Can the Pagan Roots of Our Christmas Traditions Bear Good Fruit?
It’s not yet Thanksgiving Day in the United States, and so it pains me a little to already be producing Christmas content. I’m firmly in the everything-in-its-season camp. So, I zealously avoid Christmas decorations, music, movies, etc. until the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As a result, I have—on more than one occasion—been accused of being a grinch or a scrooge.
As my wife will tell you, that is quite far from the truth. Once those floodgates open, I go hard with Christmas spirit. I fill my office bookshelves with Nutcrackers. I bake cookies to give to our neighbors and help my mom make my grandmother’s potica (we have always pronounced it puh-TEET-zah, but I have no idea if that’s correct) recipe. My Spotify becomes nothing but a loop of my 10-hour Christmas playlist. But far and away my favorite part of the Christmas season is celebrating Advent by leading my family through a mini worship service each Sunday evening that leads up to the twenty-fifth of December.
This year, while writing an Advent family worship guide, I’ve been doing a lot of research into the history and traditions of Advent. One thing struck me as I scoured Google: a lot of our Christmas traditions have pagan roots. Can we, as believers, make use of these traditions that were born from the sinful worship of false gods, or should we throw them out? That’s the question I want to attempt to answer here.
The Pagan Roots Behind Our Traditions
You don’t have to search very far to hear about the pagan roots of many Christmas traditions. And there is no clear evidence in the Bible that tells us what time of year Jesus was born. We know that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem in order to be counted in a census, but Luke doesn’t tell us which census exactly or when during the year it was held. The exact time of year isn’t easily determined with extra-biblical cross-references either. Instead, it is generally accepted that the December 25 date was selected in an effort to convert pagans to Christianity by adopting their winter solstice festival.
All over Europe, winter solstice celebrations made use of many symbols we think of today as Christmassy. The use of evergreen foliage was a symbol of life even in the otherwise dormant winter months. The lighting of candles was meant to invoke the return of the sun as the days began growing longer again and Spring arrived. In spite of the name Saint Nick deriving from the Christian bishop who became known for his generosity, most of the iconography of our Santa Claus is derived from non-Christian sources,
In fact, the symbols we associate with Christmas are so intertwined with pagan rites that in the 1600s, the Puritans in Massachusetts banned the celebration of Christmas altogether! So, what does this mean for us as modern believers? Do we throw out our keepsake ornaments? Do we burn down our fir trees, stop listening to Christmas tunes, boycott Starbucks for their Christmas-themed holiday cups?
I think there’s a better way.
God’s Purpose to Work Good from Our Bad
The Bible is filled with passages that show us God’s ability to use all things, even things intended for evil, for his own glory. Here are a few off the top of my head:
Joseph forgave his brothers and comforted them in their fears, reminding them that though their intentions toward him were evil, God used their actions for good (Genesis 50:15–21).
Samson’s sin led to his capture and torture, and God still used him to deliver Israel from the Philistines (Judges 16:23–31).
Jonah ran from God, nurturing an unmerciful heart towards the lost Ninevites, and yet God still used his preaching to move sinners to repentance (Jonah 3:6–9).
Pagan king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ransacked God’s temple, and God still used him and his empire to discipline his people (Jeremiah 25:8–14).
I could go on and on with examples of God subverting the schemes of evil people to bring glory to his name, but none is more clear than what happened at the cross. Though wicked men betrayed, abandoned, and crucified him, God was at work through Jesus’s death to achieve righteousness for every wicked sinner who believes. Our sin put Jesus on the cross, but God worked through that event to win salvation for all people.
Can you see the implication? The original intention of pagan traditions does not immediately disqualify their use in honoring God. In fact, the renewal and purification of these traditions—the way in which they have been changed to highlight God’s glory—makes them all-the-more-beautiful pictures of redemption. They are now means through which we can honor God.
Advent Wreath and Family Worship Guide
With the truth that God works good through our bad in mind, I’d like to offer you a free family worship guide and instructions for making an accompanying Advent wreath. The free worship guide (which you can download below!) will instruct you on how to use the wreath each day.
And here are step-by-step instructions for making an easy and affordable Advent wreath that you can use with the devotional.
You will need:
a foam disc about ten inches in diameter
a craft knife or box cutter
a pen or marker
a ruler
4 taper candles
Christmas decor greenery (optional)
string (optional)
a protractor (optional)
drafting compass (i.e. not a navigational compass; optional)
First, use the ruler to mark a spot about 1 inch from the edge of the foam disc.
Second, make three more marks so that all four marks together form the corners of a square inside the circumference of the disc. A protractor and string can help your marks and measurements—each angle of the square should be 90-degrees—to be extra precise, but it’s probably okay just to eyeball it!
Third, cut small triangle-shaped holes out of the disc around each mark. Use your taper candles as a guide, making each edge of a triangle about the same length as the diameter of base of the candles. Make sure you start small; You can always make these holes bigger, but if you cut them too big, you can’t easily make them smaller again!
Fourth, test fit your taper candles. They should fit snugly in the holes, with the foam compressing around the candles.
Finally, decorate your Advent candles with Christmas greenery! And if you wish to make a slot for a central Christ candle, make a fifth triangle slot in the center of the foam disc, or—if you plan to use a larger pillar candle—you can use a compass to draw and cut a circle.
I’m so grateful that we have a God who works to bring godly fruit from our sinful rebellion. And I pray that the truth of his redemptive work will encourage your faith as you celebrate each Sunday of Advent with your family.