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Celebration of birthdays — even including that of Christ — was rejected as a pagan tradition by most Christians during the
first three hundred years of Christianity, but the matter became increasingly controversial. Partly in reaction to the claims
by Gnostics that Jesus had not been mortal, Christians began to emphasize the Nativity. The Incarnate God as a lovable infant
born to a holy mother evoked powerful instinctive emotions. The third century Christian writer Tertullian supported
observance of Christ's birthday, but condemned the inclusion of Saturnalia customs such as exchanging of gifts and decorating
homes with evergreens. Chapter 10 of the Book of Jeremiah begins by condemning the heathen practice of cutting a tree from
the forest to "deck it with silver and gold".
The Protestant Reformation in 16th century Europe was associated with a profound rejection of the Roman Church and a return
to scripture as the ultimate source of spiritual authority. There was no scriptural support to be found for celebration of
Christmas, no commandment that Christ's birthday be observed and no date of birth had been given that could be used for the
celebration. Martin Luther called Rome a modern "Babylon" — parallels could be drawn with the mother-goddess worship of the
ancient Babylon. The birthday of Mithras and the festivals of Saturnalia for the celebration of Christ would be symptoms of
the paganism upon which the Romans had built the Catholic Church.
In 1583 the Presbyterian Church suppressed the observation of Christmas in Scotland because there are no biblical references
to Christmas celebrations nor any biblical commandments to celebrate the birthday of Christ. The Church of Scotland continued
to discourage the celebration of Christmas, which remained a normal working day in Scotland until 1958. Hogmanay (December
31) was the main day of Scottish celebration.
English Puritanism was probably the most extreme manifestation of the Protestant reaction against the Roman Church. Exodus
20:4 could be taken to indicate that God does not want to be worshiped the way pagans worship their gods — with idolatry such
as Christmas trees and Nativity Scenes (much less revelry, drinking and gluttony). Oliver Cromwell campaigned against the
heathen practices of feasting, decorating and singing, which he felt desecrated the spirit of Christ. Christmas was called
such names as "the Papist's Massing Day" and "Old Heathen Feasting Day". Cromwell's government abolished English Christmas
celebration by an act of Parliament in 1647, and the ban was not lifted until Cromwell lost power in 1660. But the tradition
of caroling at Christmastime did not resume again in England until the 1800s.
Massachusetts Pilgrims (Congregationalists) passed a similar law forbidding Christmas celebration in New England in 1659
(repealed in 1681). Thanksgiving was the most important festivity for the Puritans. Wassailing (a door-to-door visiting of
neighbors, drinking at each stop) was condemned as a source of public disorder. Wassail is a hot spiced wine punch with tiny
roasted apples or clove-studded oranges floating on top. "Wes hal" is Saxon/Old English for "be hale" or "be of good health".
The fact that toast sometimes floated in wassail bowls has been given as an explanation for "toasting to health".
Although Christmas was not widely celebrated in New England until 1852, it was popular in the American South beginning with
the Anglican settlement of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The Virginian colonists were the first to establish eggnog as a
holiday beverage. ("Nog" may come from the word grog, meaning any drink made with rum.) Dutch influence in the settlement of
New York City (New Amsterdam) helped make New York a mostly pro-Christmas state, although there was still an anti-Christmas
New England influence. In 1836 Alabama became the first State to recognize Christmas, which finally became a federal holiday
in 1870.
Modern Jehovah's Witnesses and other fundamentalists still regard Christmas to be an un-Christian pagan holiday, which they
do not celebrate. Such groups note that Christ did not admonish Christians to celebrate his birthday in his Sermon on the
Mount. In Boston, a fundamentalist religious group has run advertisements in the subway proclaiming that early Christians did
not "believe in lies about Santa Claus, flying reindeer, elves and drunken parties."
The very word Christmas is regarded by some fundamentalist Christians as using the Lord's name in vain (Exodus 20:7) or, at
least, an invocation of the "popish" idolatry of the Catholic Church ("Mass of Christ"). According to one fundamentalist
group: "Santa Claus is a pagan mockery of God the Father with white hair, grandfatherly image..., omniscient of children's
behavior..." And some fundamentalists — aware that Christ could not have been born in December and that that the timing is
rooted in sun-worship — invoke such scriptures as Deuteronomy 17:3 against the December 25th sun-worshipping holiday.
Christmas was discouraged in the officially atheist Soviet Union, but a Festival of Winter was celebrated. "Grandfather
Frost" and the "Snow Maiden" would bring gifts to children at the New Year. (Many Slavic countries have had a long tradition
of Grandfather Frost riding a sleigh drawn by three horses to deliver gifts to children.)
Fidel Castro declared Cuba to be atheist in 1962, but did not prohibit the celebration of Christmas until 1969. Castro
restored the holiday in December, 1997 preceding January 1998 when Pope John Paul II was permitted to visit the country.
