The Winter Solstice
Suppose you lived in Europe, in pre-Christian times, and were a pagan sun worshipper. How would you prepare for the winter solstice? Not a clue? Well, first you would probably have an evergreen tree brought into your home and decorate it with silver and gold ornaments. And perhaps hang little masks of Bacchus, god of wine on it. You would also need some extra evergreen branches for decorating too. Of course, you would need to hang some mistletoe because it was powerful stuff in love and amenity. And a wreath upon your door because it was a symbol of the circle of the sun. Perhaps a little holly because, since it bears fruit in winter it is considered sacred. And the green leaves and red berries are so festive! The presents, the parties, and gaiety, the lighting of candles, and the well-laden table; the meat usually being a roasted pig. It's head, with it's mouth propped open with an apple, must be used as part of the table decoration. There would be singing and story telling, of Odin, lashing his reindeer through the crisp, winter night sky. And we must not forget the yule log crackling in the fireplace. And of course, a piece of the log must be saved to start the fire next year for luck. The children of the house would place their shoes before the fireplace, or hang their stockings before going to bed, so they could recieve gifts of fruit and candy the next morning.
Sound familiar? Sounds alot like what we do today in our Christmas celebrations, doesn't it? Christmas was not celebrated by the early Christian Church, but it WAS celebrated by the pagans at that time, only under a different name. It was not adopted into the church until 325 A.D. Some will say, yes, we know our customs of Christmas come from paganism, but we are worshipping the true God. Not the pagan gods that these people worshipped. But,...isn't that exactly what ancient Israel tried to do? Adopt the customs of the pagans around them in Biblical times? Did God approve? Did they get away with it anyway?
No, He did not approve...and no they did not get away with it. Ancient Israel did seem to get away with it,...for a while. It was about 230 years after the nation of Israel divided into two Kingdoms, and Jeroboam changed the Holy days, before the ancient Assyrians came, conquered them, and took them for slaves. Ancient Israel always paid dearly for adopting the customs of the heathens. And God says He doesn't change. Our people need to wake up and quit following heathen customs. I wouldn't want to bet money on how much longer God will let us slide... These pagan holidays such as Christmas, Easter, etc... are not even mentioned in the Bible, and there is no instruction from God to observe them. But, God does give us explicite insructions on how to worship Him on His Sabbath and annual feast days.
