The Christmas Debate: Is Christmas a Stolen Holiday

Is Christmas a Stolen Holiday? And Does It Really Matter If Ideas Overlap?

Okay, I am an author... I do words.

I'm also a Christian... I do faith.

And the question of "Is Christmas a stolen holiday" is a favorite for Reddit and that one family member chatter. So, I thought I'd put words, faith, and what brain cells I have to this time old question...

Every December, like clockwork, the discourse fires up again: "Christmas is actually pagan!" Someone's uncle shares a documentary. A friend posts about Saturnalia. Your social media feed erupts with claims about Sol Invictus and Yule logs. And honestly? I'm tired of it.

Not because the conversation isn't worth having, but because we're asking the wrong questions entirely.

The Claims Don't Hold Water

Let's get the facts straight first. The "Christmas is pagan" crowd loves to throw around certain claims, but when you actually dig into the historical evidence, it crumbles faster than gingerbread left out in the rain.

December 25th wasn't chosen to compete with pagan festivals. We have evidence from Hippolytus of Rome—writing in the early 200s, well before Christianity became legal, let alone the official religion—calculating Jesus's birth as December 25th. He wasn't trying to appease angry pagans. He was doing what early Christians did: trying to construct a timeline of biblical history. The Calendar of 354 confirms Christians were celebrating Christmas on December 25th before Theodosius made Christianity the state religion in 380 CE.

The whole "they picked that date to rival Sol Invictus" theory? Falls apart when you realize Sol Invictus wasn't even celebrated on December 25th until much later. As for Saturnalia, it ran from December 17th-23rd. If Christians were trying to steal that thunder, they missed by two whole days. Not exactly a strategic co-opt.

The Christmas tree isn't ancient either. Despite AI-generated images showing snow-covered pagans decorating sacred evergreens, the first clear evidence of Christmas trees appears in Strasbourg around 1539. That's the 16th century, folks. Younger than Protestantism itself. The legend about Martin Luther being the first? Fiction. Christmas trees didn't even reach Wittenberg until the 18th century, long after his death.

Yule logs? Also recent. They first appear in the 16th century and were originally called "Christmas logs." The name "Yule log" didn't show up until 1686. This isn't ancient pagan ritual... but it is practical. You're throwing a big winter party, you need a big piece of wood for the fire.

But Here's the Thing...

After laying out all that evidence, after proving the historical record doesn't support the "stolen holiday" narrative, I have to ask: does it actually matter?

Stay with me here.

We're Made From Something Else Entirely

Here's what really gets me about this whole debate: we're creatures made from something that comes from an entirely different category. Our essence is dependent on its essence. That means everything of human invention—every tradition, every celebration, every ritual—is ad finem, with end.

Including our ideas and expressions of the divine.

Think about the sheer immensity of humans who have existed, who do exist, and who will exist. Billions upon billions of souls, all reaching toward transcendence, all trying to capture and celebrate the sacred. With numbers like that, there's going to be overlap, because we are ad finem. It's inevitable. It doesn't mean one stole from another but that we're all grasping at the same fundamental truths.

The Universal Human Heart

Remember what Paul said at the Areopagus? He found an altar "to an unknown god" and said, "What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you." He didn't accuse the Greeks of theft. He recognized they were reaching for something real, something true, even if they couldn't name it yet.

The Catechism puts it beautifully: "The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God." That desire manifests across cultures, across time periods, across every human civilization. Of course there are going to be similarities. Fire symbolizes light and warmth everywhere humans experience winter. Evergreens represent endurance and life everywhere they grow. Gift-giving expresses love in every culture.

These aren't stolen concepts. They're universal human experiences pointing toward universal truths.

The Church Can Baptize Anything

Vatican II's Nostra Aetate nails it: "The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions... those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men."

A ray of truth. That's the key. Pagan cultures had hints, shadows, echoes of the real thing. When Christianity arrived with the fullness of revelation, it didn't need to pretend those hints didn't exist. It could say, "Yes, you sensed something true there and here's what you were actually reaching for."

St. Patrick did this with the shamrock. Paul did it at the Areopagus. The Church has always had this distinct ability to recognize truth wherever it appears and show how it points toward Christ.

The Real Question

So when someone tells you Christmas trees are pagan, or that December 25th was stolen from Sol Invictus, you can absolutely hit them with the historical evidence showing those claims are false.

But also? Take a step back and ask: what are we really arguing about?

If a Roman celebrated the return of light at winter's darkest point, and a Christian celebrates Christ as "the light of the world" who came during dark times, is that theft? Or is that two humans, separated by truth but united in their humanity, recognizing the same metaphor because it's written into creation itself?

We Celebrate Because We're Glad

At the end of the day, Christians celebrate Christmas because we're genuinely glad Jesus Christ was born. It's right there in the name—Christ's Mass. The date was chosen because early Christians, doing their best biblical math, thought that's roughly when it happened. The traditions developed because humans love to celebrate, especially when celebrating something as earth-shattering as God becoming flesh.

You don't need to be pagan to realize fire brings warmth in darkness. You don't need to steal from ancient rituals to know giving gifts expresses love. You don't need to appropriate Norse mythology to enjoy decorating a tree in your living room.

You just need to be human.

The Beauty of Overlap

Here's my take: the overlap of ideas across human cultures isn't evidence of theft. It's evidence of shared humanity. We're all reaching toward the same transcendent truths, all trying to express the inexpressible, all grasping at the divine.

Some got closer than others. Some had clearer vision. But we're all part of the same human story, created by the same Creator, hardwired with the same longing for Him.

So this Christmas, whether you're lighting candles, hanging wreaths, decorating trees, or gathering around a fire, don't let anyone rob you of joy by claiming it's "actually pagan." The historical evidence doesn't support it, but more importantly, the theological reality transcends it.

We're creatures made from something beyond ourselves, and every genuine human celebration—whether perfectly formed or just groping in the dark—is ultimately pointing back to that source.

Your Turn

Look, celebrate Christmas for what it is: the commemoration of the Incarnation, wrapped in traditions both ancient and recent, expressed through the universal human impulse to mark sacred moments with light, warmth, generosity, and joy.

Or don't celebrate it at all—that's your flawed call (wink-wink).

But don't let bad history and worse theology steal your peace. And don't waste energy fighting over whether evergreens are "pagan" when the real miracle we're celebrating is that God thought humanity was worth saving.

Now go read a book. Might I suggest some of my own?

Peace & Blessings

Izaic Yorks | Epic Fantasy Author for Readers Who Want Escape with A Slice of Virtue

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FAQ

1. Was Christmas originally a pagan holiday?

No. While some claim that Christmas was borrowed from pagan festivals like Saturnalia or Sol Invictus, historical evidence shows Christians were celebrating December 25th long before those festivals shared that date. Early church fathers like Hippolytus of Rome identified December 25th through biblical chronology, not cultural borrowing.

2. Did early Christians “steal” pagan symbols like trees and Yule logs?

No. Christmas trees and Yule logs are relatively modern traditions—first recorded in the 1500s and 1600s. They developed as cultural customs, not religious appropriations. Most Christmas symbols simply reflect universal human expressions of warmth, life, and generosity during winter.

3. Why do so many Christmas traditions look similar to older customs?

Because humans across time have always marked winter with symbols of light, life, and hope. Overlap doesn’t mean theft—it means shared humanity. Many traditions echo our universal longing for meaning, warmth, and divine connection.

4. Does it matter if some ideas or symbols overlap with pagan ones?

Not really. Christianity has a long tradition of recognizing “rays of truth” in other faiths and cultures (see Nostra Aetate). The Church doesn’t fear overlap—it redeems and reorients it toward the fullness of truth in Christ.

5. Why do Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th?

Because early Christians believed that date corresponded to Jesus’s birth based on scriptural calculations, not because of pagan influence. Records like the Calendar of 354 confirm Christmas was observed on that day before Christianity became Rome’s state religion.