As a child, I enjoyed Christmas trees! I enjoyed decorating them, looking at them, smelling them (the "live" trees, that is), and I loved the anticipation and build-up of what was going to be under them on Christmas day.
But, as a young adult I began to question the relevance of the Christmas tree in respect to the birth of Christ. I mean, what is a Christmas tree REALLY about? During the brief time that I lived in government assisted apartments, I began to question the validity and righteousness of spending lots of money on a tree, decorations, and lights during a time that my sons and my peers children needed new coats for the winter. That was the first year I refused to put up a Christmas tree. I was lucky that I didn't have to look into the dissappointed eyes of my young children. They were going to my mother's house and she always made a grand event out of the Christmas tree tradition.
Chrismons™ are handmade Christmas tree ornaments of various Christian symbols. My mother makes her own Chrismons and take great pride in adorning her tree with these white, gold, and chrystal beaded beauties. I must admit, her tree does have an extraodinary aesthetic beauty... but what is it beautifying? What does it MEAN? From whence did this worship of a "tree tradition come?
How many people perpetuate this tradition as a must-have-meaningful symbol of Christmas and the celebration of one known to many as "Christ"... how many people have a clue? How many people continue the tree tradition because of the nastalgia of it all? Who want to bring to their children some of the experiences they had as children...? They pass the baton.
I know that some people have at least a clue, but most of these informed folks STILL continue the tradition in spite of the fact that they have become aware that the tree tradition is in direct contradiction with their spiritual/christian beliefs and upbringing.
Read the synopsis of the "Christmas Tree Story" that is written by another author. Then, study to show thyself approved... and rightly divide the word of truth for yourself. -- 2 Timothy 2:15
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The Story Of Nimrod, As It Relates To Christmas And Easter
Wilhelm J Wolfaardt
Nimrod, the grandson of Noah, became the first king known as Sargon I. He built Babylon and Nineveh. Being warlike, he wore a type of helmet with a horn in the front; a trait inherited by the druid Vikings of the Celts, descendants of the Assyrian line.
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Nimrod means "tyrant". He led the Sumerians of Babylon to pay tribute to the skies (sun, moon, stars, and planets) with the sacrifice of their children. The Tower of Babel was built for this purpose, echoed in other cultures such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas. Since the head of this government was such an idolatrous tyrant, Shem (Nimrod's uncle) killed him. Nimrod's mother, Semiramis, consoled the people by making them believe the child she carried was Nimrod "reincarnated" -- And named him "Duzu" (Tammuz), Babylonian for the son who rises. This Duzu went into the groves (forests) and placed a gift on a tree to honor Nimrod each year at the winter solstice. It has been said that Duzu was the offspring of Nimrod, who mated with his mother. Nimrod became known as Baal, meaning LORD, and was worshipped by the Babylonians as the sun in the sky -- thus the origin of "going to the heavens" at death.
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Trees and branches became symbols of Nimrod. Because Nimrod was "cut down" by Shem, a tree stump became a place of honoring him. Thus, the Hebrew Scriptures speak of the pagans going into the "groves", and bringing a "branch to the nose", and going into the forest and cutting down a tree, decorating it, and propping it up a so that it will not totter. The winter solstice was the time when the sun was thought to be "reborn", so December 25th was celebrated as Baal's (Nimrod's) birthday. By tradition, the artificial idea of a New Year following this birthday celebration became an integral part of every human culture, based on this pagan idolatry. Generally, all mankind is fast asleep, dreaming this old Babylonian dream.
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Christmas is an attempt by Catholicism to revise and adopt this paganism. In the year 525, a Scythian monk named Dionysius Exiguus visited Rome. He witnessed the ancient pagan celebration of the winter solstice (then called Paganalia or Saturnalia), and this offended his devout sensibilities. Scripture itself demands that we observe the Messiah's death, not His birth. But, since the pagan mind was so oriented around fertility and birth, it developed the way we see it today, blending the most important features of pagan interpretation. "Babel, the Great Mother of Harlots and of the Abominations of the Earth" -- has intoxicated the masses, and she herself is drunk with the blood of the set-apart ones.
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What is her name? It's Easter! Semiramis, Nimrod's mother, became known as "Magna Mater", the "Great Mother", and was worship-ped as Mother Earth. The Sun "mated" with the Earth each spring, and the "Rites of Spring" symbolized by the "May Pole" and "Easter" came 9 moons/months before the December 25th "birth" of the winter Sun. Her Assyrian name, Ishtar, gives us the word "Easter". The Romans called her Astarte, and the Phoenicians used Asherah. The Hebrews called her Astoroth, the consort of Baal. Her emblem is the flower of the lily. She is the "goddess of the dawn", and her statue stands on a bridge in France. The French made a colossus of this image, and it now stands in New York Harbor, facing "East" -- in itself a word referring to the rising son/sun -- from which her name springs!
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So, you tell me... is the inclusion of the tree tradition with Christmas a compromise or confusion?
I have no desire to participate in the tree tradition. I CAN'T participate in it for fear that I will feel as though I am celebrating incest... worshipping someone who was considered a tyrant and thought himself wise enough to have his followers sacrifice their children. I refuse to sit in judgement of Nimrod. But, I do not have a desire to worship him and revere him as an example of my own aspirations.
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Creator,
Continue to bless me to be able to "rightly divide" truth. I've only just begun and I've a long way to go, but thank You for keeping me on "the path".
peace.
shYne
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