Merry Christmas? I Don't Think So!

By Lee Parker

I believed in Santa Claus.

I also believed that Jesus, the human son of Joseph and Spiritual Son of Man, was born on December 25th. After all, the Southern Baptist church I attended as a child always said, "on December 25, we should celebrate the day of the birth of Christ Jesus."

In those years, public schools were allowed to recognize this time of year by having children participate in elementary school plays that depicted three wise men around the manger with Mary and Joseph, celebrating the Birth of the Son on Man. Everyone knew that Christmas was celebrated every year on December 25th.

Christmas trees were bought and decorated in anticipation of Santa Claus’ annual visit. Gifts were given to children with cards that read, "From Santa." The anticipation of the night before Christmas was so intense that children everywhere could not sleep for fear of missing Santa.

Sometimes we would attend church to say prayers of gratitude for the birth of the Son of Peace. Mostly however, Jesus was forgotten, except as a sideline, an excuse to celebrate.

As I became older and (hopefully) wiser, I started to question the commercialism of Christmas. I responded in my own way by giving only gifts that my son and I had made with our own hands. However, I still decorated the tree and celebrated December 25th as the birthday of Jesus.

Within the past 3 years, I have not celebrated December 25th as the birth of the Son of Man because IT ISN’T! Yashua was born in late September or early October. This is the true time for celebration and remembrance of such a Holy Day.

December 25th is actually the birthday celebration of the pagan god, Nimrod. You might remember Nimrod as the founder of Babylon; where paganism and idolatry were practiced; where debauchery was considered "normal"; where Nimrod was married to his own mother.

When Nimrod died, his wife/mother immortalized him in the form of an evergreen tree. As the story goes, every December 25th Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts.

To celebrate Christmas with a tree and presents is actually celebrating a pagan god and a myth about everlasting life in the form of an evergreen tree. To celebrate December 25th is to actually celebrate the birth of the pagan god, Nimrod!

We are warned in Jeremiah not to worship a tree. We are not to adorn it with silver and gold, or fix it with nails so it cannot move. We are told not to follow the way of heathens!

Will you practice paganism this year and succumb to the commercialism and hype of buying gifts your don’t want to buy, giving gifts without love in your heart, and sharing a ritual of bowing to a pagan god? You will if you bring an evergreen tree into your home and call it a Christmas tree. You will if you become weak in Spirit and in order to quiet the family members, buy gifts to put under that tree. You will if you allow Santa Clause to come down the chimney. You will if you lie to your children and tell them that December 25th is the day of celebration for little baby Jesus.

I pray that you will not do any of these things. I pray that you will leave Babylon to the pagans and become the Christ-man Yashua knows you to be. I pray that you will stand for the real celebration and next year, we can give gifts of frankincense and myrrh to each other in heart-felt celebration of the Birth of Christ.