A Christian is someone who trusts in Christ and follows Him. Which means a Christian should hold dear those things which clearly are of Christ, and reject those things which only pretend to be. Those of us who have been fortunate to receive the Gift of Eternal Salvation most likely understand that not everyone or everything that masquerades as being of Christ actually is. A good example of this is the “Christmas” holiday, which is looming on the very near horizon.

A true Christian is not one who accepts false teachings of false churches at face value. A real Christian understands that evil is at work at every turn, and that those who intend to lead us away from Christ will no doubt put on the mantle of the Lamb of God in order to lead people to believe that they are of Him. These entities, with their nefarious intent, are indeed the wolf in sheep’s (or in this case, lamb’s) clothing.

Few people today realize that the celebration of “Christmas” on December 25th has roots in pagan tradition. The modern Christmas celebration clearly has a pagan origin, and that is something that true Christians should not ignore. The ancient Babylonians celebrated the feast of the Son of Isis, the Goddess of Nature, on December 25. Parties with gluttonous drinking and eating as well as gift giving were traditional parts of this feast. The Romans called their winter holiday “Saturnalia” which honored the God of Agriculture and they dubbed the entire season “Dies Natalis Invicti Solis” (or the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun). In northern Europe, many other traditions that we now consider part of Christian worship were started long before the participants in those pagan rituals had ever heard of Christ.

In the year 350, Pope Julius I declared that Christ’s birth would be celebrated on December 25, despite the day’s pagan significance. From the authoritative Biblical descriptions, historians believe that Christ’s birth probably occurred in September, about six months after Passover. We know almost certainly that Jesus WAS NOT born in December, since the Bible records shepherds tending their sheep in the fields on that night, which would be nearly impossible due to the harsh winter conditions of late December in the region.

So, since the Bible doesn’t explicitly say what day Christ was born, why is it so important that the generally accepted celebration date appears is wildly incorrect? Does it matter that Jesus wasn’t born in December yet people still celebrate his birth on December 25th?

Of course it matters.

Think of it this way: your loving earthly father’s birthday is in February, yet you decide that you will begin to celebrate his birthday in June. If you’re celebrating his birthday on a date that is nowhere near his birthday, are you in fact celebrating his birthday at all? Not only that, but let’s say that the date you decided to celebrate your father’s birth is actually the birth date of an infamous mass murderer, and you specifically CHOSE that date BECAUSE of that fact. How do you suppose your father would feel?

How do you suppose God our Father in Heaven feels about people supposedly celebrating His Son’s birth on a day that belonged to pagan rituals? How would Christ feel about it?

Remember what we’re told in Jeremiah 10:

“Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

Don’t take part in these pagan traditions, don’t learn the way of the heathen. And don’t buy the old argument that the date was chosen as a way to “overwrite” the pagan history with a new, Christian celebration. If that were the case, any valid reason to celebrate Christianity could have been chosen for that date. The catholic pope, in choosing to declare that celebration of the birth of Christ occurs on a major pagan holiday, has for centuries forced followers of the catholic church (the Church of Rome) and other false Christian religions to unknowingly continue to glorify a pagan tradition.

If you feel the need to celebrate any sort of winter holiday, then celebrate the beginning of the new year — but leave Jesus Christ out of it, because we all know (and so did the king of the roman church when he developed this evil plot) that Jesus wasn’t born anywhere near December.

The catholic church says that that tradition is just as important as the Holy Scripture. In fact, you can confirm that for yourself in the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” from which I quote:

“As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

Further:

“Tradition is to be distinguished from the various theological, disciplinary, liturgical or devotional traditions, born in the local churches over time. These are the particular forms, adapted to different places and times, in which the great Tradition is expressed. In the light of Tradition, these traditions can be retained, modified or even abandoned under the guidance of the Church’s Magisterium.”

(Link: http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a2.htm)

So the catholic church insists that tradition and Holy Scripture should be accepted as EQUAL when it comes to Spiritual Truth. It also says that the church can decide which traditions are worth keeping and which can be abandoned. The church of Rome gives itself much power here, to decide for millions of followers what they should believe, even if the tradition runs counter to the Holy Scripture. However…

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”

- 2 Timothy 3:16

There are many debates about the importance of tradition, and many verses of Scripture which can be cited both in favor of and against tradition. But despite all of the debate over whether or not tradition should be integral to Spiritual Truth, we can turn directly to the Words of Jesus Christ Himself to settle the issue about which is more important, Scripture or tradition:

“Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”

- Matthew 15:1-6

The commandment of God was made “of none effect” by tradition. Very, very powerful words.

Regardless of whether you believe tradition is important in religion or not, no matter which side of the “tradition” debate you might be on, whatever you might say about this passage of Holy Scripture, at least one enduring truth must be observed: the traditions of the religious leaders were subject to the Word of God, not equal to it as the catholic church insists.