Are Christmas trees pagan?

By Gary DeMar

One group of Christians is trying to keep the name "Christmas tree" rather than the non-descript "Holiday tree," while a small minority of Christians wants to say good riddance to the very idea of Christmas trees because their origin is pagan. Who's right?

Some will turn to Jeremiah 10:1-10 to make a case against "Christmas trees." Jeremiah is describing idol worship, and he ridicules it: "Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, nor can they do any good" (10:5). Who among us believes that a "Christmas tree" is a god to be worshipped?

Just because pagans might have used trees to worship their gods does not mean that we can't use them to teach us something about God who has given us the "indescribable gift" of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 9:15). The Christmas tree, as it is now designated, is an evergreen that reminds us that we have "eternal life" in Jesus Christ (John 6:40). The shape of the tree reminds us that we are "born from above" (John 3:3). The needles on the branches remind us that Jesus was "pierced through for our transgressions" (Isaiah 53:5).

The lights hung on the tree remind us that Jesus is "the light of the world" (John 8:12) and through Him we are to be "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). The ornaments we hang on the tree and the presents we place under the tree remind us that "every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow" (James 1:17).

Instead of condemning the Christmas tree as some pagan object brought into our homes from the pagan cold, it can be used to remind us that God promises us "the right to the tree of life" (Revelation 22:14).

If the Bible tells us "to go to the ant ... to observe her ways and be wise" (Proverbs 6:6), certainly we can learn similar things from God's other good creations, even trees.

Gary DeMar is president of American Vision and the author more than 20 books. His book "Thinking Straight in a Crooked World" is available at ShopNetDaily.