This week much the world (me excluded) will be celebrating Christmas, the supposed birthday of Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of celebrating birthdays from a biblical perspective and briefly touch on the Christmas issue as well.

Genesis 40:20, Pharaoh’s birthday. The is the first of three references to birthdays in the Bible. The second one is to Job’s children who were killed on, presumably, one of their birthdays (Job 1:4, 18–19).The third reference to King Herod, who had John the Baptist beheaded on his birthday (Matt 14:6–12). Because of the fact that birthdays are associated with calamity in the Bible, some people refuse to celebrate birthdays, even though there is no direct or indirect prohibition against honoring a loved one once a year on the day of their birth.  

Though I respect a person’s right to disagree with me on this issue, it is my opinion that celebrating birthdays is neither inherently evil nor a pagan thing to do. It is merely honoring and respecting a loved one on the day marking their debut into this world. What’s evil about that? “Oh, it’s a pride thing,” someone might respond. If so, then answer me this: How is honoring and showing love by telling someone that you’re glad they were born and that they’re special to you “a pride thing”?  And if it’s pride, then pride on whose part? The Bible teaches that there is a wrong and sinful kind of pride and right kind of pride, but that’s another discussion.

Now what about celebrating Yeshua’s birthday on Christmas? Is that wrong or evil? No, not inherently, unless we mix satanic and pagan traditions into the mix, and do it on the same day that the ancient pagans honored their demon sun-god. Of itself, there’s nothing evil about recognizing the coming of the Messiah in human form to this earth. To be sure, this is something to be celebrated in one way or another. The problem is that in so doing, most people have not only mixed in pagan traditions with their celebrations, and have secularized out of it the real purpose of the day, and have chosen to celebrate the Messiah’s birth on the totally wrong day. Perhaps, worst of all, they have rejected or made of non-effect the clear word of Elohim that commands all the saints to celebrate the seven biblical feasts. Instead, men have substituted Christmas and Easter (et al) for Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. This is not only wrong, but it is, by biblical definition, sinful, for it violates the laws of YHVH Elohim (1 John 3:4).

Yeshua addressed religious leaders’ sinful, rebellious and prideful proclivity to substitute their man made doctrines and traditions for the Word of Elohim.

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the [Torah] commandment of Elohim, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.… Making the word of Elohim of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (Mark 7:6–8, 13)