Is Christmas based on a pagan origin?

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I had a friend who served as a pastor, and he was very religious. He had so many rules! One day he told me, “I don’t think Christians should be involved in anything with a pagan origin.” He wanted to argue about Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. 

I surprised him when I responded, “What kind of car do you drive?” (I already knew the answer). He said, “I drive a Volkswagen.” I replied, “Do you know that Adolf Hitler invented the Volkswagen? He created a cult called Nazi Germany, and he was worshipped as a demonic counterfeit of Jesus and a false God. He was a mass murderer, and not only was he probably demon-possessed, but he was likely Satan-possessed as well. You need to get rid of your car.” 

Much of our engineering in the Western world comes from Germany, specifically during the Nazi era. 

If you genuinely believe you should never associate with anything of a pagan origin, you can never drive a Volkswagen again. On the other hand, you could redeem them—you could drive the Volkswagen to church, which Paul refers to as the “temple of the Holy Spirit” in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

What about Christmas? 

Christmas was originally the pagan holiday of Saturnalia. The early Christians did not know when Jesus was born, so they chose this holiday to recognize His birth. (In actuality, Jesus was probably born in the springtime because the Bible says the shepherds were in the field, and it would have been too cold for them to be out in the winter.) 

Now, as Christians, can we receive Saturnalia and worship a pagan deity every December? No, we cannot. Is it okay for some to reject it? Yes, some Christians have done so throughout history, such as the Puritans, who refused to celebrate Christmas and worked on that day in protest. 

Is there a way to redeem Christmas? 

Yes, many Christians do. We have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day church services. We have Nativity scenes and tell the story of Jesus’ birth. We make it all about Jesus. 

My point is this: in every culture, there are diverse backgrounds, different opinions, various consciences, and various convictions. A legalist will say, “I will just tell everybody what to do.” But the Bible says, “The Holy Spirit will tell everybody what to do.”

Mark Driscol

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