Blue Christmas
"What's not to like about Christmas."
Lee Strobel, The Case for Christmas
The author of this essay believes Christmas[1] is firmly rooted in religious traditions and the ways of the world. Having this identity it offers a heartwarming alternative to the harsh and monotonous realities of life. Although opposition to Christmas is quickly dismissed by many Christians, others are convinced it’s worthwhile taking a closer look at the overall impact of the festive season. Is Christmas a harmless religious observance? At the very least we should ask ourselves if it’s worthy of all the attention it receives.
Once Upon a Time, Long Before Christmas, there was History…
25th December—the Big Day. If you don’t already know, in the thinking of some the date itself serves as a warning that all is not well. They are convinced that if you travel to the somewhat misnamed “Holy Land” in late December and come across shepherds out in the fields at night watching over a flock, you might have to call for a doctor and a vet—it gets very cold indeed! Might be wet too.
OK, it might not be as dramatic as all that, but the point is this: there’s no good reason to believe Christ was born in late December. In fact some are convinced there are non-Christian reasons why we eventually adopted the 25th as His birth date. We are told it was a significant date before the Christmas festival was invented, and predates the birth of Christ. Maybe so. Some have argued that September is much more likely than December.
Although it’s largely irrelevant in our modern secular society, it’s still worth pointing out that the Christian basis for Christmas has always been problematic.[2] Of course this statement assumes a strictly biblical definition of the Christian faith and the practices of the true Church.
There are plenty of sincere Christians who recognise there are problems with the Christmas celebration and each December they are determined to put Christ back into it. But does the Jesus of the Bible really belong there? Or to put it another way, can't we fully enjoy all that Christ is—His fullness as taught in the Bible—but without the help of Christmas? Yes, we can, and we should.
There’s a big difference between the celebration of the Christmas Season and ancient Bible texts that tell us about the birth of Jesus the Christ. We can say with certainty that the first obvious Christmas celebration happened a long, long time after He was born. Shouldn’t we be thinking for ourselves rather than buying into whatever gets dumped on our laps, regardless of how religiously popular and churchy it is?
As commonly practised, Christmas is an uncomfortable mix of Christian beliefs and non-Christian practices. It’s clear that atypical Christian behaviour, like feasting, giving gifts and decorating trees, for example, has no direct association with Christ’s body, the Church. Obviously, there is no Scriptural mandate to do such things as part of celebrating Christ's birth in a pervasive religious festival.
From a scholarly and faith-based perspective nothing should compete with the authoritative content of The New Testament. But within the true Church this isn’t as straightforward as you might expect. It should go without saying that if you’re after the most accurate definition of the Christian faith, its practices and beliefs, then the New Testament is by far the most reliable ancient authority available. Many millions of intelligent Christians read it daily and consider it to be the only essential Word of God, even after 2000 years of cultural diversification.
Why does this unrivalled source of God-breathed revelation have nothing to say about one of the major celebrations in the so-called Christian calendar? (By the way, should we ask the same question about Easter?) The New Testament does indeed tell us about the birth of Christ, but there's nothing there about the Church’s big annual celebration of the birth of Christ.
There’s not one sentence that teaches us how important it is that local churches should set aside a very special day and season centred on Christ's birth. It's therefore reasonable to conclude it was never celebrated in the first place[3]. In no sense was it included in the comprehensive teaching of Christ authoritatively proclaimed by the apostles and laid out for us in detail throughout the New Testament.
Why then is the Christmas festival firmly established in modern churches that claim to be fully submitted to the final authority of Bible teaching? And more important still, what are the consequences of celebrating a major non-biblical observance? Does it really matter? Where's the harm in it?
The Christmas Festival's earliest origins, widespread appeal and substantial problems (see below) bother some Christians. Those who claim allegiance to Christ should be concerned. When the lost world around us is preoccupied with something, shouldn’t we be at least a little bit cautious about our involvement? Stop for a moment and consider the worldly in-your-face characteristics of the Christmas season in the light of 1st John 2:15-17:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (New American Standard Bible).
Church members and their spiritual leaders who are so enthusiastic about Christmas do not consider the objections highlighted on this page to be of any serious consequence. They are not weighty enough to lead them to abandon the Christmas season. When did you last come across a church that publicly questioned the validity of Christmas, or authoritatively warned against the stress and obsessive commercialism that stem from it year after year?
Yes, in the overall context of church life it’s a side issue, but shouldn’t it be fairly addressed? Why should the Christmas Season get a free pass and be accepted without question? In the compromised thinking of some it's OK to heavily promote an extrabiblical religious season, but it's not OK to object.
But in many modern contexts we needn’t dwell too long on Christendom’s global preoccupation with Christmas. When you think it over, religion doesn’t matter much because the vast majority of people in the world get heavily involved with Christmas for reasons that aren’t remotely theological. Truth be told, it’s the unholy marriage of commercialism and man-made religious tradition that keeps ‘Xmas’ alive in the world.
Conform and Spend
Irked by tacky worldliness and avaricious commercialism lots of Christians tell the world, “Christmas is all about Jesus. He’s the reason for the season, so let’s put Christ back into Christmas!” This somewhat questionable opinion draws attention to the unchristian character of a manic festival that drives most of us round the bend. It’s more about Santa, frantic shopping, fake snow and tidings of good beer than stirring up our responsibilities in Christ. How many adults really “Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” (famous song by 1970s' UK pop band Wizzard)? Not many.
Believing defenders of Christmas are sincere and their intentions honest. For many true Christians Christmas is an opportunity to express their appreciation of the incarnation story. Fair enough, but there are other things they don’t appreciate. Each year the marked deficit in their post-Christmas bank balances will tell a story that’s anything but heart-warming. From October to the hectic January sales the Christmas season is a moneymaking frenzy that bamboozles the population out of billions year upon year. Consider for a moment that UK Christmas shoppers will spend around £9 billion in the week before Christmas Day. Just one week. That’s around £53,000,000 an hour.*
Would you not agree that the minds of many are regularly manipulated and conditioned by the world to the point they can’t escape the toxic spirit of the Christmas season? Aren’t we tirelessly enticed to spend, spend and then spend some more? And the pressure to do what everybody else is doing is immense. Should we just go with the flow? Does it matter? Is anyone bold enough to do whatever it takes to break free from this hectic cycle? In truth, many are compromised by Christmas to the extent that they are incapable of coming to terms with its harmful consequences.
Let’s face it, at Christmas the little children—bless them—can get spoiled, and even a bit greedy. Who can blame them. Expectations are high. Most of them would be put out if they didn’t get lots (and lots) of gifts on Christmas morning. Mammoth advertising campaigns see to it that they know what they want. This Christmas many parents will once again spend a small fortune on gifts that may well lie forgotten within a few months. Adults must conform or be considered a disappointment.
Recent research by a toy manufacturer (!) suggests that £1 billion is wasted each Christmas on children’s toys possibly because 8 out of 10 children are “disappointed” with their gifts. This is all the more surprising when we learn that on average £378 is spent on each child. Maybe this waste of money is caused by friends and family who are clueless—76% don’t know what gifts to buy for kids.
Rampant commercialism often results in challenging debt that can spiral out of control and take a long time to sort out. In the U.S. the average person can face around $1000 of Christmas debt.[4] Unsurprisingly finance companies are tripping over themselves to cash in on this foolishness by offering “Christmas Debt Consolidation Loans” that promise to ease the burden. But nailing debt to debt will always be a short-sighted solution.
British door to door lenders can arrange loans for low income families to help them get over the Christmas period, but the interest can be shamelessly extortionate. In one publicised example £155 was paid back to clear a £100 loan. This is simply cashing in on people’s misery. There’s so much pressure on families to spend at Christmas that they willingly get into debt that in some cases can take a full 12 months to clear. A vicious cycle indeed.
An independent UK company that deals with debt £10,000 and over recorded a 275% surge in calls due solely to the demands of a Christmas season. Generally UK household debt is rising at a faster rate than in the U.S. and most major European countries. The average UK household debt (excluding mortgages) stands at £8500. Over 8 million Britons are recognised to be in serious debt. The last thing they need is Christmas madness.
A recent survey estimated that over a third of Britons would spend more than their expected budget at Christmas. The financial demands of the festive season are one reason why personal debt in the UK is estimated at £1400 billion. This essay was written in Northern Ireland where the average household is almost £7000 in debt. Christmas just piles on the pressure. And financial worries partly explain another Christmas problem.
Depression, Aggravation and Isolation
Many believe that Christmas should be a time for all the family, although nobody would be foolish enough to suggest we should rely on it for family bonding. We rightly consider ourselves privileged if we cherish happy memories of cosy family times around the tree opening presents and then moving to the dinner table to eat our fill, and then some. That’s fine, but there’s another side to the story here.
There are those who have very different Christmas memories and each year triggers another wave of difficult emotions. There are many reasons for bad experiences at Christmas. Life comes with no guarantees at any time of the year but unhappiness can cut more deeply when expectations are foolishly high. The Christmas ideal comes complete with an absurdly contrived positivity. Why do we tolerate it? Where does godly wisdom and scriptural guidance go at Christmas?
These crazy, heightened and unrealistic expectations saturate our newspapers, TV programmes, websites and magazines. Our minds are programmed and conformed. But don’t you agree that the harsh reality of day-to-day living in our modern society often paints an altogether different picture? For example, it’s an uncomfortable thought that many will soon spend their first Christmas without a loved one. There will be an empty chair. Life is hard. The Christmas Season is a prescribed and eagerly anticipated merrymaking that can quickly become a nasty mess when the real world brings more than its fair share of problems and heartaches.
We briefly considered the all-to-common pressures related to debt that’s fuelled by unwise spending habits. Beyond doubt this is just one of many reasons why there are significant suicides and serious bouts of depression over the Christmas season The Samaritans receive more crisis calls over Christmas than at any other time of the year. Statistics show that doctors prescribe more tranquillizers and anti-depressants throughout the Christmas Festival. More people go to specialists with mental problems at or because of Christmastime. Marriages are under more pressure during the Christmas period.
MORI UK polls have found that one in six says that Christmas is a time of year he or she dreads and, peculiarly, 11% of parents won’t even see their children on Christmas Day. It’s ironic too that family togetherness over the Christmas and New Year holiday season results in an increase in domestic violence. Families being brought together in this way isn't always an enjoyable experience.
Majority Rule?
It seems that these glaring inconsistencies are insignificant to those who are heavily into the irrationality of seasonal cheer. “Don’t be so grouchy. Make the most of it. Lighten up!” But, should we ignore the evidence and simply give in to majority rule?
Out there in the world, the real problem of Christmas lies in the modern individual’s inability to be an individualist. It’s true that society in general is no longer brainwashed en masse by objectionable religious dogma, but it’s always easier to run with the in-crowd. Far too many are OK with being conditioned and shaped by the classic Christmas template. Surely as unique individuals it’s time to start thinking for ourselves rather than conforming to the seasonally adjusted expectations of others.
When the case has been made, opinions and facts shared, we can either sweep this festive shambles under the carpet or face up to the fact there’s something seriously wrong with Christmas. The Christmas Season primarily belongs to the world—in what demonstrable sense did it come directly from Christ and the Holy Spirit? Being engrained in the world it has a tendency to favour those with the fewest problems and the least stress while inevitably putting more pressure on those who struggle to cope.
In everyday life among true believers, the dominant characteristics of the Christmas Festival sit uneasily with the fullness of the “teaching of Christ”[5] in the Bible. Worse still, few seem bothered that the "pattern of sound teaching" (2 Timothy 1:13) we treasure in the New Testament has nothing to say about a major celebration of Christ's birth. It isn't even hinted at.
As a result Christmas must be read into Scripture; it cannot be explicitly expounded from it. So it's very common to hear of Bible verses being needlessly and subjectively hitched to the theme of the Christmas season. There's no other way to do it.
For example, I recently came on a video message by a very well known Bible teacher. It was entitled: "Christmas in the Words of Christ." Other titles I've found while exploring YouTube include: "Prophecies About the First Christmas," "What Christmas Meant to Jesus," "The Role of the Trinity in the Story of Christmas," "Christmas Is for All People," and, somewhat bizarrely, "Christmas Is Our Assurance." Followers of Christ certainly don't need any kind of Christmas assurance. The Bible is sufficient.
In another video, two reputable Bible teachers stated that we should use Christmas to help us correct a "wrong view about Christ" (Christology). The point was made that "with no Saviour there's no Christmas." "We would never have a Christmas if Jesus never came. So we have to...teach our people as to who is Christ." This reasoning serves to legitimise a global religious observance the early Church knew nothing about. Is this wise?
We have to wonder how Paul, Peter, James, John, Jude and all the early churches managed their Christology without major man-made religious festivals. God equipped them with all the teaching and Church practices they would ever need. Back then the Christmas festival wasn't needed by elders and teachers to help churches learn anything about Christ. In what sense could we possibly need it today? What does this somewhat peculiar argumentation even mean? Shouldn't we fully explore the nature of Christ from God's written revelation without the help of an extrabiblical observance? How did we all end up in this absurd mess?
Finally, in a video defending Christmas against the false claims of Torahism, a Bible teacher strenuously upholds the characteristics of the Christmas season by referring to Scripture. He assures us that because of Old Testament precedents, the man-made holiday of Christmas is permissible within the practices of the Church. Christmas is a fully justifiable holiday season that joyfully celebrates “the things that God has done.” But really, is it wise to use such precedents as an excuse for creating any kind of religious observance within the Church?
This point-of-view is more objectionable than it seems. We should question any opinion that is in favour of adding an extrabiblical celebration to the practices and teaching of the true Church. And incidentally, we are also right to ask if the Church, the true body of Christ down through the ages, is fully responsible for the Christmas celebration we have today. Is that really what history tells us? If not, what then?
No born again believer seriously believes that with the passing of time godly men raised by God, convening under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, were instructed to “invent” Christmas so the Church could remember Christ’s incarnation in December. We all realise that it cannot be demonstrated in any context that Christmas came directly from God and is His will for the Church today. This leaves supporters of Christmas skating on thin ice!
Let’s not forget that the spirit of the world distorts and pollutes the Christmas ideal in ways that mesh freely with Christian behaviour and beliefs. The worldly characteristics of the Christmas season are rife among Christians. Year after year religious beliefs and worldliness are blended together into an unpalatable festive spectacle.
Satan is an angel of light who will do his best to lead us away from the pattern of God-breathed teaching that defines church beliefs and practices. How much more will he contaminate an observance God never gave us. And in another significant context that never gets mentioned, in what ways is Christmas used by false religion for ecumenical leverage? This is a can of worms we must avoid here!
Bible teachers in these videos know they can't demonstrate from Scripture that the Christmas season came directly from God. To be fair to their position, they know Advent and the Christmas season are man-made, but they use them anyway to emphasis truth. But it should matter that the celebration of Christ's birth is nowhere sanctioned by the written revelation given by God's Spirit to the Church. Why is this a non-issue when God has given us all we need?
If in the beginning the Lord didn't instruct the Church about the need for Christmas, where did this key religious observance come from? How did it originate and develop? Will we content ourselves with Old Testament precedents and similar excuses? Taken overall, what is the dominant power behind Christmas? According to Bible truth, there is always a controlling power at work that's either of God or of the devil. There are no other options.
We are called to be strangers in a corrupt world (in principle consider 1st Peter 2:11). But all too often we’re right at home in the thick of it. We have our hands in our pockets while rosy sentiment and big business overthrow biblical values and derail common sense.
[1] “The word for Christmas in late Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ, first found in 1038, and Cristes-messe, in 1131” (Catholic Encyclopedia).
[2] A number of online resources are worth looking at in this regard. There are religious websites out there that clearly lose the plot, but a few contain challenging and educational information. Beyond doubt there are real issues with Christmas and Advent that clash with many biblical principles and the character of historical, pre-Roman Catholic Christianity as revealed throughout the pages of the New Testament.
[3] As Christians perhaps we should think in principle about Paul’s response to a body of believers who were making a big fuss over unprofitable Jewish special days and seasons, just as they had done before they came to Christ and joined a local church. Such religious observances were "weak and worthless" (Galatians 4:9). In a letter he told them he was afraid for them because of their beliefs. Consider 4:8-11 and Colossians 2:6-3:3. At the very least it's clear that those who have accepted Christ have no need of a religious calendar, and Christ's Church has no need of Christmas.
In an attempt to justify celebrating Christmas, some Christians counteract this relevant principle in Galatians by appealing to the points raised by Paul in Romans 14. But when all is said and done, can we really imagine mature spiritual leaders throughout the early decades of the Church adding Christmas to the complete body of teaching God had given them by His Spirit? Would they have made a big fuss about any kind of festival that was advanced by flawed, objectionable religion, and in real-world practice was shot through with the spirit of the world? Really? If Scripture is silent about a very significant religious observance centred on Christ's birth, is it wise for us to promote it today?
[4] Revised note: In 2022 household debt in America reached $16 trillion. A huge number of Americans are literally living on borrowed money.
[5] 2nd John v. 9.
* All statistics 2010. Essay edited 2025.