Jeremiah 5:21: Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Jeremiah 10:3-4: For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
The purpose in sharing the pagan history of Christmas is not to ruin the month of December for anybody, nor to discourage the reader from enjoying Christmas Day; instead, it is to inform us of why Christmas is the biggest day of the year for about two billion people. As Christians, it is important for us to have an understanding about the origin of the biggest day of the year, so that we can recognize the spirit and paganism behind it, and so that we can continue to enjoy the day with family and friends without being caught-up in the spirit of the season.
Christmas has no relevance to the birth of Christ, even as Easter has nothing to do with bunnies and eggs. We can still happily enjoy the day with a decorated Christmas tree, lighting, and gift-giving etcetera, for we are no more pagan in doing those things than we are Roman if we enjoy watching racing cars (since car racing is the modern version of the ancient Roman chariot races). What is important is that we have the correct understanding on these things, that we approach them sensibly, and that we teach our children correctly about the truth (or lack of) that surrounds Christmas.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke of how the people had eyes, but could not recognize truth nor identify error, and how that they had ears, but would not listen to the truth. Next, he spoke of how the people would involve themselves in pagan festivals; cutting trees out of the forests and decorating them beautifully. But there was no life in the tree. The tree could not do anything for the people no matter how much time and attention they gave to it.
And so it is with the festive season of Christmas. We devote so much time, effort and money, to prepare, decorate, feast and give. But Christmas Day has no virtue in it at all. It does not give back anything nor does it do anything for the benefit of man. Instead, it is a day that ultimately sucks the energy and finances of all who partake in it, and enriches large corporations who make their biggest profits in the promotion and glorification of it. However, if we approach the day sensibly, and treat it as an opportunity to relax and unwind with family and friends, then we can take maximum advantage of it without being unnecessarily caught-up in the hype behind it.
Christmas has a dark origin. When broken down, it means “Christ-mass,” a mass for Christ. But Christmas is not about the Christ of the Bible, for Jesus was not even born in December. So if it has nothing to do with the birth of Christ, then whose birthday is actually being celebrated? The central character of Christmas is Santa. He is a red-suited figure who sees you when you are sleeping and knows when you are awake, and who judges whether you have been bad or good. The description of him sounds exactly like an occult description of the Roman god Saturn.
The ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia, the worship of Saturn, the god of time, limitation, and control. The dates when Saturnalia was celebrated were from December 17 to December 25, and the traditions of it were gift giving, feasting, decorating trees, and role reversal, where masters served slaves for a day. This ancient celebration was not replaced, but was simply rebranded, so that every year we all unwittingly participate in an ancient ritual without knowing what we are actually invoking.
Christmas lines up with the winter solstice, the exact moment when the earth’s axis tilts farthest from the sun. It is on the darkest day of the year where humanity has put its biggest ritual. The winter solstice has been humanity’s most significant moment for thousands of years. But why is this? It is because the sun was man’s only source of warmth and light. But every day after the summer solstice, the sun sets a little earlier, days get shorter, nights get longer, and it gets colder and darker. Then comes the moment on a specific day where the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky. This is the shortest day and the longest night. That day is December 21 (give or take). To ancient people, this was the moment when the sun might just keep dying and darkness might actually win. They were terrified of such a thought, for without the sun returning, everyone will die, crops will not grow, and civilization will collapse.
The people of ancient times created massive, elaborate, emotionally intense rituals designed to convince the sun to come back, to honor its return, and to celebrate its rebirth. The ritual changes depending on the culture, but the timing is always the same, always the solstice. The Egyptians celebrated the rebirth of Horus, whilst the Persians celebrated Mithras, the sun god born from a rock on December 25. The Norse had Yule where they could be seen burning logs and bringing evergreen trees into the home to remind themselves that life persists even in death season. The Celts lit bonfires, and the Romans had Saturnalia.
When Christianity showed up, Jesus became the central figure of a new religion. But the people spreading Christianity had a problem. You cannot just erase rituals that have been embedded into human consciousness for thousands of years, nor tell populations to stop celebrating the solstice because it is pagan. Instead, they did something smarter. They layered their story on top of the existing ritual and said that Jesus, who is the Light of the world, was born on December 25. But Jesus was not born on December 25. Every biblical scholar will confirm that the scriptural record of the shepherds in the field, the census, and the entire historical timeline, all points to the spring or fall, not to winter.
December 25 was not chosen for historical accuracy, but was chosen for psychological effectiveness. They took Sol Invictus, the Roman sun god and the Roman holiday of December 25 that celebrated the sun’s victory over darkness, and said that it was now Jesus. He is the Light. He is the rebirth. He is the sun that never dies. All they had to do was change the name. So then, Christmas did not start with Jesus, but is the continuation of something far older. The early Christian church knew this and wrote about it. Even Saint Augustine, one of the most influential church fathers, said that they chose December 25 to align with pagan festivals, so conversion would be easier. They did not hide it, but simply waited until most people forgot.
Saturn was the Roman god of time, agriculture, wealth, and limitation. He represented the golden age that once existed and then disappeared, a time when humans lived without labor and without struggle. Every December, the Romans celebrated this lost golden age by flipping reality upside down for a week. Masters served slaves and social norms collapsed. People gave gifts, they decorated with greenery, and they would feast, drink and party for seven straight days, from December 17 to December 23, sometimes extending to December 25.
The way they described Saturn is almost identical to how we describe Santa: an old figure with a long beard, associated with judgment and Time. He sees everything. He knows if you have been good or bad, and he rewards the deserving and punishes the wicked. Santa Claus, Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and Kris Kringle are all different names for the same archetype, and that archetype is way older than Christianity. The Santa figure is the elder judge, the overseer; the one who watches and records, and who distributes justice based on your behavior.
Santa is often thought of as just a fun story for kids that looks harmless on the surface. But the truth is that the Santa archetype is one of the most brilliant pieces of social programming ever created. Think about what children are taught about Santa. He lives at the North Pole, the literal top of the world and the place where he can see everything. He is an all-seeing, all-knowing authority figure who monitors your behavior year-round. He keeps a list. He checks it twice. He knows when you have been bad or good. And based on that surveillance, he rewards obedience and punishes disobedience.
The entire mythology of Santa is built around surveillance and judgment, because that is the function of the archetype, to teach children that they are always being watched, that their behavior is always being recorded, and that rewards and punishments come from an external authority figure who sees and knows everything. It is teaching kids to internalize the concept of constant observation which they carry into adulthood, that we are always being watched, that our behavior is always being recorded, and that an external authority determines our worth. Obedience equals reward whilst disobedience equals punishment. It is training children to accept surveillance states and hierarchical authority systems.
As grown-ups, we may not believe in Santa anymore, but the pattern is already installed. The belief that someone somewhere is keeping track, that you are being judged, and that you need to be good to deserve rewards. That is not child’s play, but is actually behavioral conditioning. Saturnalia did not disappear; it just got rebranded. We have the same gift giving, the same feasting, and the same role reversals. Now we call it the season of giving, where the wealthy are expected to be generous to the less fortunate. We have the same decorations, the same time frame, and the same emotional beats. The ancient ritual was not replaced; instead, they just changed the mascot and told us that it was something new.
The Santa story is a glorification of Satan and the surveillance state that the world is becoming. It has no connection with God at all. The God of Heaven does know all things and does see everything (2 Chronicles 16:9), but He is not served nor obeyed out of fear or human effort. His is a loved-based relationship, not a works-based one. Kids eventually learn that Santa is not real; they grow up and stop believing, but the pattern does not stop. It just transfers. The same kids who believed Santa was watching them, then grow up to accept that that the government is watching them, or that their employer is tracking them, or that social media algorithms are monitoring them. The specifics change, but the structure stays the same. Constant observation. Behavioral judgment. Reward and punishment based on compliance.
The story of Santa is conditioning children for the real system that comes later. Santa does not teach children about generosity, nor do children learn to think about others, or the joy of giving. Instead, they learn that love is transactional, that you have to earn presents through good behavior, and that their value is determined by how well they follow the rules. Most kids do not experience Santa as pure generosity; instead, they experience Santa as conditional approval. If you are good, you will get presents. If you are bad, you will get coal. That is not teaching generosity. That is teaching children that they need to perform to be loved.
Santa’s red suit, his workshop at the North Pole, his elves, and his reindeer, none of that is arbitrary. Red has always been associated with power and blood and sacrifice. The North Pole is the axis mundi; it is the top of the world and the proclaimed point where Heaven touches Earth. The elves come from Norse mythology, and are supernatural beings who exist between worlds. The reindeer are animals associated with shamanic journeys and altered states.
Santa Claus is a mash-up of pagan symbolism dressed-up as a children’s story. Every year kids are taught to write letters to Santa, to make requests, to state their desires to an unseen authority figure who may or may not grant them. That is ritual magic. That is petitioning a dark entity for favor, and it is training children to participate in ceremonial practices without understanding what they are doing.
The actual historical origin of Saint Nicholas was a Christian bishop in Turkey who supposedly performed miracles. The mythology around him got blended with Norse gods like Odin, who also had a long beard, rowed through the sky, and gave gifts during Yule. Santa is an amalgamation of ancient archetypes, and those archetypes have always represented the same thing: authority, judgment, reward, and punishment.
December 25 is not neutral. It is a date that has been significant for thousands of years across multiple cultures. And it is not because of Jesus. December 25 is three days after the winter solstice. The solstice is December 21 or December 22, depending on the year. That is the shortest day and the longest night, the moment of maximum darkness. And for three days (December 22 to December 24) the sun appears to stand still in the sky. It does not move north or south. It just sits there.
Ancient people did not have the astronomical knowledge we have today; they did not know that the earth’s axial tilt causes this. They thought the sun was dying, stopping, and possibly never coming back. But then on December 25, the sun starts moving again. It begins its journey back north. Days start getting longer. The light returns. Symbolically, the sun is reborn on December 25, which is why so many sun gods throughout history have their birthday on December 25. Horus in Egypt. Mithras in Persia. Sol Invictus in Rome. And eventually, Jesus.
Jesus was not inserted into this date randomly. The date was already associated with the return of the light. Christianity just gave it a new name. The three days where the sun stands still is likened to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The sun dies for three days and is then reborn. Jesus died, stayed in the tomb for three days and nights, and then resurrected. It is the same pattern, the same time frame, and the same symbolism. The narrative structure of death and rebirth of the winter solstice predates Christianity by thousands of years. It is a solar myth that Christianity adopted and connected with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
The ritual was already there but the central character was changed. December 25 feels so significant, even if you are not religious, because the date carries thousands of years of accumulated meaning. It has been marked as sacred for so long, that it exists in collective consciousness as a threshold, a turning point, a moment of transformation. You do not need to believe in Jesus for December 25 to affect you. The programming runs deeper than religion. It is astronomical, biological and psychological all at once.