Celebrating the devil today as Christmas day .

Come December 25, someone gets a party! But it isn’t who most people think, as they prepare once again to celebrate Christmas. Along with Easter, Christmas is one of the most recognized holidays on the calendar. Professing Christians worldwide look to its various traditions for warmth, comfort, and inspiration. But, did the first Christians actually celebrate it? Was there a Jesus Christ birthday festival—no matter the date—based upon true Christian belief?

Is Christmas a Christian holiday? Or could this famous “Christian” tradition actually be one of the devil’s favorites?

Most people dismiss the commercialism, the pagan influence, and the impossibility of a December 25 birth, and take comfort in slogans such as “Put Christ back in Christmas.” But how many professing Christians would feel comfortable celebrating Christmas if they understood that you cannot “put Christ back in Christmas” because Christmas is Satanic?

This is no new understanding—but the churches of the world hide or ignore this truth. The Catholic Encyclopedia reveals that “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts” (“Christmas,” New Advent.org, accessed October 4, 2022). Christmas was even briefly outlawed in Massachusetts in 1659 and in England in the mid-1600s as being unbiblical.

Many understand that before Christmas was the Roman Saturnalia, upon which Christmas is founded. Tertullian, considered an early Catholic church father, wrote that during the Saturnalia, presents were exchanged and “every pomp of the devil is frequented” (“On Idolatry (Tertullian)”).

But the Saturnalia was simply an adaptation of something earlier—Persian Mithraism. In Mithraism, the mid-winter festivals began with worship of Zurvan, whose celebrations ended on December 24. The celebrations then transitioned to worship the reborn Zurvan as the newborn Mithras, born on December 25, who brought back the sun after the winter solstice (cf. M.J. Vermaseren, Mithras, the Secret God, 1963).

The Romans eagerly adopted Mithraism in the form of the Saturnalia. Saturnus, as he was known under the name popularized by the Roman world, was in fact the ancient Persian god Mithra, the reborn Zurvan. As the Catholic Encyclopedia records, Emperor Diocletian built a temple to Mithra in Carnuntum, and “the 25 December was observed as his birthday, the natalis invicti, the rebirth of the winter-sun” (“Mithraism”).

The pagan god Zurvan was depicted as a winged, part-human, part-lion figure. Thus, we see that Zurvan depicts angelic cherubim characteristics (2 Chronicles 3:13; Ezekiel 10:14). Further, Zurvan was typically accompanied by snakes wrapped around his legs, arms, or body (Franz Cumont, The Mysteries of Mithra, 1903, p. 93). Scripture reveals that Satan is a fallen cherub (Ezekiel 28:14–16), and is associated with the snake (Genesis 3:1–14; Revelation 20:2).

A righteous angel will not permit himself to be worshipped (Revelation 19:10; 22:9). And Revelation 9:20 warns that idolaters are actually worshipping demons. Clearly, the cherub who demands his worship at the winter solstice is no righteous angel. Whether calling himself Zurvan, Saturn, or another eponym, this deity is a proxy for none other than the fallen cherub called Satan.

CHRISTIANITY, NOT CHRISTMAS.

But even the Roman Saturnalia and Persian Mithraism were remnants of an even earlier mystery religion—the Babylonian mystery cult. The ancient Babylonians celebrated the reborn Nimrod as the newborn Tammuz by worshipping an evergreen tree—now the common Christmas tree. The Babylonians also celebrated this rebirth during the winter solstice. Jeremiah condemns ancient Israel for copying this terrible paganism, and even specifically mentions the decorated tree in Jeremiah 10.

Regardless of fond memories or whether “everyone does it,” a true Christian will reject Christmas—because Christ refuses to have any part in idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:15–16). Christ was never part of Christmas, and He will not be “put back” into it.

God commands us to reject heathen ways (Jeremiah 10:2), reveals that pagan celebrations and Satanic “holidays” are abominations to Him (Jeremiah 10:3–4; Ezekiel 8:13–14), and tells us not to change the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Understanding this truth, a true Christian will not even consider celebrating Christmas, realizing that these winter solstice celebrations are indeed Satan’s celebrations.

Christmas may have a long history, but before the fourth century A.D., it was not celebrated by God’s people. Only the pagan societies surrounding the early Christian movement practiced winter holidays. Venerating idols, hedonistic solstice festivals, sacrifices and appeals to spirits and deities thought to bring the life-giving sun back after winter—all were common in the Roman world. A rapidly spreading, and heavily Romanized, version of Christianity soon began to show signs of conforming to the widespread pagan influence of its day.

And if there is a counterfeit, there must be a counterfeiter somewhere.

Satan the Devil, known in the Bible as the “god of this age,” influences and blinds the vast majority of mankind (2 Corinthians 4:3­–4). He is a great imitator and deceiver—in fact, he was the first liar, and accused God of being a liar (John 8:44; Genesis 2:16–17; 3:2–4)! All false belief traces back to Satan's first deceptions. Societies have since followed many different ideas from the ones God taught, and often mix and match new ideas with old ones.

Regrettably, this includes mixing truth with error. Misguided men may have believed that they were acting righteously by adopting pagan ideas to attract converts. Or, they may just have been playing a “numbers game.” Either way, their actions resulted in a host of traditions based on pagan superstitions and practices. In time, these traditions—including the Santa Claus myth—became more widespread than the original Christianity Jesus and His disciples preached.

The source of this deception has blinded most of mankind, concealing who the Son of God is and what He expects His followers to observe. But, if you are sincerely looking for the truth behind the veil of modern “Christian” traditions, God may be calling you toward knowledge and understanding. He may have a very real purpose for your life, involving not simply the birth of a baby Christ, but the ascension and soon-coming return of the Almighty King of kings! Don’t hesitate. Order or download the free booklets Is Christmas Christian?, The Holy Days: God’s Master Plan, and Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity today,