From Newsgroup: alt.bible.prophecy

The Real Origin of Christmas

But if we got Christmas from the Roman Catholics, and they got it from paganism, where did the pagans get it? Where, when, and what was its
real origin?

It is a chief custom of the corrupt system denounced all through Bible prophecies and teachings under the name of Babylon. And it started and originated in the original Babylon of ancient Nimrod! Yes, it stems from
roots whose beginning was shortly this side of the Flood!

Nimrod, grandson of Ham, son of Noah, was the real founder of the
Babylonish system that has gripped the world ever since--the system of organized competition--of man-ruled governments and empires, based upon
the competitive and profit-making economic system. Nimrod built the
tower of Babel, the original Babylon, ancient Nineveh, and many other
cities. He organized this world's first kingdom. The name Nimrod, in
Hebrew, is derived from "Marad," meaning "he rebelled."

From many ancient writings, considerable is learned of this man, who
started the great organized worldly apostasy from God that has dominated
this world until now. Nimrod was so evil, it is said he married his own mother, whose name was Semiramis. After Nimrod's untimely death, his
so-called mother-wife, Semiramis, propagated the evil doctrine of the
survival of Nimrod as a spirit being. She claimed a full-grown evergreen
tree sprang overnight from a dead tree stump, which symbolized the
springing forth unto new life of the dead Nimrod. On each anniversary of
his birth, she claimed, Nimrod would visit the evergreen tree and leave
gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of Nimrod. This is the
real origin of the Christmas tree.

Through her scheming and designing, Semiramis became the Babylonian
"Queen of Heaven," and Nimrod, under various names, became the "divine
son of heaven." Through the generations, in this idolatrous worship,
Nimrod also became the false Messiah, son of Baal the Sun-god. In this
false Babylonish system, the "Mother and Child" (Semiramis and Nimrod
reborn) became chief objects of worship. This worship of "Mother and
Child" spread over the world. The names varied in different countries
and languages. In Egypt it was Isis and Osiris. In Asia, Cybele and
Deoius. In pagan Rome, Fortuna and Jupiterpuer. Even in Greece, China,
Japan, Tibet is to be found the counterpart of the Madonna, long before
the birth of Christ!

Thus, during the fourth and fifth centuries, when the pagans of the
Roman world were "accepting" the new popular "Christianity" by the
hundreds of thousands, carrying their old pagan customs and beliefs
along with them, merely cloaking them with Christian-sounding names, the Madonna and "Mother and Child" idea also became popularized, especially
at Christmas time. Every Christmas season you'll hear sung and chanted
dozens of times the hymn "Silent Night, Holy Night," with its familiar
"Mother and Child" theme. We, who have been born in such a babylonish
world, reared and steeped in these things all our lives, have been
taught to revere these things as holy and sacred. We never questioned to
see where they came from--whether they came from the Bible, or from
pagan idolatry!

We are shocked to learn the truth--some, unfortunately, take offense at
the plain truth! But God commands His faithful ministers , "Cry aloud,
spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression!" Shocking as these facts are, they are the plain facts of history and the Bible!

The real origin of Christmas goes back to ancient Babylon. It is bound
up in the organized apostasy which has gripped a deceived world these
many centuries! In Egypt, it was always believed that the son of Isis (Egyptian name for "Queen of Heaven") was born December 25th. Paganism celebrated this famous birthday over most of the known world for
centuries before the birth of Christ.

December 25th is not the birthday of Jesus the true Christ! The apostles
and early true Church never celebrated Christ's birthday at any time.
There is no command or instruction to celebrate it in the Bible--rather,
the celebrating of birthdays is a pagan, not a Christian custom, believe
it or not!

Thus the ancient idolatrous "Chaldean Mysteries," founded by this wife
of Nimrod, have been handed down through the pagan religions under new Christian-sounding names.


Title: The Plain Truth About Christmas
Author: Herbert W Armstrong
Date: 1952, 1972, 1974
Type: Booklet
Type Media: PDF

https://cog-hwa.org/pub/bb/xmas.pdf

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