Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

The ancient world was full of paganism. Paganism is a term describing the belief in and worship of multiple gods. Ancient pagans worshipped gods associated with nature, usually through statues and images.


Almost every non-Israelite culture practiced some form of paganism. However, the God of the Bible demanded something different. He claimed to be the only Almighty God and strictly commanded people not to worship Him with images or statues.

In fact, He claimed to be the Creator of everything, including nature and the physical order. Worshiping His creation was an abomination to Him.

Although paganism and polytheism are not as common in the Western world today, many of their elements still remain with us in various traditions, some of which are associated with Christianity. One of these traditions is the holiday of Christmas, which has deep roots in paganism. Many wonder, is Christmas a purely pagan holiday? Let’s consider some of the pagan elements that are part of this popular holiday.

The Pagan History of Christmas

Here are three ways Christmas is connected to paganism:

1. The Pagan Timing of Christmas

The biblical festivals ordained by God are celebrated in three seasons: spring, summer, and fall in the northern hemisphere (Exodus 23:14-16; Leviticus 23). None of the commanded feasts of the Bible were celebrated in the winter. (The Feast of Dedication mentioned in John 10:22 was not a commanded feast, but was a national celebration of the Jewish people.) The ancient people of Europe, especially in the northern parts, hated winter not only because it was cold, but also because of the dark days with only a few hours of sunlight. Many pagan civilizations celebrated the winter solstice because it marked the time when the days would begin to lengthen. They saw it as the day when the sun (worshipped as a god) began to conquer the darkness of winter. Some of the pagan festivals around the winter solstice were Yule (Nandi), Koliada (Eastern Europe), and Saturnalia (Rome). In 274, the Roman Emperor Aurelian elevated the sun god to the chief Roman god by dedicating a new temple to him on December 25 (Sol Invictus was the Roman version of the Persian sun god Mithras). It is a well-known fact that in the fourth century the Catholic Church adopted the pagan celebration of the winter solstice and modified it. They decided to use it to worship the birth of the Son of God instead of the sun god. The winter solstice or Brumalia, now the feast of Mithras, was linked to the birth of Jesus by the Roman bishop Liberius in 354.

2. Pagan nature worship associated with Christmas customs

During the cold and dark winter months, the fir tree remains green. In their worship of nature, pagans revered evergreen trees as sacred because they could not be overcome by cold and darkness. Pagans would cut down trees and bring them into their homes as a good omen and a symbol of fertility. They would also decorate their homes with greenery and flowering plants such as holly, ivy, and mistletoe. These traditions continue today in the practice of decorating the iconic symbol of Christmas, the Christmas tree, and their homes with tinsel, garlands, and wreaths. The name Saturnalia has died out, but Christmas also included its celebrations, such as decorating homes with evergreens, giving gifts, and feasting.

3. The Pagan Origins of the Santa Claus Myth

Santa Claus also became an iconic symbol of Christmas. However, the modern Santa is much tamer than his ancient counterpart. Krampus, whose name means "claw," was a half-goat/half-demon creature who was believed to visit and whip children on Krampus Night, and to carry the very naughty ones off to the underworld in his sack. Adults would dress up in hideous-looking costumes and scare the children. Some of these traditions are still practiced in crude form today in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. When these traditions were appropriated for Christmas, Krampus was associated with Saint Nicholas. For a time, the two worked together as "good cop, bad cop," with Krampus punishing naughty children and Santa rewarding good ones. Eventually, however, the two merged and merged into the modern Santa Claus.

These are just three examples of pagan traditions that have permeated the Christmas holiday. It’s not hard to Google this topic or look it up in an encyclopedia to learn more. Despite the fact that the pagan roots of Christmas are so obvious and easy to study, millions of people around the world still celebrate it as a “Christian” holiday. When Jesus and the Samaritan woman struck up a conversation at the well, she asked him about the differences between her Samaritan faith and the faith of the Jews. The Samaritans worshiped God on Mount Gerizim (and still do), while the Jews believed that worship should be centered in Jerusalem (John 4:20). Jesus then told her that God cares most about how he is worshipped. Jesus said that God requires that he be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

Why Christmas is a Lie

Christians Should Base Their Worship of God and Jesus Christ on What the Bible Reveals—Not on the Pagan Traditions of Ancient Cultures.

This is the key. Worship of God is not considered legitimate simply because it is done with sincerity and passion—it must also be based on truth. Christians should base their worship of God and Jesus Christ on what the Bible reveals, not on the Pagan Traditions of Ancient Cultures. Jesus taught that God’s words are truth and that we should live by every word of God (John 17:17; Matthew 4:4). Years after Jesus’ resurrection, the apostle John wrote that no lie should be mixed with the truth that comes from God (1 John 2:21). However, Christmas is literally riddled with lies. Consider the following: Nowhere in the Bible is the date of Jesus’ birth identified, although it contains clues that His birth almost certainly did not occur in the winter. Nativity scenes often depict three wise men bearing gifts, but a close reading of the biblical account shows that no wise men were present on the night of Jesus’ birth. Many Christians lie to their children about the existence of Santa Claus, which is a direct violation of God’s commandment not to lie (Exodus 20:16).

The Dangers of Mixing Paganism

Christmas and Its Traditions Are Not the Only Example of Mixing Paganism with the Worship of the True God

The Old Testament records that religious syncretism (the blending of different religious traditions together) was a constant problem for ancient Israel throughout its history. God warned in His law that His people were not to worship Him according to the practices of other pagan nations (Deuteronomy 12:30-31). Instead, He tells us to carefully follow what He has commanded:

After they have been destroyed, be careful not to be caught in the trap they leave behind. Do not seek after their gods, saying, ‘I will do the same as these nations do.’ You must not do so to the Lord your God, for everything they do for their gods is an abomination that the Lord hates; for they burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods - Deuteronomy 12:30-31

The prophet Elijah had to confront Israel about integrating the worship of Baal (a Canaanite god) with the worship of the true God. Elijah responded to this by saying: Then Elijah came to all the people and said, "How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is, follow him!" The people did not answer him - 1 Kings 18:21

In other words, do not mix the worship of Baal with the worship of the true God. Worship one or the other - but not both! But the people did not know how to answer. Why? Because after years of false practices passed down from generation to generation, the people themselves did not know what was true. It is no different today. To know what is true and to practice pure worship, we must abandon Christmas and its lies. History shows that Christmas is a purely pagan holiday. God’s Word gives us instructions on how to worship Him. Although most people ignore it, He has established seven holidays that help us to understand what God considers to be true. Thousands of Christians around the world do not celebrate Christmas because they have learned that it is a pagan holiday. They take the Bible seriously and strive to worship God in spirit and truth. You cannot do that with Christmas because it is a pagan holiday and always will be.

The book of Jeremiah (written around 600 BC) states this:

Hear the word that the Lord, the God of the house of Israel, says: Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be dismayed at the signs of the heavens, for the nations are dismayed at them. For the idols of the nations are vanity. They are but wood, cut down with an axe out of the forest, the work of the hands of the craftsman. They overlay them with silver and gold, and fasten them with nails and hammers, that they may not totter” - (Jeremiah 10:1-4)

Here we see the tradition in Jeremiah’s day of cutting down a tree from the forest, bringing it home, setting it upright, and covering it with various ornaments of silver and gold. The tradition is clearly identified here as a “pagan custom” that should not be learned.

The prophet Isaiah, about 150 years ago, uses similar terminology in relation to trees, gold, and silver:

The craftsman casts an idol, the goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts a silver chain on it. He who is poor and has no means of offering chooses wood that will not rot, he seeks out a skilled craftsman to make an idol that will not totter - (Isaiah 40:19-20)

This related account includes an interesting detail. We also have some clues from these passages as to the type of tree involved in such rituals: Jeremiah tells us that it is a forest tree, and Isaiah describes “a tree that will not rot.”

Eleven other passages throughout the Hebrew Bible—from the Torah to the last book of Chronicles (in the original order)—condemn “pagan” customs involving green trees. Since most of the trees are, of course, green, it is obvious that they are evergreen trees. (Evergreen has long been a part of worship in reference to its “eternal” life.) Ten of these Bible passages condemn some form of idolatry occurring under these trees.
  • You who burn with passion among the oaks, under every green tree, and slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks (Isaiah 57:5)
  • You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree (Deuteronomy 12:2)
  • You shall set up for yourselves sacred pillars and sacred poles on every high hill and under every green tree (2 Kings 17:10)
  • You sacrificed and burned thyme on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree (2 Chronicles 28:4)
When we consider the accounts in the Hebrew Bible, along with the fact that the New Testament says nothing even remotely related to a “Christmas tree,” And given the fact that the New Testament gives no instructions for celebrating Jesus' birth, not even his birth date—in fact, some verses clearly state that Jesus could not have been born on December 25th (more on that below)—the broader question is: Where did Christmas celebrations actually come from? The Encyclopedia Britannica states: “Christmas customs are an evolution from times long before the Christian era — a departure from seasonal, pagan, religious, and national practices, steeped in legend and tradition.” Naturally, such an accusation is likely to be met with surprise — or annoyance. “It’s time to be cheerful, and perhaps have social media flooded with memes that Christmas is nothing more than a co-opted pagan holiday,” Mary Farrow wrote for the Catholic News Agency. Is there any truth to these claims? CNA spoke to several Catholic academics to find out.

Interestingly, all of the academics cited in Farrow’s article expressed some level of support for this conclusion

Dr. Michael Barber: “There is some truth to the idea that Christians ‘baptize pagan ideas.’ There are also elements of traditional Christmas celebrations that are borrowed from pagan cultures. We are not entirely sure how the Christmas tree, for example, came to be a part of the Christmas scene, but there is certainly nothing in Scripture that links it to Christmas. Dr. Mark Zia states that Catholicism recognizes, values, and incorporates into its own Christian culture all that is good, true, and beautiful, even if these things have their origins in pre-Christian religions or cultures.

Professor Andrew McGowen, in his Bible Review article “How December 25 Became Christmas,” wrote:

A famous proponent of this custom was Pope Gregory the Great, who in a letter written in 601 to a Christian missionary in Britain recommended that local pagan temples not be destroyed but converted into churches, and that pagan holidays were celebrated as Christian martyrs’ holidays

On the other hand, it is interesting to note that among some apologists who attempt to challenge the “pagan origin” label for this holiday, it is a consistent theme to try to explain at best why it is not pagan, not to explain why this – the most popular of all religious holidays – is biblical and holy. But perhaps this is not surprising when we consider that the Bible is completely devoid of any mention of anything remotely resembling Christmas – unlike the holy days commanded in Leviticus 23, which were continued to be observed by early New Testament Christians. (Days of Unleavened Bread: 1 Corinthians 5:6–8, Acts 20:6; Pentecost: Acts 2:1, 20:16, 1 Corinthians 16:8; Atonement: Acts 27:9; Feast of Tabernacles: Acts 18:21.)