For many around the world, holidays like Christmas, Halloween, and Easter are joyous occasions filled with festive traditions, quality time with loved ones, and an overall feeling of celebration. However, few stop to consider that from a purely biblical perspective, much of what we do during these holidays may actually be considered un-Christian and even pagan in nature.
Let's start with perhaps the most prominent holiday of them all - Christmas. The very name itself hints at the holiday's origins in honoring the life and birth of Jesus Christ. Yet the vast majority of Christmas traditions and symbols have nothing to do with Jesus, and everything to do with pre-Christian pagan practices.
Take the Christmas tree, for example. The modern tradition of decorating an evergreen tree during the winter months originated in 16th century Germany, a practice that was actually condemned by Christians as being pagan and sacrilegious. Many of the trappings of Christmas, from the Yule Log to holly and ivy, come from earlier European pagan festivals celebrating the winter solstice.
Even the date of Christmas itself, December 25th, is likely a hijacking of earlier pagan festivals like Saturnalia and Sol Invictus. The Bible makes no reference to Jesus' birth date, and the early Christian church did not celebrate his birthday until centuries after his death. In fact, the Puritans of colonial Massachusetts outlawed Christmas as a "popish" and pagan holiday.
Reading through the Bible, one finds surprisingly little positive reference to the idea of celebrating Jesus' birthday or the winter solstice. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, there is a scathing condemnation of the Israelites for cutting down trees, setting them up in houses, and decorating them with silver and gold - an eerie parallel to the modern Christmas tree.
So where did all of these Christmas traditions really come from? Many scholars believe that Christmas as we know it today is largely an amalgamation of elements from earlier European pagan festivals celebrating the winter solstice. The ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Saturnalia in December, a time of feasting, gift-giving, and merriment. The Roman festival of Sol Invictus also fell on December 25th.
In pre-Christian Germany, the midwinter festival of Yule was a major pagan holiday. The Yule log, evergreen trees, holly and mistletoe were all pagan symbols of fertility and rebirth during the dark winter months. The ancient Celts celebrated the festival of Alban Arthanu, which involved decorating evergreen trees and exchanging gifts.
As the early Christian church sought to convert the masses of Europe to Christianity, rather than abolish their pagan traditions, Christian leaders instead incorporated elements of pagan festivals into their own holidays. "If you cannot conquer a pagan practice, absorb it," was the philosophy.
But this now begs the question - is Christmas, in its modern form, actually unbiblical and un-Christian in nature? Many of the trappings and symbols of Christmas have nothing to do with the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. Instead, they trace back to animistic pagan fertility festivals and superstation.
The same could be said for other major holidays. Halloween, for example, originated in the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Samhain, a celebration of the Otherworld and the dead. The trappings of Halloween, from jack-o-lanterns to the practice of "souling" (trick-or-treating), are pagan in origin. The Bible roundly condemns any form of occultism, contacting the dead, or idolatry.
And even Easter, while ostensibly a celebration of Jesus' resurrection, also has troubling pagan roots. The very name "Easter" comes from the name of an Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn. Most of the symbols and traditions of Easter, from the Easter bunny to decorated eggs, are of pre-Christian origin. Some Christian denominations have been known to refuse to celebrate Easter as result.
So what are devout Christians to do? Ignore the ancient pagan roots of modern holidays and focus only on the Christian veneer placed overtop them? Or abolish the holidays entirely as an affront to their faith? There is no easy answer.
Ultimately, whether to celebrate holidays with pagan origins is a matter of individual conscience for Christians. Some may see no harm in the practice and view it as an innocent way to connect with family and community during the holiday season. Others will no doubt take a stricter view and avoid any holiday with suspect origins.
Regardless, it is important to understand the history behind the holidays we celebrate, even if it is not always flattering from a religious perspective. And though the trappings of Christmas, Halloween and Easter may stem from earlier pagan practices, at their core, they were assimilated into Christian holidays celebrating the life of Jesus Christ. So perhaps there is more room for overlap and accommodation than a strict reading of the Bible might allow.
But it is equally important not to ignore a very inconvenient truth - that many of the symbols and customs of holidays revered by Christians and non-Christians alike have their origins in pre-Christian pagan traditions that would likely be condemned as idolatrous and heretical by the early Christian church. Whether to embrace this reality or fight against it, devout Christians must grapple with the fact that the holidays they celebrate annually may not be as purely Christian as they'd like to believe. The holidays have a dark and pagan side that cannot be ignored.