Is Christmas Based on a Pagan Holiday?

Encore Post: As we discussed in an earlier post, non-Christian scholars, liberals and some conservative Christians, believe that the church created the celebration of Christmas to displace pagan celebrations. The reason for this conclusion is that Christians did not universally celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. Yet the Emperor Aurelian did declare that the day be celebrated as the Birthday of Sol Invictus (the Unconquered Son). These scholars theorized that the Church decided to replace this pagan holiday with the celebration of Christ’s Birth to keep people out of the temples of this popular pagan god.

When Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, December 25th fell on the winter solstice. The word solstice means “The Sun stops.” On this day, the northern hemisphere has the least amount of daylight. From this point on until the summer solstice, the Sun would seem to gain strength. So December 25th was celebrated as the beginning of its return.

Most pagan societies worship the sun as a god and Rome was no exception. Beginning with Nero Caesar, Roman emperors associated themselves with the Sun God Sol and its Greek equivalent, Ἕλιος (Helios). This god became a favorite of the Roman armies. As Christianity became more widely believed in Rome, pagan Emperors increased the persecution of the Church. Aurelian promoted the worship of Sol as a kind of pledge of allegiance and promoted December 25th in the same kind of way Americans celebrate July 4th. When Constantine the Great came to be Emperor, he ended the government sponsorship of the worship of Sol.

So, did the Church decide to put Christmas on December 25th to counter the worship of the Sun? Not exactly. There is no reference to the celebration of Sol Invictus in the works of the Early Church fathers related to the date of Christmas. It appears that the reverse is the case, that the Emperor instituted the pagan festival in order to counter the rise of Christianity and the first celebrations of Christmas on the date.

The early church did associate the metaphor of the Sun with Jesus, but not because of the Roman holiday. The Prophet Malachi had prophecies of the Messiah that he would be “The Sun of Righteousness” who would rise with healing in his rays. In the earliest Christmas sermons, this theme was often used. The church did use the occasion to its advantage, but not always successfully. Christians would retain ancient customs, but would pour new meaning into them. Over time, Jesus would become the reason for the season.

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Concordia Theological Seminary
Fort Wayne, Indiana

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