Have a Merry Pagan Christmas
One of the most iconic symbols of the holiday season is the “Christmas Tree.” Going into the woods, cutting an evergreen and bringing it into the home was most prolific with the ancient Druids who interpreted the tree's ability to remain green year round as a symbol of immortality, fertility, and the resurrection of the sun god. Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity
Pagan usage differed very little from modern Christmas trees. They would place orbs on the branches with some kind of sunburst ornament at the top, representing the Sun-deity. There was also the customs of decorating the house and barn with wreaths of evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil. .
The celebration of Christmas on the Winter Solstice began as early as 354 A.D. The Christmas festival we know today incorporated a little bit from different pagan societies. Gift giving and holiday lights came from the Roman's Saturnalia. Yule logs and the Christmas feasts came from the Germanic people, while the practice of caroling came from the Scandinavians.
What does the Bible say about the Christmas Tree?
Jeremiah 10:2-4, King James Version (KJV)
2: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3: For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4: They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. There is no defining conclusion to any of this. The Old Testament practices were based on paganistic rituals, and so it does not seem far-fetched that Christianity should follow in these same footsteps. Contradictions in the Bible occlude the path to righteousness. Take for example in the quote above that says, “ be not dismayed at the signs of heaven.” In the contexts of the birth of Christ, what about the star of Bethlehem? In the end, the true spirit of Christmas has more to do with the fellowship of friends and family.
