FAITH UNDER FIRE
Christmas in America
becomes battleground
As holiday traditions draw national controversy, believers, pagans
grapple over Jesus' inclusion
Posted: December 14, 2002
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Joe Kovacs
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
Every December, a call goes out from the nation's pulpits to "put
Christ back into Christmas," but growing numbers of Americans
including fundamentalist Christians are claiming Jesus Christ had
nothing to do with the holiday, and news items from across the
country this week indicate that the U.S. has become the new
battleground for Christmas.
Cases in point:
* A first-grade teacher in Sacramento Co., Calif., says her
principal has prohibited instructors from uttering the word
"Christmas" in class or in written materials;
* A school superintendent in Yonkers, N.Y., banned, then unbanned,
holiday decorations that contained religious themes more than the
generic "season's greetings";
* New York City schools are being sued for alleged discrimination
against Christians;
* and atheists reposted their vandalized winter solstice sign in
the Wisconsin Capitol, as they declare "Christians stole Christmas"
from ancient pagans.
All this comes on the heels of a national survey indicating just
over a tenth of Americans today believe Jesus Christ of Nazareth is
the focus of Christmas, with almost nine out of ten people saying
the holiday has become less religious.
Are atheists correct that the very day set aside by hundreds of
millions across the world to honor the birth of their Savior is
merely a relic of sun worship? And if it is, why would some schools
ban it? And even if today's holiday traditions have their roots in
heathen practices, should Christians who wish to be true to their
faith take part?
Sign of the times
"The real reason for the season is winter solstice," proclaims
Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-founder of the Madison, Wis.-based Freedom
From Religion Foundation which re-erected its atheistic message
Monday in the rotunda of the state seat of government.
After six years on display, her placard had been damaged last
December by an unknown assailant, and has since been
repaired.
Atheists' winter solstice sign at Wisconsin Capitol
The front of the sign states: "At this season of the winter
solstice may reason prevail. There are no gods, no devils, no
angels, no heaven or hell. There is only our natural world.
Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and
enslaves minds."
The back reads: "State/Church: Keep them separate," and carries a
little caveat, advising "Thou shalt not steal."
The 23-by-30-inch billboard was OK'd as part of Wisconsin's
seasonal display which also features menorahs, angels, and what
appears to be a giant Christmas tree more than two stories
tall.
"We call it a 'holiday' tree," said Brian Hayes, deputy secretary
for Wisconsin's department of administration. "We're trying to be
sensitive to [the public]."
That politically correct terminology comes despite the dismissal of
a lawsuit last year where the message content of items adorning the
state tree had been challenged, yet it's indicative of the
thought-conscious age of the 21st century.
Banned in the USA
The fact that atheists view Christmas with disdain is not
astonishing, since they've attempted to remove the phrase "under
God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God we trust" from U.S.
currency, as well as Ten Commandments displays from numerous
publicly owned places.
What may be surprising, though, is that some devout Christians,
many dating all the way back to the days of Jesus, never celebrated
the birth of Christ, nor sought to. America's early colonists
banned observance of Christmas, and still today, there are many
Christians abstaining from what millions more of their brethren
joyfully celebrate as God's coming in human form.
The Catholic Encyclopedia states, '"the word for Christmas in late
Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in
1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131."
It explains "Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the
Church," pointing out "first evidence of the feast is from Egypt"
around A.D. 200 with attempts by theologians to assign not only the
year of Christ's birth, but also the precise date.
Historians agree that through the subsequent centuries, traditions
from ancient pagan (non-Christian) religions became intertwined
with those of Christianity, and depending upon one's point of view,
either paganism became Christianized, or Christianity became
paganized.
In 1644, the English Parliament outlawed the holiday, compelling
shops to be open that day, and condemning plum puddings and mince
pies as "heathen."
In his Pulitzer Prize finalist, "The Battle for Christmas,"
historian Stephen Nissenbaum at the University of Massachusetts
documents the American development of the holiday now ensconced in
popular culture.
"In New England, for the first two centuries of white settlement,"
writes Nissenbaum, "most people did not celebrate Christmas. In
fact, the holiday was systematically suppressed by Puritans during
the colonial period and largely ignored by their descendants. It
was actually illegal to celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts
between 1659 and 1681 (the fine was five shillings). Only in the
middle of the nineteenth century did Christmas gain legal
recognition as an official public holiday in New England."
Nissenbaum agrees with other historians that the first recorded
observance since the New Testament recounted Christ's birth took
place hundreds of years after Jesus' resurrection.
"It was only in the fourth century that the Church officially
decided to observe Christmas on Dec. 25. And this date was not
chosen for religious reasons but simply because it happened to mark
the approximate arrival of the winter solstice, an event that was
celebrated long before the advent of Christianity. The Puritans
were correct when they pointed out and they pointed it out often
that Christmas was nothing but a pagan festival covered with a
Christian veneer."
Christmas in America saw huge growth during the 19th century,
starting with Washington Irving's 1820 book "The Keeping of
Christmas at Bracebridge Hall." A week before Christmas in 1834,
Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol," and in 1860,
American illustrator Thomas Nast created Father Christmas, also
known as Santa Claus, based on European stories of St. Nicholas,
the patron saint of children.
Spirit of the rising sun
Today, followers of ancient paganism strive to remind the public
about the heathen origins of traditions that many may never have
questioned. They've published books, given speeches, and created
websites proffering a heathen history of modern customs.
Wiccan high priestess Selena Fox
CircleSanctuary.org is among the Internet addresses run by
nature-worshipping pagans. Wiccan high priestess Selena Fox
discusses the state of being pagan and celebrating the lengthening
of days during the Northern Hemisphere's darkest time of
year.
"Yule, the winter solstice, is a festival of peace and a
celebration of waxing solar light. I honor the new sun child by
burning a[n] oaken yule log in a sacred fire. I honor the great
goddess in her many great mother aspects, and the father god as
Santa in his old sky god, father time, and holly king forms. I
decorate my home with lights and with holly, ivy, mistletoe,
evergreens and other herbs sacred to this season. I ring in the new
solar year with bells."
Fox even provides a list of suggestions on how 21st century
citizens can take part in the ancient rituals, to "re-paganize"
Christmastime:
* Have gift exchanges and feasts over the course of several days
and nights as was done of old
* Adorn the home with sacred herbs and colors; decorate in druidic
holiday colors of red, green and white
* Hang a sprig of mistletoe above a major threshold and leave it
there until next yule as a charm for good luck throughout the
year
* Have family/household members join together to make or purchase
an evergreen wreath
* If you choose to have a living or a harvested evergreen tree as
part of your holiday decorations, call it a solstice tree and
decorate it with pagan symbols
* Reclaim Santa Claus as a pagan godform by decorating him with
images that reflect his various heritages ranging from the Greek
god Cronos (father time) to Odin, the Scandinavian all-father
riding the sky on an eight-legged horse
* Place pagan mother-goddess images around your home, possibly
including one with a sun child, such as Isis with Horus
* Honor the new solar year with light light candles, burn a yule
log and save a portion for the following year, put colored lights
outside your home, and with the popularity of five-pointed stars,
consider displaying a blue or white pentagram.
The greatest story never told?
The pagan connections to Christmas are not news to the likes of
Garner Ted Armstrong, a Christian evangelist and political
commentator based in Tyler, Texas. Armstrong has been proclaiming
such information for the past 46 years on a peak of 135 television
and 360 radio stations, stating "it is impossible to 'put Christ
back in Christmas,' since He was never in Christmas in the first
place!"
Garner Ted Armstrong
"None of the apostles of Christ ever heard of the term; not one of
them ever celebrated Christ's birthday," writes Armstrong in his
booklet "Christmas ... The Untold Story." "The words Christmas,
holly wreath, mistletoe, Rudolph, Santa Claus and Christmas tree do
not appear anywhere in the Bible."
Armstrong is among Christians who believe God's plan of salvation
for mankind is more accurately depicted through holidays which are
frequently mentioned in Scripture, such as Passover and the Day of
Atonement. If anything, he thinks Dec. 25 would most likely be
Jesus' conception day, thus placing his birth in the autumn,
possibly during the Feast of Tabernacles, symbolizing God's
"tabernacling" that is to say, dwelling with mankind.
Like-minded preachers say the Bible warns extensively about
adopting pagan customs, pointing to the 10th chapter of Jeremiah to
specifically cite the practice of tree decoration, which some
historians date back to ancient Egypt and Babylon:
"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. 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 axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it
with nails and with hammers, that it move not." (Jer 10:2-4)
Armstrong says the pagan celebrations, including winter's
Saturnalia, or feast of Saturn in ancient Rome, crept into
ostensible Christianity over many years, and some writers began
urging a celebration at the same time as the secular events "for
the simple reason that so many pagans were already accustomed to
'joyous,' sometimes 'riotous' orgies of feasting at the time of the
winter solstice."
"It would be a sin for me [to celebrate Christmas], but it doesn't
mean it's the unpardonable sin," Armstrong told WorldNetDaily,
stressing he doesn't feel at all threatened by the holiday.
"I have no more difficulty walking through Beijing at the Chinese
New Year and seeing the dragons and fireworks. It doesn't affect
me. ... [the Apostle] Paul says the idol is nothing."
While Armstrong teaches against the observance of Christmas, he
adds that most people who celebrate it are doing so with good
intentions, simply unaware of the facts regarding its origins, and
they should neither be judged nor condemned by fellow believers in
Jesus. He encourages people to type words like "origins of
Christmas" into Internet search engines to find out for themselves
the background on the customs.
Angels in the outfield
For millions of Christians, the story of Christmas in the Bible is
among the most beloved, and is one of their foundations of faith
that God came to dwell as a man and offer eternal life to mankind.
It is both simple enough to be understood by young children, and
has majestic meaning to provide adults with inspiration and
awe.
The events surrounding the birth of Christ are recorded in the
Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which give an almost play-by-play
description:
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a
sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke
2:8-14)
The shepherds subsequently found the child in the manger, but
unlike depictions on many modern holiday cards and Nativity scenes,
there were no wise men present at the birth. The Gospel of Matthew
says the Magi arrived at a house, not the manger. And as for the
tradition of three wise men, the Bible never mentions their number
only the three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Those gifts
were presented to Jesus, not exchanged with other people.
The accounts don't mention a tree evergreen or otherwise nor do
they specify the time of year. Some analysts theorize that since
the shepherds were still out in the fields by night watching their
flocks, the event could not have been in winter, due to plunging
temperatures. Still others think Dec. 25 has a valid claim on the
actual event.
Spirit of the rising Son
"I believe the celebration of Christmas is a wonderful opportunity
to honor Christ and share the gospel," says Rev. Jerry Falwell,
chancellor of Liberty University in Virginia and one of America's
best known ministers. Falwell is a staunch defender of the holiday
he's celebrated for every one of the 69 years he's been
alive.
"And I plan to celebrate it on the 'other side,'" he tells
WorldNetDaily.
Falwell acknowledges that many of the customs associated with the
observance are not found in the Bible, but he doesn't have a
problem with that.
"The Christmas tree and Santa Claus don't bother me," he said. "If
we can use anything to get people under the sound of the gospel,
without violating Scripture, it's a good thing."
While there are some unknowns such as the exact date of birth,
Falwell stresses "we do know He was born virgin-born as the Son
of God."
Yet over 2,000 years after that history-changing event, most
Americans think Christ is fading from the Christmas picture, at
least according to a recent poll.
When the Scripps Survey Research Center at Ohio University asked if
"most people focus on the birth of Jesus at Christmas time, or has
the holiday become less religious than it used to be?" only 11
percent said they believed Christmas was still about Jesus, with 87
percent responding "less religious."
Close to half of adults 45 percent say they personally know
someone who doesn't believe in God, but still will celebrate the
holiday this year; 62 percent say they'll attend a religious
service on Christmas Eve or Day; and 81 percent plan to put a
decorated tree in their home this year.
"Do I put up a tree? I have in the past; this year I won't," says
Jose Negron, a 34-year-old Christian minister at the Stonehouse
Church to the Nations in Toano, Va. Even without the tree, he still
plans to celebrate Christmas.
"I grew up in America. It's an historical constant," Negron
said.
President Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the National Christmas Tree
in 1940
Indeed, trees and their decoration have played a role in American
history, even in the nation's darkest hours. In 1942, just a year
after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill came to Washington to join President Franklin
Roosevelt in lighting the National Christmas Tree, a tradition
started by Calvin Coolidge in 1923.
"Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practice
them, we set our faith in human love and in God's care for us all
men everywhere," said Roosevelt.
Thousands of citizens turned out for the event, which was broadcast
nationwide on radio in the grips of World War II.
"Let the children have their night of fun and laughter," proclaimed
Churchill. "Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play.
Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures
before we turn again to the stern task and formidable years that
lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these
same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied
the right to live in a free and decent world."
The tree-lighting ceremonies continue to this day, with President
George W. Bush having two dedications under his belt.
The history of mankind's fascination with trees long antedates
World War II, the founding of America, and even the Middle Ages.
Historians have found evidence of tree decoration and tree worship
in places such as ancient Rome and Egypt. The Old Testament also
records God's displeasure with his own people for following pagan
practices involving trees:
* "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord,
and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves."
(Judges 3:7)
* "For the Lord shall smite Israel ... because they have made their
groves, provoking the Lord to anger." (1 Kings 14:15)
* "For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on
every high hill, and under every green tree." (1 Kings 14:23)
In the 1800s, Alexander Hislop, a noted historian of antiquity,
examined the origins of customs such as the Christmas tree and date
of celebration. Writing in "The Two Babylons," Hislop maintains the
practice derives from the worship of pagan deities.
The Christmas tree, now so common among us, was equally common in
pagan Rome and pagan Egypt. In Egypt that tree was the palm tree;
in Rome it was the fir; the palm tree denoting the pagan Messiah.
... The mother of Adonis, the sun god and great mediatorial
divinity, was mystically said to have been changed into a tree, and
when in that state to have brought forth her divine son. If the
mother was a tree, the son must have been [recognized] as the "Man
the branch." And this entirely accounts for the putting of the yule
log into the fire on Christmas Eve, and the appearance of the
Christmas tree the next morning. ...
Therefore, the 25th of December, the day that was observed at Rome
as the day when the victorious god reappeared on earth, was held at
the Natalis invicti solis, "The birthday of the unconquered sun."
Now the yule log is the dead stock of Nimrod, deified as the sun
god, but cut down by his enemies; the Christmas tree is Nimrod
redivivus the slain god come to life again.
The 2001 National Christmas Tree took on patriotic colors in the
wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks
"I can count about a hundred trees, wreaths, poinsettia displays,
lights, everywhere I look [in my office] complex," says Bob Sipsky,
of Stuart, Fla. "Christmas gorge-as-much-food-as-you-can
eat-a-ramas every day for two weeks. Enough already."
Sipsky is a Bible believer not affiliated with any organized
church. He celebrated Christmas for 35 years before abandoning it,
now thinking it an insult to God.
"There are clearly explained festivals that God tells us to
observe, which teach how to have peace on earth, and what the true
Savior requires of us," Sipsky says, "yet mankind ignores these,
and prefers to make up his own festivals and traditions. Christmas
is based in deception: its origins; lying to small children about
Santa Claus; talking about having peace on earth while ignoring
God's instructions on how to achieve it; saying it is biblical,
while 99 percent of it is all about commerce and other selfish
objectives. Myths and traditions do not please the God of the
Bible, a right way of living does. Deception is at the top of the
list of what He hates."
That anti-Christmas view is echoed by Tom Moniz of Hobe Sound, Fla.
"Being a God-fearing man, I cannot honor a lie, nor do I think
adopting a pagan holiday and calling it his birthday does any honor
to him."
"Most of these people are killjoys," says Rev. Falwell regarding
those who attack the celebration of Christmas. "Most of these
tightwads just don't want to [spend] cash. ... I don't take my
children or grandchildren near them."
To many Christians, Christmastime is among the most sacred times of
the year, and they look to keep it that way.
"It's the reason for being a Christian, because we believe Jesus is
God," says Louis Giovino, director of communications for the New
York-based Catholic League, the nation's largest Catholic
civil-rights organization.
With recent controversies surrounding Christmas in the public
arena, the league has issued a list of guidelines to help people
understand what kind of religious expression is permissible at this
time of year.
Giovino admits the observance has picked up some pagan customs over
the years, but says they've been "baptized" by the Church. He notes
by the time of Dickens in England, the holiday took on a more
raucous tone, with drinking parties and violence, and says the
Protestant legislation to outlaw Christmas was in direct response
to the riotous revelry.
"The Puritans weren't into celebrating anything," he said.
Giovino stresses the important part of Christmas is the larger
picture of the Christian message, the belief that "the Word became
flesh."
"It's not like saying 'Happy birthday, Jesus!'" he exclaimed. "I
think personally Christmas is ridiculous without Christ. Otherwise,
we might as well celebrate the winter solstice as pagans."
The baby with the bathwater?
With the extremes on Christmas observance ranging from total
holiday indulgence to complete abstention, there are plenty of
people who seek middle ground. Pastor Richard Bucher of the Trinity
Lutheran Church in Clinton, Mass., is one of them, asserting
celebrating Christmas is not pagan.
"It's laudable that certain Christians care so much about pleasing
God to ask the question if it's right," Bucher told WorldNetDaily,
"but a lot of arguments they're making are just not sound. They end
up placing guilt on Christians celebrating Christmas and do a real
disservice."
On his church website, Bucher addresses examples such as the tree
decorated with silver and gold in Jeremiah's 10th chapter, and
explains upon close examination, it does not refer to anything like
a Christmas tree.
"The very next verse, 10:5, goes on to say, 'Like a scarecrow in a
melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because
they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can
they do any good.' This passage and the passages that follow make
it crystal clear that the 'decorated tree' that Jeremiah was
talking about in 10:3-4, was a tree that was cut down and made into
an idol, a very common custom in the ancient world."
"Just because heathens took something God has created for good," he
asks, "does that mean such things are off limits [to Christians]
permanently?"
He says many have invented sin where God has not said that
something is sinful, and adds the issue boils down to what exactly
is meant by "Christmas."
"Is it thanking God for the birth of the Savior, or everything that
people do associated with it? People just lump everything
together."
Despite all the conflict, some believers have little problem with
the controversies over Christmas; in fact, they rejoice in
them.
"Those who would attempt to take Christ out of Christmas are
fighting a losing battle," says Joan Driscoll of Ft. Lauderdale,
Fla. "The harder they try, the stronger the holy message and
meaning of Jesus' birth becomes. The heavenly voices of the angels
singing 'Alleluia' will easily drown out the guttural tones of the
dissenters."
