1 Peter 1
Jeremiah 31-32
Psalm 134
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Thoughts and Commentary on Today's Reading
Due to the season... I am going to deviate a bit from my normal commentary.
For the next couple of days, I am going to give a short series of blogs which I will call "Unwrapping Christmas". In this series, I will expose the paganism behind our current Christmas traditions. Often, I will be quoting from Jeremiah Films which created a documentary on this subject. In sharing this, I hope that you will be encouraged in your own journey out of Babylon's borders (Revelation 18) and that you will be armed with the needed information to aid someone else in that important journey as
well. So here goes...
This is the season when most people are consumed with preparations for Christmas. But, is Christmas something followers of Yahshua should participate in?
Christmas has been called the “day of days.” For many, our fondest childhood memories seem to center around the traditions of Christmas.
But have you ever wondered how all the traditions of Christmas got started? Why do people decorate the Christmas tree? Why is it a Christmas tradition to light the Yule log or hang mistletoe?
It is the time when many around the world celebrate the birth of Christ. But, what
do these traditions have to do with Yahshua’s birth? Is December 25
really Yahshua’s birthday?
The tradition of gift giving is often thought to have come from the story of the wise men bringing gifts to the Christ Child. But is that really why the tradition of giving gifts is part of Christmas today? Where do the Christmas traditions come from? Decorating Christmas trees certainly isn’t a practice found in the story of Messiah’s birth.
Where did the Christmas Yule Log tradition get started? And what does it mean?
How did Santa Claus get added into the Christmas mix? To answer these questions we must look into the ancient practices of paganism.
In the Northern hemisphere, during late December the days are at their shortest lengths and the nights are at their longest. For those in the pagan world, this has always been the greatest time of the year to celebrate and practice the works of spiritual darkness. The pagan calendar identifies the time at the end of December as the winter solstice. And our modern Christmas traditions, long before they came to be associated with Christ’s birth in any way, were practiced by pagans dating back to ancient times.
One such group, who practiced the traditions now associated with Christmas as part of their pagan rituals, was the ancient Norsemen of Scandinavia.
In order to honor their pagan, fertility god Yule, the Norsemen engaged in a 12-day celebration in the month of December. During this celebration a log, considered to be a phallic symbol, was lit. The ensuing bonfire
was to be kept lit for 12 days. During this time animal and human sacrifices were burned in this fire on each of those 12 days.
Wild parties accompanied these sacrifices involving drunken orgies, dancing and attempting to contact and be possessed by the spirits of the season. It is from this pagan practice that we get the 12 days of Christmas tradition.
1000 miles away, in pre-Christian Rome, the same kinds of celebrations were going on – honoring what appeared to be different gods, as they had different names than the Norsemen’s deities. But, interestingly enough, the way the pre-Christian Roman gods were honored at the solstice is remarkably similar to the pagan fertility rites and rituals being practiced in Scandinavia at this time of year.
Ancient witches recognized this time as an important day when a pagan god was born. He had different names, depending on the region, but his birthday was the same – December 25.
Some called him Dionysus, some called him Attis, others called him Tammuz. The apostle Paul would have known
him as Mithras. In Elijah’s day this pagan god with the December 25 birthday, was called Baal. And the list of names went on and on. But no matter what his moniker, his birthday and the way it was celebrated remained the same.
Mithras was known as the god of the unconquerable sun. His special Phrygian cap, which had always been associated with Mithras from the ancient, pre-Christian times, is still worn today around the time of his birthday. Notice the cap Mithras is wearing in the above stone carving of him.
During the December celebrations of Mithras's birthday in Rome. courts were closed. Any crime was permitted and unpunishable by law. Homosexuality, cross-dressing and unrestrained debauchery reigned supreme during this pagan celebration.
Roman society lost all its order. Even children were encouraged to participate in the lewd practices and drunken orgies.
By 270 A.D., the Roman emperor Aurelion had made it official, setting aside seven days from December the 17 to December 24 and culminating on December 25 to exchange gifts and celebrate the birth of the son of the sun god.
As more than one pagan deity was often honored in these celebrations - this Roman celebration, became known as Saturnalia, in honor of the god Saturn - the god of excess.
Perhaps in your memory you can still hear the caroler crooning, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
This belief was certainly held by the ancient pagans.
Imagine, all forms of sexual perversions could come be practiced without reprisal. Children and teens could experiment with alcohol, drugs and immorality without parental prevention! Husbands and wives could cheat on one another in broad daylight. Upstanding citizens could take the life of that irritating neighbor without doing jail time.
Yes, the time surrounding December 25 was nothing short of a demonic carte blanche. And for those who enjoyed the devil’s delights, it was the most wonderful time of the year.
The Saturnalia celebration, held for the month of December, grew into a fevered frenzy between December 17 and December 24. The demonic celebration reached its climax on the birth day of the sun god – December 25. Romans called this day:
Natali Invicti Solas
Natali Invicti Solas means the Birth day of the Invincible Sun.
Alexander Hisslop in his book, the Tale of Two Babylons, explains:
“The 25 of December was observed at Rome as the day when the victorious god re-appeared on the earth. The festival was called the Natali-invicti-solas.”
The word Natali Invicti Solas has been shortened into Nativity. But the birth it proclaims is not our dear Saviour’s – rather the Nativity is about Yahshua’s arch enemy. For the sun god is none other
than Satan himself. He has long desired to steal the worship that is due only to God. Could it be that in repackaging the pagan Christmas, the devil has stolen worship from the most High God?
Let’s look carefully at some of the other traditions associated with Christmas... tomorrow we'll look at the origins of the Christmas tree tradition...
In the Northern hemisphere, during late December the days are at their shortest lengths and the nights are at their longest. For those in the pagan world, this has always been the greatest time of the year to celebrate and practice the works of spiritual darkness. The pagan calendar identifies the time at the end of December as the winter solstice. And our modern Christmas traditions, long before they came to be associated with Christ’s birth in any way, were practiced by pagans dating back to ancient times. 
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