By Paul Chong Wednesday, 25 November 2009

It will soon be that time of the year when Christmas will be celebrated throughout every nook & corner of the world. What makes the occasion so grand is that even the non-Christians join in the celebrations. Greetings are sent & gifts are exchanged. Hundreds of millions will be following traditions, rejoicing in what is purportedly the birth of Christ. But is it?

The notion that whatever that is celebrated by millions & millions of people throughout the world must be right cannot be taken for granted. With all this popularity, most people generally just follow along & never bother to investigate its root or origin. Most accept customs & traditions without questions – it’s the fashionable thing to do.

Nowhere is this fashionable practice further from the truth than Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween among other supposed Christian holidays. There is too much assumption without researching the truth – surely hundreds of millions down through the ages cannot be wrong! The vital fact is even churches preach & condone such popular practices.

The basic truth is revealed in the Bible & the pages of history. Truth is truth & fact is fact, and you must be willing to accept the findings. People have a tendency to doubt Biblical or historical truth if it contradicts cherished traditions & belief; or like believing in fiction & the media.

This is what 2 Timothy 3:16 has to say about the Bible: “All Scripture is God-breathed & is useful for teaching, rebuking, correction & training in righteousness . . .” In Hebrews 4:12 “For the Word of God is living & alive, sharper than any double-edged sword . . . “ We are reminded by Joshua 1:8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth . . . meditate . . . “

Haver an open mind in this. Rid yourself of any pre-conceived ideas or prejudices. You’d be the judge & jury basing your judgement on truth & evidences. That which can be proved by the Bible & history will stand as truth & withstand all the unholy practices & prejudices of mankind.

Nowhere can it be found that Christmas celebration is advocated in the Bible. All Christmas cards, gifts, Christmas trees & mistletoes are all fabricated by man, advertised & rampantly commercialised for business benefits. According to Encyclopedia Americana “Christmas . . . was not celebrated in the first centuries of the Christian church, since the Christian usage in general was to celebrate the death of remarkable persons rather than the birth . . . a feast was established in memory of this event of Christ’s birth in the fourth century.” “In the fifth century the western church ordered the feast to be celebrated on the day of the Mithrtaic rites of the birth of the sun & at the close of the SATURNALIA, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.”

In the Encyclopedia Britannica “In the Roman world the SATURNALIA (December 17) was a time of merrymaking & exchanging of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness. On the Roman New year (January 1), houses were decorated with greenery & lights, & gifts were given to children & the poor. To these observances were added the German & Celtic Yule rites when the Teutonic tribes penetrated into Gaul, Britain, & central Europe. Food & good fellowship, the Yule log & Yule cakes, greenery & fir trees, gifts & greetings all commemorated different aspect of this festive season. Fires & lights, symbols of warmth & lasting life have always been associated with the winter festival, both pagan & Christian.” You can thus see that there is nothing to suggest celebrating the birth of Christ.

What about the Christmas tree? Christmas tree long preceded Christianity. It’s from Egypt & its origin dates from a period long anterior to the Christian era. This is not referred to in the Bible – and plainly so as it is not from God. In Jeremiah 10:2 “Thus says the LORD, learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven [the stars]; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”

God considers all things heathen in nature as abominable. To think that Churches, Christians & millions of others going about rejoicing in the way of the pagans is sheer insane!

The origins of the other cherished traditions like Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween among others all bear the paganish stigma. If you care enough about practising what’s right & holy to the LORD, all it takes is a little trouble in research.

All festivities are highly advertised & commercialised

Fading whatever justifications made to Christianize.