The Christmas FableOne of the largest holiday celebrations in the world is the Christmas holiday. More than half of the world's population keeps Christmas as a holiday which supposedly celebrates the birth of Yahshua. As with any holiday we must refer to the Scriptures and find if it is sanctified. Is Christmas the doctrine of men or of Yahweh? For there is no respect of persons with Yahweh. (Romans 2:11) If we can prove that its origin is from the doctrine of men we must not keep Christmas. Paul taught that we must prove all things and hold fast to that which is good. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, (Titus 2:7) First ChristmasThe study of Christmas is rather interesting. The first Christmas celebration according to the Harper's Bible Dictionary was kept on December 25, 336 CE in Rome. This shows that when the Catholic Church initiated the Christmas celebration that the other Bible believers of the time didn't keep this holiday. The fact that it was first kept in Rome also points to a non-scriptural start of this observance. Neither the patriarchs nor scriptures refer to either the disciples or Yahshua keeping this observance. The idea of keeping one's birthday was a pagan custom which we will discuss later. Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the (Catholic) Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts; Origen, glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Arnobius (VII, 32 in P.L., V, 1264) can still ridicule the "birthdays" of the gods. (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III, Christmas) Sun WorshipThe origin of Christmas is from paganism. The December 25th celebration refers back to the Egyptians who worshipped the Sun (not the Son) as Amen Ra. The worship of the sun is perhaps as old as Nimrod and the destruction of the tower of Babel. The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131. In Dutch it is Kerst-misse, in Latin Dies Natalis, whence comes the French Noël, and Italian Il natale; in German Weihnachtsfest, from the preceeding sacred vigil. The term Yule is of disputed origin. It is unconnected with any word meaning "wheel". The name in Anglo-Saxon was geol, feast: geola, the name of a month (cf. Icelandic iol a feast in December). (The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III, Christmas) During the time of the Messiah the Romans controlled Jerusalem. The Romans had many deities. One of the worships was called Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism had a cult that worshipped the rebirth of the sun, Mithraism. The myth states that Mithras was born on December 25 as the unconquerable sun whose final conquest was the destruction of darkness. A bull that Mithras sacrificed represented darkness. Mithras was born in a cave as the myth goes. The followers of Mithras came together for a meal on December 25. December 25th is not Yahshua's birthday but the winter solstice. The tradition of worshiping the sun was not lost and over time even was brought into Christianity as a worship of the Messiah. Christmas has helped the Christian churches grow because it gave them a holiday in common with the many religions around the world. The problem still remains that it is not a holiday that Yahweh has sanctified. Should birthdays be celebrated? Two examples in scripture of birthday celebrations were very destructive. One of the best-known examples is of Herod's birthday where he was pleased by the daughter of Herodias and offered her what ever she wanted. She asked for the head of John the Immerser on a platter. Herod kept his word and John was executed. Another example is of Pharaoh where on his birthday hung the baker and restored the butler to his former duties. There are no examples of a righteous person keeping a birthday in the scriptures. Yahshua's RemembranceThe idea of worshipping Yahshua for his birthday is just the opposite of what he asked us to remember of him. He told us to remember his sacrifice. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19) Nowhere in the scriptures is a birth considered to be a holy day except maybe by non-believers like Pharaoh and Herod. Another important point is that December 25th is not mentioned or implied as the Savior's birth anywhere in scripture. Yahshua's birth is considered to be around the Feast of Tabernacles. One way of figuring this is that according to John Yahshua's family returned to Galilee for a tax. Taxes were usually collected during feast times because that is when people came together. Plus the fall feasts are after all the crops would have been harvested. The best time for the tax would have been right after the harvest leaving less chance for the tax money to be squandered. Another way of figuring Yahshua's birth is from the birth of John the Immerser. Yahshua was 6 months younger than John and John's birth is calculated to be around the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Either way though there is no way of telling for sure what day Yahshua was born. The reason that this fact is not alluded to in the scriptures is because of the problem that we find today with birthday celebration. Christmas TraditionMany admit that Messiah was not born on December 25th and thus the holiday is only kept for the children. Is Christmas something that we want to teach our children? The Christmas holiday is supposed to be a joyous time where family comes together. The problem is not with a family gathering but with the fact that this holiday is not allowed by Yahweh's law. Think of the damage that Christmas causes to so many. Debt, suicide, murders, and thefts are all on the rise during the Christmas season. Television programming turns to the "Perfect" Christ celebration causing depression among the millions that don't find such happiness. Christmas also draws away from the worship of Yahweh. You shall have none other elohim before me. (Deuteronomy 5:7) Yahweh's FeastsYahweh's feasts are much different in that they are meant to bring Yahweh's people together. We come together to serve Yahweh. Yahshua and the disciples keep the feasts of Yahweh. Yahweh's feasts do not have the burdens of giving perishable gifts to others. There is no competition to see who gives the best gift. Yahweh's feasts are a time when we give of ourselves to Yahweh and the brethren. The beauty of Yahweh's family is that the gift is not something that will rot or break. It is a gift that will last forever. The gift of love of the brethren and hopefully the gift of eternal life is eternal. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalms 133:1) Reference:"Christmas," Harper's Bible Dictionary, Miller, 1961 "Christmas," The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume III
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm "Christmas," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=01509000 "Mithraism," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000
http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=068F4000 "Mithraism," West Asian Traditions
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/rel/mithras.htm "Let's Keep Christ Out of Xmas!" Greg Wilson
http://users.aol.com/libcfl/xmas.htm "Mithraism", The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10402a.htm "How Christmas Works," Marshall Brain
http://www.howstuffworks.com/christmas1.htm | 
