WHY DO CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE PAGAN CHRISTMAS?
WHY DO CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE PAGAN CHRISTMAS?
THE BIBLE WARNS
Christmas is celebrated on December 25th but the Ukrainians do that on January 7th of the year.
The majority of Christians do celebrate Christmas in spite of the fact that Christmas originated from the pagans.
The commandments in the Bible strictly forbade the adoption of the beliefs and practices of the pagans (Leviticus 19:4). In Exodus 20:3, it is stated: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Observing and celebrating Christmas is sinning against the Ten Commandments which God gave the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. It is quoted in 1 Kings 21:26, "And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things ..." Futhermore, God said, "Defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."
"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters ... (1 Cor.6:9)
THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS
SimpleToRemember.com
"In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.
D. The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.
LAST TRUMPET MINISTRIES
The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.
The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.
This was done long before the birth of Jesus.
It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to decrease after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.
WIKIPEDIA ON CHRISTMAS
December 25 is not thought to be Jesus' actual date of birth, and the date may have been chosen to correspond with either a Roman festival,[6] or with the winter solstice. Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, Church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas for children. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between Saint Nicholas and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
Christians still celebrate the pagan Christmas for many reasons even though they know that Christmas is from pagan origin. They probably tell themselves that God loves them and wants to make them happy. God is such a loving God that He can forgive anyone who asks Him.
In Isaiah 4:1 which states: And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
1. Churches are in the name of Christ only, but they preach their own doctrine. They profess with their mouths, but are not Christians in their heart
"Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:" (Isaiah 29:13).
EMPEROR CONSTANTINE
2. For the first 300 years or so, Christmas was unheard of until Emperor Constantine came on the scene and made the Church into The Roman Church which introduced the mass of Christ's Church.
HENRY VIII
4. Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church because his first wife, Catherine of Aragon could not bear a son and he wanted to marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII became the head of the Anglican Church. Once again, the church observed the practice of celebrating Christmas. The practice of the church still embraces Christmas.
OFF SHOOTS OF THE ROMAN CHURCH
5. Churches which are off shoots of the Roman Catholic Church follow the mother church and there are many of them which are too numerours to list.
Some of the Churches that celebrate Christmas
Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, Mormon, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Christ.
COMMERCIALISM
6. Commercialism also plays an important part in keeping Christmas alive and kicking. A month before Christmas, advertising companies start their campaigns on working to lure the public in buying their products.
Dallas Fort Worth Commercial Santa Claus. Give your event a boost.... Hire Santa Today!
Hire Santa Claus for your Dallas Fort Worth corporate or business promotion. Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus are available for many Dallas Fort Worth Christmas promotions including:
Christmas Retail store Promotions
Restaurant's Breakfast's with Santa
Christmas Tree Nurseries and Farms
National and Local Product Promotions and much more.
SELLING WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT
7. A feast for the eyes. Advertisers know how to lure the customers to buy the products either selling at a discount or other ploys of the trade. They know the psychology of what customers want, and how to lure buyers.
FESTIVE REVELRY
Visit Manchester For Some Fantastic Festive Revelry This Winter. ... get the Christmas shopping done while simultaneously engaging in some festive revelry. ...
Festive Revelry at Raffles Beijing Hotel - A Season of Merry Feasting
Christmas Eve –BBC NEWS | England | London | London's festive revelry reality London's festive revelry reality ... On a Friday night at the height of the Christmas office party season Christmas Eve Festive Revelry at Jaan Restaurant Experience the magic of Christmas with French fine dining at its finest. ...
BBC NEWS | England | London | London's festive revelry reality
London's festive revelry reality ... On a Friday night at the height of the Christmas office party season
People love fun, revelry, feasts, gifts, holiday.
TURN TO WORSHIPPING GOD
It is never too late to turn away from any pagan rites or rituals. God wants us to be pure and righteous. He will forgive us and we can change over into a new leaf and worship God only. Praise the Lord God for His mercy and love towards us.
But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollution of idols, ... (Acts 15:20).
"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you." (2 Cor. 6:16-17).
"For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." (1 Thes.1:9).
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen" (1 John 5:21). Thank God and bless His name always. Amen.
The Lord God will listen to our prayers if we are sincere and want to change for the better. God will guide us to victory over evil. Praise and thank the Lord God.
Prophecy: Isaiah 4:1 Seven Women and One Man http://hubpages.com/hub/prophecy-isaiah
PROPHECY: ISAIAH 9:6: GOD'S MANIFESTATION - JESUS CHRIST http://hubpages.com/hub/prophecyisaiah9-6godsmanifestationjesus
JESUS THE BIBLE AND CHRISTMAS http://einron.hubpages.com/hub/JESUS-THE-BIBLE-AND-CHRISTMAS
MARTIN LUTHER
3. When Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church, he did not repudiate Christmas and the Lutheran Church still celebrate Christmas.
FROM BETHLEHEM ON CHRISTMAS EVE, SAT-7 to Broadcast Christmas Eve Service from the Christmas Lutheran Church
December 19, 2007
Nicosia, Cyprus- Two thousand years ago, angels announced the good news of Christ’s birth directly to shepherds gathered on the hills around Bethlehem. This Christmas Eve, SAT-7 will broadcast a live service directly from the Christmas Lutheran Church in downtown Bethlehem, giving Arab Christians living across the Middle East and around the world the chance to participate in a celebration of Christ’s birth from within every town where the savior was born.
The Roman Catholic Church decided to compromise with the pagans by allowing them to continue their paganistic practice when they became Christians. The church was content to swell their number of adherents through merging Christianity and paganism. The practice has continued until the present day and Christmas merrily continues. The head of The Roman Catholic Church is the pope.