by Maureen Totterer

Created on: May 31, 2007   Last Updated: December 04, 2008

Christmas is defined as "December 25, a holiday celebrated by Christians as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus." This relates to a religious holiday. Christmas tree is defined as "an evergreen or artificial tree decorated with lights and ornaments during the Christmas season." This relates to a secular and/or religious custom. The Christmas tree is both a religious and secular symbol.

The Bible contains an interesting passage in the Book of Jeremiah. It was written somewhere between 627 B.C. and 586 B.C., since his ministry spanned at least five decades.

Jeremiah Chapter 10: 1-8:

"Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, and cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good."

"Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might), who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your rightful due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. But they are altogether dull-hearted and foolish; a wooden idol is a worthless doctrine."

God was warning the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah. At that particular time in history, the spiritual condition of Judah was one of flagrant idol worship. Jeremiah appealed to his countrymen to repent and avoid God's impending judgment, to no avail, and resulted in the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Both the Israelites and Gentiles were partaking in idol worship in the same land. Hence, the judgment from God.

Whenever and wherever the Christmas tree originated it's "roots" are in idol worship. Worship is defined as "the reverent love and allegiance accorded a deity, idol or sacred object." People today continue to cut down trees decorating them with silver. God's word today still tells us to worship Him alone. Every year the secular world attempts to take our eyes off God and onto the pretty Christmas tree.

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