alty. Their act was not a “Christmas” tradition and it occurred long after Christ’s birth. 6. Can we take pagan customs and “Christianize” them to honor God? Deuteronomy 12:29–30, II Corinthians 6:14-18 and Rev 18:4. God forbids adopting pagan practices and repackaging them in His honor. “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.” God does not accept worship that blends truth with heathen tradition and commands his people to come out of the world and its ways. 7. What did Jesus say about worship based on hu- man traditions? Matthew 15:9 and Mark 7:7–9. Christ said, “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” Traditions that replace God’s instructions lead to empty worship, no matter how sincere they seem. 8. Which of God’s commandments are routinely broken during the Christmas season? Exodus 20:1–17. God’s name is taken in vain when Christmas is falsely linked to Christ. Coveting, lying (Santa Claus), drunk- enness, and greed are widespread. The season’s spirit of “get” stands in contrast to Christ’s teaching: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). 9. Where did New Year’s customs originate? Ancient Romans celebrated the birth of the sun and the turning of the year with wild parties and drunken feast- ing — honoring Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings (January is named after him). Later, Pope Gregory XIII fixed January 1 as New Year’s Day in the 1582 Gregori - an calendar, adopting Rome’s ancient pagan date. Earl W. Count wrote, “Mesopotamia is the very ancient Mother of Civilization. Christmas began there, over four thousand years ago, as the festival which renewed the world for another year. The ‘twelve days’ of Christ- mas; the bright fires and probably the Yule log; the giving of presents; the carnivals with their floats, their merrymakings and clownings, the mummers who sing and play from house to house; the feastings; the church processions with their lights and song — all these and more began there centuries before Christ was born. And they celebrated the arrival of a new year!” (4000 Years of Christmas, pp. 20-21)
Depiction of a Christmas tree and its predecessor, Asherah poles
10. What pagan symbols are still used in Christmas and New Year’s celebrations today? The Yule log comes from ancient sun worship; mistle - toe was a Druid fertility symbol; holly, ivy, and ever - greens were sacred to fertility gods; and candles and lights honored the returning sun. None of these have any biblical connection to Christ. 11. Where does Santa Claus come from? Santa Claus descends from old fire-god myths and hearth spirits. The connection between Santa’s use of the chimney, adorned with stockings hung by the fire - place, and the ancient superstitions about hearth spirits is obvious. For the gods of fire and solar gods who vis - ited homes, the chimney was their natural entrance and exit. For thousands of years, especially among the Chinese, it was customary to sweep and scour the house in prepa- ration for the hearth spirit’s visit. Each year, dressed in a fiery red cap and red jacket, this fire-god traveled from the distant heavens to visit homes and distribute favors or punishments. Today, he is welcomed in the Western world each Christmas season. In the ancient world Nimrod was also commonly called BAAL by the Phoenicians (meaning lord) and MOLECH by the Ammonites (meaning king). He was also known as Santa throughout Asia minor. Nimrod was the original Santa Claus! In the old testament Is- rael was expressly forbidden to sacrifice children to the fire in these gods’ name (Leviticus 18:21; 20:2 and Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
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