Is Jesus Really the "Reason for the Season"?

Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” We have seen it everywhere. On ornaments. On social media. On Christmas cards. I ask you, is Jesus really the “reason for the season.” Where did we get that idea? Where did the Christmas season originate? When and how did Jesus become the ‘reason’ for the ‘season’? I asked these questions and many others. I did the research years ago. What I discovered was enough to cause my family to stop celebrating Christmas. My intention is to inform you not condemn you about whatever choice you make. To celebrate or not to celebrate is the question. That is a decision you must make for yourself.
 
In 1994, I went on an information quest to find truth. Truth was my only goal. The truth about our holidays and why we celebrate them. My inspiration was a simple challenge from a friend.
 
“Why do we celebrate Christmas?” they asked.
 
From that point on, I diligently searched through the history of this amazing light-filled season to find an answer. Have you ever wondered why early Christians did not celebrate Christmas? Here are a few facts for you to consider.
 
Fact #1: Jewish holy days or feasts do not include a celebration for the birth of Jesus. Of course, to the Orthodox Jews, Jesus is not the Messiah (Anointed One, Savior of the world), but in Christianity He is. The early Christians still observed the feasts. They observed the feasts because they contain a message of the coming of Jesus Christ and His return. As Christians, we should obey the Lord’s instruction and be in this world but not part of it. “Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
 
Fact #2: The Shepherds were in the fields with their sheep when the angel descended to earth and proclaimed the birth of the Holy Child Jesus (Joshua, Yeshua, Yehweh). They brought the sheep in no later than the middle of October because of the bitter cold.   
 
Fact #3:  Jesus was not born on December 25th. Joseph and Mary did not travel to Bethlehem in the winter. There were thousands of people going to their hometowns for the census and the king knew they needed good weather for travel. Their traveling in the winter would mean a lower census. Many easily found truths reveal this fact.
 
Fact #4: The winter solstice was a well-known pagan celebration. Curtis states, Christmas “…was a survival of the old pagan Saturnalia.”
 
“In Rome, the Saturnalia was the most vile, immoral feast that ever disgraced that pagan city.  It was a season of license, drunkenness and debauchery.  The spirit of revelry prevailed, and the entire city wantonly indulged in the filthiest sorts of immorality imaginable.” (Tardo, n.d.)
 
Fact #5:  Christians refused to embrace the practice until the 400s. At that time, the Catholic church tried to get the pagans to stop the practice. When they would not do that, the church incorporated all of the pagan observances into the church. This is called Christ Mass. The Catholic service is called mass. Easter is another good example.
 
Fact #6: December 25th was the day pagans recognized and celebrated as the birth of the sun god Mithra and other sun gods such as Osiris, Horus, Hercules, Bacchus, Adonis, Rah, Jupiter, Tammuz, Saturn, etc., (Tardo, n.d.). This the Saturnalia mentioned in fact #4 above. The Catholic church figured it was easy to put another god in with the pagan worship. However, the Holy Scriptures instruct us to, “Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean …” (Genesis 35:2).
 
Fact #7: We are participating in an unholy mixture of holy and profane. God gives us very clear instructions concerning things like this.
 
“Thus saith the Lord God; are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers?  For when ye offer your gifts … ye pollute yourselves with all your idols, shall I be inquired of by you? … pollute ye my holy name no more with your gifts, and with your idols.? (Ezekiel 20:30, 31, 39)  “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?  And what communion hath light with darkness?  And what concord hath Christ with Belial?  Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” (II Corinthians 6:14-16)
 
Fact #8:  When we ‘celebrate’ or ‘participate’ in this pagan holiday we are lying to our children and grandchildren about some very fundamental beliefs. There is no Santa. Look at the name Santa. It is the same as satan with the n and the t transposed. There are no reindeer flying around the world at supersonic speed.  There is no ‘magic’ sled. When we lie to our children about the things concerning Christmas how can they possibly believe you when you tell them about Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven? The Scriptures say, “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2).
 
There are many other facts to consider, ponder, and explore when it comes to the history of the Christmas and whether Jesus is the reason for the season. When you look into the origins of bringing green trees into homes you find Druid worshipped trees and brought them indoors in the winter. The wreaths, the lights, the holly, and the mistletoe that we use at Christmas all have a pagan heathenistic tradition behind it. Truth is truth. Fact is fact. The facts I have share are recorded throughout history. See for yourself. Is Jesus really the reason for this season? No. Sadly, no.
 
We can make our celebration of Christmas at home, and even in our churches about whatever we want to make it but it does not change the truth about this pagan ritual of the Saturnalia. You can allow a little leaven (idolatry) to cause your whole life to be filled with leaven (sin) “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” I Corinthians 5:6. You always have a choice. Choose  
 
In conclusion, Jesus is not the reason for the season even though the early church tried to make it about Him, it is not. We do not have to give into the lies, the deception, or the commercialism of the season. Our family decided to walk in the light of the truth we found and to serve God by being in the world but not of it. Since you have read this blog, you too have now been enlightened. You now know some of the truth, but do not take my word for it, be like a Berean and study this for yourself. As for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord. “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

Cindy Hyde, MA
copyright 2018
cindyhyde.com
@cindyhyde 
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​cindylhyde@gmail.com 
​easttexashealingcenter.org
 
References
 
Curtis, G. W., (n.d.). Christmas, p. 9. Retrieved on December 25, 2017 from
http://www.faithfulword.com/tracts/The_Shocking_Truth_about_Christmas.pdf.
 
All Scriptures are King James Version Bible. Public domain. Retrieved on December 25, 2017 from
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/.
 
Tardo, Dr. Russell K., (n.d.). The Shocking Truth about Christmas. Retrieved on December 25, 2017 from
​ http://www.faithfulword.com/tracts/The_Shocking_Truth_about_Christmas.pdf.