(Charisma News) – During a recent trip to El Salvador, a pastor and I were talking about how much we both love Christmas music. We shared some of the songs on our personal playlists, and then he told me that his wife is especially fond of songs like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and “Let It Snow” because the church she grew up in discouraged members from celebrating Christmas or hanging any type of holiday decorations. Her story reminded me that several Charisma readers jumped on me a few years ago after I wrote a column about Christmas. They were angry because they consider Christmas a pagan holiday that is luring gift-giving revelers into hell itself. One person who identified himself as “Albert” wrote in our online forum that he “isn’t comfortable celebrating Christmas” because of its “demonic origins.” You probably know there are many Christians who boycott Christmas for various reasons—some factual and some quite debatable. These people insist:
- The holiday has become too commercialized and promotes greed. (I can’t really argue with that.)
- No one knows when Jesus was born. (True—and the Bible is silent about the date.) However, “Albert” and other anti-Christmas purists insist Jesus was born on Sept. 11, in 3 B.C., during Rosh Hoshana.
- The Dec. 25 date was chosen to “Christianize” the pagan celebration of Saturnalia, an ancient winter solstice festival. (Probably true—but is there anything wrong with Christianizing something? I’m glad a pagan celebration was replaced.)
- Christmas trees are a pagan tradition, since druids believed evergreen boughs were magical and had the power to scare away demons. (“Thursday” is also named for the Norse god Thor, but that doesn’t mean I worship him when I use the word.) READ MORE
