Every year I hear the same moaning and groaning concerning the celebration of Christmas: that the early Christians mixed the Christ story into a pagan holiday and therefore disqualifies the day from our own observance.

There is little doubt, when simply looking at Christmas, that there is much about the day I cannot excuse. The massive offense of consumerism, the lack of concern by many for the poor, and the gluttony of self-indulgence. But when we look at what the values the day is supposed to behold, it is difficult for me to throw out the holiday. Maybe if we can find the intent of the day, we can also find its modern redemption.

And, with a little research, maybe we can find that Christmas never was actually pagan.

Conflicting evidence

If you do a quick Google search, you will find that the immediate, gut response of the internet is that Christmas is, in fact, pagan. The theory goes that the early Christians placed the celebration of the birth of Christ on December 25th so that they could have a competing holiday on the same day as the pagans of Rome in order that they may draw some to Christ.

But when you do some digging, you find that the date for Christmas actually comes from the late second early third century from Sextus Julius Africanus. In his writing, he attempts to determine the exact chronology of the conception and birth of Christ. First, he determines that the conception of Christ is March 25th, then turns the calendar 9 months over and we find the birth of Jesus. Is this an accurate dating? I don’t know. But for our sake of understanding where the date came from, this is it.

It just so happens that December 25th is also the day the pagans celebrate Sol Invictus, celebrating the Sun god. But there is evidence to show that Emperor Aurelian actually moved the date of Sol Invictus to compete with the fast growing Christian movement, not the other way round.

And all the other pagan holidays? Yes, they take place in winter times for their own reasons, but none take place on December 25th.

So maybe the date isn’t pagan but the practices are, right?

Not necessarily.

Some will that the Christmas tree is adopted from the germanic winter solstice. But we know that the first Christian to speak of bringing a tree in the home for Christmas was Martin Luther, who was inspired to do so on a winters eve walk where he saw the light of the stars glowing throw the needles of the evergreen, reminding him of the grandness of the Creator and the light of Christ.

Gift giving was prevalent in the Roman festival Saturnalia. But the early Christians saw it as a natural part of their gathering as Christ was and is a great gift to the world.

As for the rest of it, it is hard to find a defense.

Final thoughts

Christmas was the “Christ-Mass”, the day the body of believers would gather and participate in the sacraments. The most important aspects of the holiday were the gathering of believers to remember and participate in the life of Christ.

Can we say we do the best job of that today? Probably not. But that is not to say that Christmas began as or is pagan. Rather, Christmas is so special that it has often been attacked by contrary messages, ideas, and beliefs.

So, if you remain convicted, redeem the day. Make it worth celebrating, because Jesus is worth celebrating. Love your family, and your neighbors, and even your enemies. Give gifts freely as you’ve been given many blessings. Be a light to someone else. And be thankful that new life has come into the world.

Check out these articles for a deeper dive!

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