What Does the Bible Say About Christmas?

Is it a sin to celebrate Christmas?

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

It’s also the time of the year when people start asking questions about Christmas.

Hopefully, this article will help answer some of those questions.

How Did Christmas Get Started?

The identification of Christmas being celebrated as the date of Jesus’ birth took a long time to develop. In fact, during the first two centuries of Christianity, the celebration of birthdays was strongly opposed as a pagan custom.

It’s not clear how December 25 came to be identified as the birth date of Jesus since the New Testament doesn’t tell us the exact date Jesus was born. Irenaeus lived from 130 to 202, and he wrote that Jesus was born on December 25. Sextus Julius Africanus identified December 25 as the date of Jesus’ birth in A.D. 221.

A common explanation for why December 25 was chosen was to “Christianize,” a popular holiday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the winter solstice and the approaching spring and summer seasons. This view is not without its challenges, however.

One of the difficulties with this view is that it suggests a nonchalant willingness on the part of the Christian church to appropriate a pagan festival when the early church was so intent on distinguishing itself categorically from pagan beliefs and practices. - Britannica.com

The Catholic Church decided to make Jesus’ birth an official holiday in the 4th century, somewhere around 350. Pope Julius I decided on December 25 as the date for the “Feast of the Nativity” - although sources for this information come much later, so Julius I may or may not have made this decision.

So we know that December 25, at some point, became the commonly accepted date and official holiday. It is impossible to nail down exactly when and why this date was chosen.

How Did Christmas Become a Widespread Celebration in the United States?

Thankfully, this question is a little bit easier to answer. But we have to start in Europe.

The celebration of Christmas was actually canceled in England in the mid-1600s when Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan allies took over England. The Puritans opposed extravagance - like great feasts and giving lavish gifts - and Christmas was caught in their crosshairs. The Puritans also opposed the celebration of Christmas because they argued there was no scriptural basis for observing Christmas.

When Puritans came over to America in the early 1600s, their influence led to Christmas being outlawed in places like Boston from 1659 to 1681. Anyone caught observing Christmas was subject to a fine of five shillings.

Americans didn’t embrace Christmas until the 1800s, and it was “re-invented” to be a time focused on family, peace, and memories rather than public partying. Several different factors contributed to the new way Christmas would be celebrated in the United States.

• Class warfare between the “haves” and “have-nots” turned violent in places like New York and resulted in the police responding to a “Christmas riot.” The violence caused many to change the way Christmas was celebrated.

• Washington Irving wrote The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. - which was a collection of essays and short stories. These stories included an imagined celebration of Christmas that was more peaceful and focused on giving to others.

• Charles Dickens wrote the classic A Christmas Carol, which also emphasized the importance of charity and compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves connected to the celebration of Christmas.

Over the next hundred years, into the early 1900s, Americans built a Christmas tradition unique to the United States, including decorating Christmas trees, sending holiday cards, and giving gifts to others.

Even “Santa Claus” is an American creation based on a monk named St. Nicholas and made famous by the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” While “Santa Claus” is rooted in previous traditions - what Americans think of when they think of “Santa Claus” is a unique creation of American culture.

Does the Bible Mention Christmas?

Earlier in this article, I mentioned that the Bible does not mention “Christmas” at all.

Christmas is still commonly associated with Jesus’s birth, and the Bible does say quite a bit about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2).

Is Christmas Day Jesus’ Actual Birthday?

Probably not - but there’s no way to know for sure.

Shepherds would not usually be out with their sheep in December. But there could be circumstances that would have taken the shepherds out with their sheep in December.

While we know Jesus was born, and we can have confidence in what the Bible tells us about His birth - the New Testament writers were more concerned with the fact of Jesus’ birth and why He was born than the exact date He was born.

That’s probably something we should keep in mind as well.

Is It Sinful to Celebrate Christmas?

So we went through all that background about Christmas to ask this question: Is it sinful or wrong to celebrate Christmas?

Some of you reading this may be shocked that this question would even be asked - “There are people who think this?” you might wonder.

But remember - religious groups that have been influenced by the thinking of the Puritans have also been influenced by their thinking on the matter of celebrating Christmas as well.

Since the Scriptures do not command Christians to celebrate Christmas along with the birth of Jesus, does that mean Christians ought not to celebrate the holiday? Some argue that since God did not command us to celebrate Jesus’ birth, we cannot do that.

Others argue that Jesus observed a religious holiday that was not commanded in the Scriptures, so based on His example, it would not be wrong to do the same today.

Luke Dockery’s article points out that Jesus attended the Feast of Dedication in John 10:22-23 - a feast later known as "Hanukkah” or “The Festival of Lights.” This was not a feast that God had commanded. Luke wrote:

So John 10 tells us that Jesus was in Jerusalem, walking in the temple, during a holiday celebrating the rededication of the temple. In other words, Jesus was celebrating a religious holiday that was not commanded by the Hebrew Bible. Based on His example, I think we are on safe grounds to do the same thing today. 

The Scriptures neither command nor forbid the celebration of Christmas. Christians should celebrate and remember the Lord and what He has done for us, including His birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection every day, including Christmas.

I agree with Luke’s conclusion in his article:

Ultimately, I think this whole discussion falls squarely into Romans 14.1-12, where Paul talks about how Christian brothers and sisters should avoid passing judgment on one another over disputable matters.

At the end of the day, if a Christian brother or sister wants to celebrate the birth of Jesus and what it represents as a part of Christmas, you are not to pass judgment that person. And if a Christian brother or sister decides that it is inappropriate to celebrate Christmas in a religious fashion, you are not to pass judgment on that person either. In matters such as these, Paul says that we are to respect the beliefs of one another, rather than forcing our beliefs on others in a way that causes them to stumble.

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I know some who stay away from celebrating holidays altogether.

I know some who celebrate Christmas but don’t treat it as a special time to celebrate Jesus’ birth.

I also know some who celebrate Christmas, and they see it as a special time to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

I’m just thankful that we as Christians have an opportunity to reach more people about the good news of Jesus during a time of year when more people think about Him - at least for a few moments.

Not a day should go by that we are not thankful for Jesus coming to this world and for what He did for us.