CHRISTMAS-NOT CELEBRATED BY EARLY CHRISTIANS

A person's worship could be contaminated by false religion as it relates to popular holidays.  Consider Christmas, for example.  Christmas supposedly commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, and nearly every religion that claims to be Christian celebrate it. Yet, there is no evidence  that the first-century disciples of Jesus observed such a holiday.  The book Sacred Origins of Profound Things states:  "For two centuries after Christ's birth, no one knew, and few people cared, exactly when he was born." 

Even if Jesus' disciples had known the exact date of his birth, they would not have celebrated it. Why?  Because, as The World Book of Encyclopedia says, the early Christians "considered this celebration of any one's birth to be a pagan custom." (plus Jesus was not born in the winter, when all the shepherds kept their flocks indoors; he was born during the warmer  months when the flocks were kept outdoors; and Jesus never celebrated his birthday) The only birthday observances  mentioned in the Bible are those of two rulers who did not worship Jehovah.  (Genesis 40:20; Mark 6:21)  Birthday celebrations were also held  in honor of pagan deities. For example, on May 24, the Romans celebrated the birthday of the goddess Diana.  On the following day, they observed the birthday of their sun-god, Apollo.  Hence, birthday celebrations were associated with paganism, not with Christianity.  (those that tell you that they are Christian are false, that was Satan's manipulation to make everyone believe that garbage) 

There is another reason why first-century Christians would not have celebrated Jesus birthday.  His disciples likely knew that birthday celebrations were connected with  superstition. For instance, many Greeks and Romans of ancient times believe that a spirit attended the birth of each human and protected that one throughout life.  "This spirit had a mystic relation  with the god on whose birthday the individual was born,"  says the book The Lore of Birthdays.  Jehovah certainly would not be pleased with any observance that would link Jesus with superstition.  (Isaiah 65:11, 12)  So how did Christians come to be celebrated by many people?  

(Note: Besides all the other; we were brought into this world as imperfect sinful humans and still are; we as imperfect sinful humans would not have the right to celebrate a time when we came into this world as such.  Jesus was perfect in every way, yet, he never celebrated his birthday. And there is no mention of him in the Bible of ever doing so)

Next time: THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS

From the Book: What Does the Bible Really Teach? 2005 and 2006