Jesus’ Birth & the Christmas Tradition

Overview
When we celebrate Jesus' birth why is there a tree and presents for everyone?  What started these  Christmas traditions?  What prophecies were fulfilled with his birth?  Here are my findings.

  Jesus' Birth was a Fulfillment of Prophecy

Jesus, was born as a fulfillment to Our Father's word documented in the Old Testament.  Reflected below are some of the prophecies Jesus fulfilled:

Prophecy	Fulfillment
Micah 5:2 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel,  whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. Mat 2:6 6 "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel. '" Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.	Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. John 7:42 42 Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?" Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,  "You are my Son, today I have begotten you"; 6 as he says also in another place,  "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." Jesus was born to the line of King David.  David’s line was of rulers and high priest.  See here for his ancestry
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. [Immanuel means god with us]	Luke 1:34 And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy— the Son of God.
First Passover in Exodus 12:3. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers 'houses, a lamb for a household. 4 And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, 6 and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.	Jesus fulfilled Passover since he was sacrificed on Passover.  He was the lamb without blemish. Mathew 26:2 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." John 19:14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15 They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." 16 So he delivered him [Jesus] over to them to be crucified.

Jesus let us know that he came to fulfill the law:

Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Date of Jesus' Birth

Jesus was born on the Day of Atonement.

Here is a real good newspaper article that explains how early Americans felt about celebrating Christmas. This also discusses the day of his birth. 

So we do know that Jesus was not born on December 25^th.  There is no example of the 12 apostles celebrating Jesus’ birth and there is no example of the 12 apostles performing the pagan things we do today to celebrate Christmas.  So celebrating his birth and putting presents or offerings under a tree would be adding to his commands of us.

Due4:2 You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you.

Since he was born on the Day of Atonement we should observe that day as instructed in the Laws of Moses.  The apostles did observe fasting day which is the Day of Atonement. 

  Heathen Traditions

Here is a list of heathen things many of us do to celebrate his birth:

·         Christmas Ham:  It should not be considered honoring to Jesus birth by eating an unclean animal.
Deu 15:8 And the pig, because it parts the hoof but does not chew the cud, is unclean for you. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch.

·        

·         Merry: The word ‘merry’ is usually associated with being drunk in the Bible:
Genesis 43: 34 Portions were taken to them from Joseph's table, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they drank and were merry with him.
Judges 19." 6 So the two of them sat and ate and drank together. And the girl's father said to the man, "Be pleased to spend the night, and let your heart be merry."
Ruth 3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
1 Samuel 25: 36 And Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk.

What are we really celebrating?  Maybe we are really celebrating Saturnalia and Yuletide.  We have combined several festivals together.  Update, we are celebrating the Feast of the Dedication, see more information here.  Also see Noah's Festivals of the Seasons.

United States Holiday

According to a report, created for Congress, the Christmas became a holiday as follows:

The act of June 28, 1870, which was apparently prompted by a memorial drafted by local “bankers and business men,” provided that New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Christmas Day, and “any day appointed or recommended by the President of the United States as a day of public fasting or thanksgiving [were] to be holidays within the District.” This legislation was drafted “to correspond with similar laws of States around the District,”3 and “in every State of the Union.”

I have placed a copy of this report here, see page one.