The Truth Behind Christmas
Many see Christmas as joyful, innocent, and full of cheer. Families decorate trees, exchange gifts, and tell children about Santa Claus. But the truth is far more sinister. The holiday is rooted in idolatry, pagan worship, and deception, and the figure of Santa is not what the world makes him out to be.
Santa: A Mask for Darkness
The modern Santa Claus traces back to multiple sources, including Saint Nicholas, a man venerated for charity, and older pagan figures connected to Norse and European winter solstice worship. In English, “Nick” became a nickname for Santa, and in folklore, “Old Nick” is a name for Satan - rearrange the letters in Santa and you get Satan!!
This creates a spiritual connection: the figure teaching children about gifts, rewards, and magic is symbolically tied to the adversary. Over centuries, the story of Santa was layered with lies, magic, and deception, turning him into a symbol of worldly and wicked influence.
Spiritually, Santa represents the adversary’s influence, enticing children with promises of gifts and indulgence to distract them from the worship of Yahuah. He is a figure of trickery, lies, and materialism, promoting disobedience to the Father’s commandments by esteeming man’s traditions over Yahuah’s appointed times (moedim).
Santa encourages greed, entitlement, and dishonesty (“be good or you won’t get gifts”). He distracts from Yahuah’s moedim and the true joy found in obedience, worship, and the light of Yahusha. In truth, Santa is a tool of the adversary, drawing hearts away from qodesh living and toward worldly illusions.
Tales of flying reindeer, elves, and Santa’s omnipresence train children to believe in deception, reinforcing the lie that man-made traditions are equal to Yahuah’s truth.
The Cruelty of Christmas
Beyond spiritual deception, Christmas can be emotionally cruel, especially for children from poor families or orphaned children and those living in children’s homes. The holiday is built around gifts and material abundance, creating an environment where:
Children who receive nothing compare themselves to peers with expensive toys and treats.
Vulnerable children may feel undeserving or rejected, believing that Santa “left them out” because they were not good enough.
This fosters shame, jealousy, and low self-worth, teaching children to equate happiness with possessions rather than qodesh (holy) living.
The holiday focuses on indulgence and materialism, diverting hearts from the true joy and baruk of walking in Yahuah’s ways.
The Tree in Pagan Worship
For most people today, the Christmas tree is seen as harmless fun, a centrepiece for family gatherings, twinkling lights, and glittering ornaments. But the truth is much darker. The origins of this tradition are rooted in idolatry, blood sacrifices, and pagan worship. What seems innocent is actually a continuation of practices that Yahuah has forbidden.
Long before the Messiah came, ancient peoples worshipped the evergreen tree as a symbol of fertility and immortality. The Babylonians connected it to Nimrod, the mighty one who rebelled against Yahuah. After his death, legends claimed he became a god whose spirit lived in an evergreen tree. His followers placed offerings beneath it in his honour, a practice that looks very familiar today.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) warned His people about this very thing:
“For the customs of the peoples are vanity; a tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not move.” (Yirmeyahu / Jeremiah 10:3–4)
This is not about carpentry. It is a direct rebuke of decorating and worshipping trees, exactly what the world still does every December.
Ornaments and Human Sacrifice
The shiny balls on the Christmas tree are not innocent decorations. In ancient rituals, trees were adorned with the severed heads of enemies or sacrificed victims, often children, to honour false gods. Over time, these gruesome displays were replaced with fruit, and later with glass and metal ornaments. The round balls we see today still symbolise those sacrifices. Red ornaments represented blood, while gold and silver symbolised offerings to idols. The tradition is simply a cleaned-up version of what was once bloody and horrific.
Lights and Blood Offerings
In old Norse and Druidic practices, candles or fires were placed on or near the tree. These flames symbolised the power of the sun god returning after the winter solstice. But they were often accompanied by blood sacrifices, with animals and humans, killed in rituals to “give life” to the coming year. Today, we hang string lights and tell ourselves it is just decoration. The spiritual roots remain the same.
December 25: The Birthday of the Sun God
The date of Christmas has nothing to do with Yahusha’s birth. It was chosen to align with the pagan celebration of the rebirth of the sun god, Mithras, Sol Invictus, or Tammuz. This was a season of drunkenness, orgies, and sacrifices. To this day, when families gather around a Christmas tree with gifts and lights, they are unknowingly repeating ancient rituals once offered to false gods.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both Yahuah and mammon.”
Mattithyahu (Matthew) 6:24
Why The Father Rejects This Worship
Yahuah is clear: we cannot worship Him by adopting the practices of the nations.
“Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship Yahuah your Aluhym in that way.” (Devarym (Deuteronomy) 12:30–31
Yashar’al once built a golden calf and declared it a feast to Yahuah. He saw it as idolatry and judged them severely. The same is true today. Putting Messiah’s Name on Christmas does not make it acceptable.
The True Light
The world has chosen a counterfeit, but Yahuah has given us His appointed Feasts, His moedim. Passover, Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot are His qodesh times, filled with meaning, prophecy, and joy. Instead of bowing to a decorated tree, we are called to bow to Yahuah alone and walk in the light of Yahusha, the true Light of the world.
The Christmas tree is not just a harmless tradition. It is a remnant of idolatry, human sacrifice, and sun worship. The choice is clear: will we cling to man’s traditions, or return to Yahuah’s qodesh (holy) ways?
Do Not Fear Your Children Missing Out
I know your heart. You want the very best for your children. You want to see their eyes sparkle with joy, to hear their laughter, and to give them sweet memories of their childhood. The world tells us that the way to do this is through traditions packaged in lights, candy, costumes, and gifts, Christmas mornings, Halloween costumes, and Easter egg hunts.
But as followers of Yahusha, you have begun to see the truth: these holidays are not from Yahuah. They are rooted in idolatry, pagan worship, and the glorification of darkness. And now you feel the tension, if you let these things go, will your children be missing out?
Let me remind you: your children are not missing out when you give them truth. You are giving them everything.
Temporary joys of the world, sparkling lights, sweets, and costumes pass away. Yahuah offers something greater: everlasting life in Yahusha. When you teach your children to love His Word, walk in His ways, and celebrate His Feasts, you fill their hearts with joy that will never fade.
“The world passes away, and the lust thereof; but he that does the will of Aluhym abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)
Ask yourself: what would you rather give your children? A pile of gifts under a tree tied to pagan worship, buckets of sweets on a night honouring death and demons, or eggs and bunnies tracing back to fertility idols? Or the joy of blowing the shofar at Yom Teruah, eating unleavened bread while teaching them about Yahusha’s sacrifice, and sitting in a sukkah under the stars, rejoicing that Yahuah dwells with His people?
The world will always try to make sin look fun and qodesh things look boring. That is the enemy’s trick. Dress up death with candy, disguise idolatry with gifts, and convince parents it is cruel to say “no.”
But Scripture says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
You are not depriving your children when you turn from the world’s ways; you are preparing them to be strong, set-apart, and filled with the baruk joy of Yahuah.
One day, your children will grow up. They will look back on their childhood, and they will not just remember sweets or gifts. They will remember what you taught them. They will remember whether you showed them how to follow the world or how to follow Yahuah.
Yahusha Himself said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the reign of the shamayim (heavens).” (Matthew 19:14)
Lead your children in the way of Yahuah. Give them the Feasts, give them His Word, give them Yahusha. These are greater than any man-made tradition. One day, they will thank you. They will see that you chose courage over compromise, truth over tradition, life over death. And they will rise up and call you baruk (blessed).
And then of course there’s the burden of debt
Another fruit of Christmas is debt. Every year, families spend far beyond their means on gifts, decorations, and parties. The world pressures people to “show love” with money, but the result is often credit card bills, financial stress, and bondage.
This cycle is not from Yahuah. The Turah teaches us stewardship, contentment, and caring for one another, not empty spending. Going into debt for a man-made holiday is just another way the world traps people in slavery, like modern Mitsrayim (Egypt).
We are called to walk free, free from debt, free from worldly expectations, and free to serve Yahuah with a whole heart.
Palal (pray)
Abba Father, I turn from all customs and celebrations that do not honour You. Cleanse my heart and home from idolatry and deception. Help me walk in Your moedim (appointed times), follow Your ways, and delight in Your truth. Fill me with Your baruk, shalum, and joy, and guide my family to serve You alone.
In Yahusha’s name I palal (pray)
Aman.
