Christmastime​—What Is Its Focus?

FOR millions the holiday season is a time to be with family and friends, a time to renew bonds of affection. Many others consider it a time to reflect on the birth of Jesus Christ and his role in the salvation of humankind. In Russia, unlike in many other lands, celebrating Christmas was not always something that people were free to do. Though for centuries those of the Russian Orthodox Church had openly celebrated Christmas, they were not allowed to do so for most of the 20th century. What was behind the change?

On the heels of the 1917 Bolshevik Communist revolution, Soviet authorities pursued an aggressive policy of statewide atheism. The entire Christmas holiday season with its religious overtones fell into disfavor. The State began waging a campaign against both Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. There was even open condemnation of the local symbols of the season​—the Christmas tree and Ded Moroz, or Grandfather Frost, the Russian equivalent of Santa Claus.

In 1935, a change occurred that profoundly altered the way Russians marked the holiday season. The Soviets reinstated Grandfather Frost, the seasonal tree, and the New Year’s celebration​—but with a significant twist. Grandfather Frost, it was said, would bring presents, not at Christmas, but on New Year’s Day. Similarly, no longer would there be a Christmas tree. It would be a New Year’s tree! Thus, there was a major change of focus in the Soviet Union. The New Year’s celebration, in effect, supplanted Christmas.

The Christmas season became a wholly secular festive occasion, officially bereft of any religious meaning. The New Year’s tree was decorated, not with religious ornaments, but with secular ones depicting the progress of the Soviet Union. The Russian journal Vokrug Sveta (Around the World) explains: “It is possible to retrace the history of the establishing of a Communist society by the New Year’s tree decorations of various years of the Soviet era. Along with commonplace bunnies, icicles, and round loaves of bread, decorations in the shape of sickles, hammers, and tractors were released. These were later replaced by figurines of miners and cosmonauts, oil rigs, rockets, and moon buggies.”

What about Christmas Day itself? It certainly was not recognized. Rather, the Soviet authority relegated it to the status of an ordinary workday. Those who wished to hold the religious celebration of Christmas could do so only very discreetly, risking the State’s disfavor and unpleasant consequences. Yes, in 20th-century Russia, there was a shift in the focus of the holiday season, from religious observance to secular celebration.

 A More Recent Shift

In 1991 the Soviet Union fell and greater freedoms were realized. Gone was the State policy of atheism. Various newly formed sovereign states were largely secular, with a separation of Church and State. Many religiously inclined people felt that they could now pursue their religious convictions. They reasoned that one way to do this would be to celebrate the religious holiday of Christmas. However, deep disappointment soon set in for many such ones. Why?

With each passing year, the holiday has become more commercialized. Yes, as in the West, the Christmas season has become one of the best ways for manufacturers, wholesalers, and merchants to make money. Christmas decorations are prominently displayed on storefronts. Western-style Christmas music and carols, hitherto unknown in Russia, emanate from shops. Salesmen carrying large bags of Christmas knickknacks ply their wares on commuter trains and other public transportation. That is what you find now.

Even those who see nothing wrong with this rank commercialism may be bothered by another disturbing element of the season​—alcohol abuse with all its negative consequences. An emergency-room physician in a Moscow hospital explained: “For doctors, it’s a given that the New Year’s celebration will mean a slew of injuries ranging from bumps and bruises to knife and bullet wounds, most having been caused by domestic violence, drunken brawls, and car accidents.” A senior staff scientist of a branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences said: “There is a surge in the number of alcohol-related deaths. It was particularly high in the year 2000. The number of suicides and murders jumped as well.”

Unfortunately, any such behavior during the holiday season in Russia is aggravated by another factor. Under the headline “Russians Celebrate Christmas Twice,” the newspaper Izvestiya reports: “Almost 1 in 10 Russians celebrates Christmas twice. As witnessed by the survey of the ROMIR monitoring center, 8 percent of respondents admitted that they celebrate Christmas both on December 25, according to the Catholic Christmas calendar, and on January 7, according to Orthodoxy . . . For some, it is evidently not the religious essence of Christmas that is important as much as it is the opportunity to celebrate.” *

 Does the Current Focus Really Honor Christ?

Clearly, much ungodly conduct accompanies the holiday season. As disturbing as this is, some may feel that they should observe the celebrations out of respect for God and Christ. A desire to please God is commendable. But are God and Christ actually pleased with the Christmas season? Consider its roots.

For instance, whatever one’s view of the Soviet stance on Christmas, it would be hard to argue with the following historical facts set out in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia: “Christmas . . . was borrowed from the pre-Christian worship of gods ‘dying and rising from the dead,’ which was especially prevalent among agricultural peoples who, in a period usually confined to the winter solstice from December 21-25, annually celebrated the ‘birth’ of the God-Savior, who wakens nature to new life.”

You may find significant what that encyclopedia accurately points out: “Christianity of the first centuries did not know the celebration of Christmas. . . . From the middle of the fourth century, Christianity assimilated the celebration of the winter solstice from the worship of Mithra, turning it into the Christmas celebration. The first to celebrate Christmas were the religious communities of Rome. In the tenth century, Christmas, along with Christianity, spread to Russia, where it became fused with the winter celebration of the ancient Slavs, honoring the spirits of the ancestors.”

‘What does God’s Word, the Bible, say about Jesus’ being born on December 25?’ you may ask. Actually, the Bible specifies no date for Jesus’ birth, and there is no record that Jesus himself spoke of it, much less directed that it be celebrated. However, the Bible does help us to determine the time of year when Jesus was born.

According to Matthew’s Gospel, Mt chapters 26 and 27, Jesus was executed on Nisan 14, late in the day of the Jewish Passover that had begun on March 31, 33 C.E. We learn from Luke’s Gospel that Jesus was about 30 years old when he was baptized and began his ministry. (Luke 3:21-23) That ministry lasted three and a half years. Therefore, Jesus was about 33 1/2 years old when he died. He would have turned 34 about October 1, 33 C.E. Luke reports that at the time of Jesus’ birth, shepherds were “living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.” (Luke 2:8) Shepherds would not have been out with their flocks in the cold of December, when it may even snow in the vicinity of Bethlehem. But they could have been there with their flocks about October 1, which according to the evidence is when Jesus was born.

 Incidentally, what about the New Year’s celebration? As we have seen, it is marked by debauched behavior. Despite attempts to secularize it, it too has dubious roots.

Clearly, in the light of the facts surrounding the holiday season, such slogans as, Jesus is the reason for the season ring hollow. If you are upset by the commercialism and disturbing conduct associated with the Christmas season, as well as its unsavory pagan origins, do not be discouraged. There is a fitting way in which we can show due  reverence for God and honor Christ, at the same time strengthening family ties.

A Better Way to Honor God and Christ

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ came “to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matthew 20:28) He allowed himself to be executed, willingly dying for our sins. Some might like to honor Christ, feeling that they can do this during the Christmas season. But as we have seen, Christmas and New Year’s have little to do with Christ and have their roots in pagan celebrations. Also, the Christmas season, however attractive it is to some, is marked by crass commercialism. Furthermore, it must be admitted that the Christmas holiday is associated with shameful conduct that displeases God and Christ.

How should one who is seeking to please God react? Rather than clinging to human traditions that may soothe feelings of religiosity but that are contrary to the Scriptures, a sincere person would seek the true way to honor God and Christ. What is that true way, and what should we do?

Christ himself tells us: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Yes, the truly sincere person seeks to take in accurate knowledge of how to honor God and Christ. He then applies this knowledge not just during a certain time of the year but in everyday life. God is well-pleased with such sincere efforts, which can lead to everlasting life.

Would you like your family to be among those who truly honor God and Christ in harmony with the Scriptures? Jehovah’s Witnesses have helped millions of families worldwide to take in vital knowledge from the Bible. We warmly invite you to contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area or to write to them at the appropriate address found on page 2 of this magazine.

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Roots of the New Year’s Celebration

A Georgian Orthodox Monk Speaks Out

“The New Year’s holiday originates with a number of pagan holidays from ancient Rome. The 1st of January was a holiday dedicated to the pagan god Janus, and the name of the month comes from his name. Images of Janus had two faces on opposite sides, which meant that he saw both the past and the present. There was a saying that whoever greeted January 1st with fun, laughter, and plenty would pass the entire year in happiness and well-being. The very same superstition accompanies the celebrating of the new year for many of our compatriots . . . During certain pagan holidays, people would directly bring sacrifices to an idol. Some were notorious for immoral orgies, adultery, and fornication. On other occasions, for example during the Janus holiday, there were excesses in eating and drinking, drunkenness, and every sort of uncleanness that accompanies them. If we remember how we ourselves in times past have celebrated New Year’s, then we must admit that all of us have participated in this pagan celebration.”​—A Georgian newspaper.

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Christendom assimilated the worship of Mithra

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Museum Wiesbaden

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Shepherds would not have been out with their flocks in the cold of December