Is Christmas a Pagan Holiday?

by Dr. Eric N. Haley

December 15, 2025

The short answer to this question is yes and no. Let me explain. From the time of when Babylon ruled the ancient world even until the Roman empire people worshipped the sun god Semiramis and her son, Tammuz. Semiramis was the mother of Tammuz in ancient mythology.

December 25 was usually the shortest day of the year for daylight hours. So, many ancient celebrations like the festival of Saturnalia in Rome occurred from December 17-23rd. This pagan celebration was also know as the celebration of the, “Unconquered Sun.”

After Jesus came on the scene for thirty-three and one half years, emperors in Rome had to deal with this new reality in the world. Eventually, Constantine before he fought his rival, Marcus Aurelius Maxentius for control of Rome in 312 C.E. (AD) at the battle of the Milvian Bridge reportedly saw a vision of a cross or (Chi-Ro symbol, of the first two Greek letters for Christ). After his victory, Constantine converted to Christianity too. Later on in 313 C.E., he issued the famous Edict of Milan which granted legal status to Christianity-which ended state sponsored persecution of Christians. It was actually Emperor Theodosius I in 380 A.D. who officially established Christianity as the Roman empire’s official state religion.

Christmas actually became an official holiday when Pope Julius I, under Emperor Constantine’s blessing officially announced in 336 A.D. that the birth of Jesus Christ would be celebrated on December 25th, to replace false worship of the “sun god,” Semiramis and her son the sun god Tammuz. So, the Christmas celebration originally started out as a pagan celebration to worship pagan gods to bring the sun back. Later the Christmas celebration turned into the celebration of the Son of God, the real creator and Savior of the world.

Remember in Genesis 1:1 it states, “In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heaven and the earth. Elohim implies a plural entity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one. Even the second verse in Genesis shows how the Holy Spirit was there too. Genesis 1:2 reads, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Whoops there it is!

Also remember that in the New Testament it says in Colossians 1:15-17, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him (meaning Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in the earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

So, as you celebrate Christmas this holiday season, remember the reason for the season. Pause to recognize, Jesus as Emanuel, meaning God with us, the true Savior of the world! The ‘wisemen’ of the East came to worship Jesus In Matthew 2:11, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.” Remember, the wisemen did not go see Jesus at the manger scene as you see in modern day plays (pageants). The wisemen came about two years later. That’s why Herod ordered to kill male babies two years and younger; information that he had received from the wisemen when they visited him at his palace in Jerusalem. The devil had put in Herod’s heart to kill the baby Jesus to keep him from becoming king in Israel, which we know Jesus will be King one day on the earth ruling for a 1,000 years, literally ruling the world from Jerusalem, just like it has been prophesied.

Something to think about.