St Boniface (680–754)
After being appointed by the Pope as a missionary to the Germanic tribes, Boniface spent the rest of his life evangelizing the areas of modern Germany and parts of the Netherlands. He also became a friend of the Frankish court and helped reform and reorganized the Church in that area. From his missionary travels, Boniface knew that in winter the inhabitants of the village of Geismar gathered around a huge old oak tree (known as the “Thunder Oak”) dedicated to the god Thor. This annual event of worship centered on sacrificing a human, usually a small child, to the pagan god. Boniface desired to convert the village by destroying the Thunder Oak, which the pagans had previously boasted the God of Boniface could not destroy, so he gathered a few companions and journeyed to Geismar.
His fellow missionaries were scared and fearful that the Germans might kill them, so they balked when they reached the outskirts of the village on Christmas Eve. Boniface steadied the nerves of his friends and as they approached the pagan gathering he said, “Here is the Thunder Oak; and here the cross of Christ shall break the hammer of the false god Thor.”[4] Boniface and his friends arrived at the time of the sacrifice, which was interrupted by their presence. In a show of great trust in God and born from a desire to enkindle the fire of Christ in the German pagans, Boniface grabbed an axe and chopped down the Thunder Oak of mighty Thor.
The Germans were astounded. The holy bishop preached the Gospel to the people and used a little fir tree that was behind the now felled oak tree as a tool of evangelization. Pointing to it he said,
“This little tree, a young child of the forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are ever green. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.”
Awed by the destruction of the oak tree and Boniface’s preaching, the Germans were baptized.
Because of this, the practice grew of German families bringing a Fir (or pine) tree into their homes instead of worshiping the "Thunder Oak." This also ceased the practice of child sacrifice to the "thunder oak." Thus, this victory over death and this promise of eternal life is the birth of the Christmas tree.
Another famous German, Martin Luther, who was the father of the Protestant Reformation, is credited with something else... one evening, Martin was walking outside and, looking up, saw the majesty of the stars in the sky and the glory of God in the heavens. Desiring to have that beauty in his own home, Martin went back to his house and began to hang candles on his Christmas tree, making him the first person to light the tree.
The first Christmas trees began appearing inside Buckingham Palace in the early 1800s, and solidified as a practice of the Royal Family after Queen Victoria married her German cousin, Prince Albert. Thus, with Albert, the practice spread from Germany to England, and given the popularity of the Royal family, who were not only the authorities but also great celebrities, soon many homes had a Christmas tree in them.
Thus, the origin of the Christmas tree is not only entirely Christian, but also very anti-Pagan.
Santa Clause
In the Third century, in Turkey, a boy named Nicholas was born. Nicholas was raised by wealthy parents as a devout Christian, but both parents died of a plague sometime before the boy reached adulthood, and he inherited a substantial sum of money.
But moved by Christ's words to the rich man to "sell everything you have and give to the poor," Nicholas gave away his entire fortune. One story goes that a father of three daughters had nothing to give for their dowries, and thus was unable to have them married off. Unmarried women at that time were often forced to support themselves in whatever way possible, and this usually meant working in some very un-Christian areas. Nicholas, moved with compassion for these three girls, tossed bags of gold through the window to pay for their dowries. Some versions of the story say that the gold landed in socks which were hung by the fireplace to dry, and it is from these stories what we get the modern practice of hanging stockings by the fireplace and filling them with gifts.
Nicholas, because of his extreme generosity and excessive piety, was quickly promoted to Bishop of Myra, and was later cast into prison during the persecution of Diocletian. He was released after the accession of Constantine and was present at the Council of Nicaea, in 325 AD. This council was responsible for solidifying the understanding within Christianity of the Deity of Christ and of Christ's relationship with the Father... in essence, the early understanding of the Trinity. The council was also responsible for fixing the date of Easter on the church calendar, and for early work on the codification of the Cannon... that is, deciding what books belonged in the Bible.
There is a story from the Council of Nicea regarding Arias, who is the father of the Arian heresy. Arias taught that Jesus was created by the Father, and thus was a subordinate being... that is, that Jesus was little more than a great prophet or a mighty angel. Bishop Nicholas, so incensed at this teaching, leapt from his seat, rushed to the stage, and punched Arias in the mouth.
Bishop Nicholas died on December 6th, but the year is not well known. It was sometime between 343 and 352 AD.
Bishop Nicholas was later confirmed as a Saint by the church, and the idea of "Saint Nicholas" was born. There are many other stories of St. Nicholas, many of which are likely fabrications as his legend grew, but St. Nicholas soon found himself as the patron saint of many things, including bakers, pawn brokers, sailors, and especially, Children.
Over time, as the fame of St. Nicholas spread, so too did the pronunciation of his name. In Norway, for example, he became known as "Scinter Klause," which is a minor evolution of the name in the Norwegian tongue, and when the Norse immigrated to America, the brought with them the legends of Santa Clause.
Then, in 1823, a poet named Clement Moore wrote the work we all remember him for, "A Visit from St. Nicholas," which begins "T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the house..." The legends of St. Nicholas grew from there, and later Santa Clause took shape when Coca Cola adopted him for their advertising. The story goes that St. Nicholas acquired his trademark red hat, coat, trousers, and boots from the red and white coca cola cans, but this isn't the case... ancient depictions of St. Nicholas show him wearing a very similar garb long before Coke made him and advertising figure. He wore a Bishop's Miter instead of the stocking cap we know him with, and instead of the coat and trousers he wore a long red robe with white trim, but red and white are the traditional colors of the clergy of Turkey, probably because red symbolizes the Blood of Christ and white symbolizes the righteousness Christ brings.
Is Christmas pagan?
No. There is no sense in which Christmas is a pagan celebration. The world often accuses us of co-opting the Roman winter festival of Saturnalia for the date, but even this is incorrect. Saturnalia was a week-long festival beginning on December 17th and going through December 23rd. If we were going to borrow the date for Christmas, we would likely have use one of those dates.
There is no sense in which Christmas is a pagan holiday, and every sense in which is it not. Although it is not ordained in the bible as a commanded holiday, it is the one season every year where we hear the gospel message on every radio station and loudspeaker in the country... Joy to the world, the LORD has come. Let Earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room, and heaven and nature sing.
