The Dark Origins of Christmas

Planning to celebrate Christmas?

Read this and you will think again.

There are millions of Muslims worldwide who find no problem celebrating Christmas along with Christians and everyone else. While Islam is quite tolerant to non-Muslim customs and cultures, it does not condone rituals, customs and festivities that have anti-Islamic religious beliefs attached to them, and Christmas has tons of these attached to it, not only from Christianity, but also from many pagan (shirk-based) beliefs and customs. Nothing to do With Christ.

“But, isn’t Jesus is a prophet of Islam, after all?” one might ask. Yes indeed he (peace be upon him) is. But there is no permission in Islam for celebrating his birthday. Moreover, the 25th of December is not the date on which Jesus (peace be upon him) was born!! Many great Christian clergy-men and historians say that, and prove it, themselves. So, let it be clear – Christmas, the “Christ’s Mass”, has got very little, or nothing, to do with Jesus Christ. No need to elaborate. Google it and see.

Why December 25th Then?

The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec. 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth. It is considered likely the first Christmas celebrations were in reaction to the Roman Saturnalia, a harvest festival that marked the winter solstice—the return of the sun—and honored Saturn, the god of sowing. Saturnalia was a rowdy time, much opposed by the more austere leaders among the still-minority Christian sect. Christmas developed, one (Christian) scholar says, as a means of replacing worship of the sun with worship of the Son. By 529 A.D., after Christianity had become the official state religion of the Roman Empire, Emperor Justinian made Christmas a civic holiday. The celebration of Christmas reached its peak—some would say its worst moments—in the medieval period when it became a time for conspicuous consumption and unequaled revelry.” Some other sources say that December 25th was also related Horus, and ancient Egyptian god.

What’s Behind Christmas?

The list of pagan, anti-Islamic, anti-Christian and anti-God practices that lie behind Christmas is so long that I’m having a hard time saying it in a few words. Here is a brief summary of some, but not all:

– Old Scandinavian polytheistic and pagan beliefs. Besides, Santa Claus owes much of his character to the Morse god named Odin, who travelled at night on a flying horse.

– Roman barbarian customs. The Romans celebrated Saturnalia from 17th to 25th December, which marked the Sun’s solstice. This week would be marked in Rome by the absence of law and justice – even the court and parliament would be closed!

– It also has roots from Babylon with the worship of the fire god. This implied tyrants and so-called divinities like Nimrod, Molech and Baal. Child sacrifice was one of the most important rituals in these celebrations. The worship of Baal also included cannibalism.

– Druids of medieval times were full into child sacrifice, and Druids have a great part to play in Christmas’ beliefs.

– The mistletoe superstition (kissing under mistletoe leaves at Christmas is believed to seal the love bond between the kissers) comes from the druids of medieval pagan Europe.

– And many others…

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree too has got nothing to do with Jesus, but rather has roots in paganism. “An old Babylonian fable told of an evergreen tree which sprang out of a dead tree stump. The old stump symbolized the dead Nimrod, the new evergreen tree symbolized that Nimrod had come to life again in Tammuz! Among the Druids the oak was sacred, among the Egyptians it was the palm, and in Rome it was the fir, which was decorated with red berries during the Saturnalia!” (Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs)

What About The Santa Myth?

Santa Claus (Father Christmas) is a fictitious character invented for Christmas. Many say it derived from Saint Nicholas who was a good priest, but most of the character’s traits came from pagan gods, merged into one. Among them are Odin, Nimrod, and a female goddess that shared gifts into children’s socks… Blend this together and you will get this red-cheeked bearded old man we call Santa. Are we still going to fool our poor children into believing in the fallacy of Father Christmas? Save your gifts for Eid!

And Santa Became a Businessman

With huge and free space obtained in people’s hearts and minds as capital, Santa became a perfect marketing agent. He could bring money. Billions are spent every year, in the name of the fat ‘father’ that never existed. At this time of the year, have a look at the shops – all of them features Santa, in every possible version. The red Santa outfit suits just everyone, from old men to young ladies (I mean…the easy type… you know..), to dogs and cats. Think of how Coca Cola uses Santa. It makes you want to have a cold drink in the chilling December snow. Hello, is there still any spirituality around?

Tool for Neo-Colonialism

Christmas is just another way to colonise. Not the way Europeans used to do at the time of Colombus, but in a more interesting way. All geographihcal territories are already taken, so the invaders are targeting something far more precious – people’s minds. Their cultures, with its full dose of paganism and outbound materialism, however disgusting it might seem (even to Christians – because I know priests who feel the disgust), have found their ways into peoples’ homes in each and every country in the world. Even people in Saudi Arabia celebrate Christmas! Now analyse this – half of the world is in summer, but the whole world is marking Christmas with snowflakes, winter season’s greetings and so on. Ever heard of a summer version of Christmas? Or a fall version? Because according to historians, Jesus was born in fall. Are we not colonised?

What Islam Says About Christmas Celebration?

It is the ijma’ (consensus) of Muslim scholars that it is forbidden for Muslims to celebrate Christmas. The first reason being that it is not a Muslim festival, and as the Prophet (peace be upon him said): “He who imitates a people is one of them.” The Prophet (pbuh) often reminded Muslims not to follow Christians and Jews in many matters. As already mentioned, any festival or custom that involves non-Islamic beliefs or rituals is forbidden in Islam. Also, given the pagan origins of Christmas, it is completely out of question to celebrate such a thing. Finally, celebrating Christmas by Muslims is something that will affect their identity and that will impact negatively on childrens’ upbringing. Save the presents for Eid.

Besides, many Christians are already asking themselves whether they can still celebrate Christmas as something of Christianity!

The information mentioned here are quite brief, for the sake of keeping the message short and readable. Make a search on Google and you will find many details from Christian sources themselves.

Al Kawthari Academy

Mauritius