition, all the priests would serve at the temple during the weeks of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot – the pilgrimage feasts.
Chronicles 24:10 says, “…the eighth for Aviyah,” which in context, names Aviyah as the eighth priestly division. Thus, the Aviyah division served during the 8th and 32nd weeks of the year.
According to the Hebrew calendar, this would have Zechariah serving at the temple for his first week at the end of Iyar (the second month) and beginning of Sivan (the third month) – the week right before Shavuot.
He would then stay on for another week because of Shavuot, when all the priests came to serve.
His second week at the temple would fall around the beginning of Kislev (the ninth month).
With that little bit of context laid down, the next verse I’m about to share should make much more sense.
Luke 1:8-9 says, “One time, when Zechariah was fulfilling his duties as cohen during his division’s period of service before God, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple and burn incense.”
This detail automatically narrows down the time-frame of this story – where his wife Elizabeth conceives – to two possible weeks out of the year.
The week before Shavuot in late Iyar/early Sivan, and the week around the beginning of Kislev.
But if you take a look at another detail, one of the options appears more likely.
Luke 1:10 says, “All the multitude [of Israel] was outside, praying, at the time of the incense burning.”
There were only three times a year when all the multitude of Israel would be in Jerusalem, and those times are Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, the pilgrimage feasts, when all Israelites were required to go up to the temple in Jerusalem.
Based on that information, it appears more likely Luke 1:10 is speaking of Zechariah’s first week of service in Iyar/Sivan.
The end of Zechariah’s first week of service is the one that coincides with a pilgrimage feast. His second period of service in Kislev does not.
Therefore Elizabeth’s conception may have more likely occurred at the coinciding of the Aviyah division’s 1st week of service and Shavuot.
From there, we know that Mary conceived in Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy (Luke 1:36), which would place Mary’s conception at the beginning of the month of Tevet (the tenth month, during Hanukkah).
Nine months later would place Yeshua’s birth during the month of Tishrei (the seventh month). This is during September or October and Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot on our Gregorian calendar.
2. The authors of the New Testament gospels didn’t place importance on His birth date.
The authors of the New Testament gospels would have mentioned Christ’s birth date if they felt it was an important detail.
Instead, they included other details that hold great significance.
His miraculous conception, mission, miracles, teachings, love, ultimate sacrifice, and salvation mean everything.
3. Yeshua celebrated the Biblical Holy Days and Hanukkah.
John 8:12 says, “Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.'”
Magnifying the above thought, John 10:22-30 says, “At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade. So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, ‘How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’
‘I already told you,’ Jesus replied, ‘but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf. But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.'”
Several accounts in the gospels make mention of Yeshua celebrating Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot – the pilgrimage feasts and three of the Biblical Holy Days.
As Christ-followers, we strive to imitate Him.
Of course, the celebration of holidays is nowhere near the most important thing Yeshua taught us through His words and actions. That doesn’t mean celebrating is insignificant, though.
Each of the Biblical feast days – Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, Rosh HaShana/Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot – are infused with deep symbolism and meaning that can transform our souls, and partaking gives us the opportunity to draw closer to God and trust Him in everything.
Celebrating Hanukkah, at its core, shows gratitude for God’s deliverance of His people from their oppressors. The story about the miracle of the oil reminds us that God provides everything we need and that He truly is The Light of the World.
Even though Christmas isn’t a holiday we personally celebrate, we appreciate some of the aspects.
The festivities add light, cheer, generosity, and anticipation during a dark, cold, and gloomy time of year.
We eat Christmas dinner with my family, because the relationships and family time are important to us. When Christmas songs play on the radio, we enjoy listening to them. Every December, we have a date night where we drive through neighborhoods and look at the lights and decorations because they’re so beautiful.
Whether you decide to celebrate Christmas or not, you’re not making a wrong choice.