Many people are shocked to learn that, as is the case with Halloween, the popular “Christian” holiday of Christmas is not celebrated by Messianic Jews. This leads many uninformed individuals to assume that we do not believe in Yeshua ha Maschiach, or “Jesus the Christ,” while nothing could be farther from the truth.

Nearly as many as are shocked at the notion of not celebrating this day are the number who are amazed at the reason for this abstinent position. These same individuals are often flabbergasted upon learning that not only is Christmas not commanded in the Bible, but those days which are commanded therein are nearly universally forgotten.

As we did with Halloween, let us take a long, hard, contemplative look at this holiday. Christmas, the day upon which we are so often told Yeshua came into the world is celebrated by most professing Christians today.

If this is truly a day which has been set aside for the purpose of celebrating His birth, why then do so many “Christians” pretend that a jolly, old fat man who lives at the north pole flies around in a sleigh pulled by nine magic reindeer, slides down every chimney in the world and leaves gifts of elvin origin for every good girl and boy, all in one night? In what manner does lying to children exalt YHWH, the God of Heaven?

The answer is very simple: IN NO WAY AT ALL!

Even the coveted “Christmas tree” has its origins in pagan practices. In Jeremiah 10: 1-4 we are commanded, “Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, house of Israel! Thus says Yahweh, “Don’t learn the way of the nations, and don't be dismayed at the signs of the sky; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it not move.’”

Here we are told that to deck a tree with gold and silver is a custom of the pagans and we are told not to learn their ways. What is not explained is the reason why believers are commanded not to partake in this custom.

History records that the practice of decorating a tree in such a manner comes from heathen sun worship. Like many of the Halloween traditions, this is a Baalistic ritual and the tree itself is a Baalistic idol.

The tree represents nothing less than the male aspect of Baal’s anatomy. In ancient times people would bow down to such an idol in hope of receiving blessings from Baal in various aspects of their lives and, today people the world over bow down in front of their own idols to receive gifts and claim that the whole thing is in honor of YHWH.

This is a terrifying truth, in light of the fact that YHWH said plainly in Exodus 20: 4-6 “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

But this is not the only aspect of the Christmas celebration which stems from an unholy origin. Indeed, even the date upon which this holiday is commemorated is derived from an ancient pagan fertility festival called “Yule,” “Saturnalia” or “Baal-mas” depending upon the culture.

It is interesting that the passage from Jeremiah states “don’t be dismayed at the signs of the sky,” because the date of December 25 stems from the fact that on this date pagan fertility rights were held by ancient sun worshipers who desired to bring back the power of the sun and thus receive the blessing of warmer weather and longer days. The exact day on which to hold the feast was determined by the annual “signs in the sky.”

December 25 is also the day on which the ancient sun worshipers celebrated the birth of several gods, including Tammuz, the son of Ashtaroth, supposedly conceived by Baal. It is interesting to note that the Prophet Ezekiel wrote of a time when those claiming to be the Children of YHWH would collectively go after this very sun god, saying in Ezekiel 8: 13-16, “He said also to me, You shall again see yet other great abominations which they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh's house which was toward the north; and see, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he to me, Have you seen this, son of man? you shall again see yet greater abominations than these. He brought me into the inner court of Yahweh's house; and see, at the door of the temple of Yahweh, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahweh, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.”

Here we see that those calling themselves His Children had begun partaking of the pagan sun worship practices and in doing so had turned their backs upon Him and His house. Why then, does the majority of the professing Church, insist upon doing the same thing today?

Even many encyclopedias attest to the pagan origins of this day. The Encyclopedia Britannica states, “The traditional customs connected with Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of the celebration of the birth of Christ with the pagan agricultural and solar observations at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra.”

Likewise, Colliers Encyclopedia records “After the triumph of Constantine, the church at Rome assigned December 25 as the date for the celebration of the feast, possibly about A.D. 320 or 353. By the end of the fourth century the whole Christian world was celebrating Christmas on that day, with the exception of the Eastern churches, where it was celebrated on January 6. The choice of December 25 was probably influenced by the fact that on this day the Romans celebrated the Mithraic feast of the Sun-god (natalis solis invicti), and that the Saturnalia also came at this time.” Furthermore, many biblical and historical scholars alike have noted that as far back as the tower of Babel, the date we now know as December 25 has been honored to commemorate various solar deities.

Also of note is the fact the first century believers did not celebrate “Christmas” and did not specifically celebrate Yeshua’s birth, though there does exist substantial evidence that the recounting of the virgin birth was often included in the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. This is fitting, due to the fact that this feast follows close behind the Feast of Trumpets and all through Scripture we are told to look for Messiah at the blowing of the trumpet

Most competent Bible scholars agree that the New Testament depicts Yeshua as being born in the Autumn of the year, either on or about the time of Tabernacles. This is also fitting, since it is this feast which commemorates the various times when YHWH has dwelt among his people and also because the Greek text of John 1: 14 states that the word became flesh and skaynoo among us.

While many English translations render this word as “dwelt” or “lived,” the most accurate translations are “encamped” or “tabernacled.” The word even comes from the Hebrew word Sookaw from which is derived the name for the Feast of Tabernacles, Sukot.

It is important to note that John was himself an Israelite, raised as a practicing Jew and would have known the significance of Yeshua having been born during this feast. Could it be that he was attempting to tell us something important concerning the true birth of the Maschiach?

In addition to these facts, many second century theologians openly condemned the celebration of December 25 for any reason. They deemed it “pagan,” because that is what it is.

After years of persecution of the Church, destruction of many copies of the Scriptures and deceitful introduction of pagan practices, December 25 was eventually “Christianized.” However, as we have already seen in the section on Halloween, pagan practices cannot be “Christianized” and to do so is blatant idolatry.

We must therefore ask ourselves, “Is this festival something in which the Children of the One True God should take part?”