Recap
In the last post, I shared some of the things I love—and don’t love—about the Christmas season. We also began asking an important question: What does Scripture actually say about celebrating Christmas? The first objection often raised is that Christmas is a ‘man-made’ holiday and therefore wrong for Christians to observe—a claim that sounds convincing at first.
After all, if God didn’t command celebrating His Son’s birth, shouldn’t we avoid it? But before we toss out the tinsel, let’s take a closer look at what the Bible actually says or doesn’t say about celebrating Christmas as a man-made holiday.
The Feasts of the Lord
It’s true that God established specific feast days for His people in the Old Testament—Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, among others (see Leviticus 23). These were not optional; they were commanded. Each feast reminded Israel of God’s faithfulness in the past and pointed forward to His promises in the future.
But history also records two other celebrations that didn’t come by God’s direct command—Purim and Hanukkah. God’s people created both in response to His faithfulness. As we look at them, we’ll see what they can teach us about whether man-made holidays, like Christmas, can still honor the Lord.
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The Feast of Purim
Purim is one of the clearest biblical examples of a God-honoring celebration that didn’t come by direct command. After Esther and Mordecai helped save the Jewish people from destruction, Mordecai proposed an annual celebration with feasting, giving gifts of food to one another, and giving gifts to the poor with gladness. This holiday would be a time each year to commemorate God’s deliverance from Haman and his plot to kill the Jews (Esther 9:20–32).
Why Purim Matters
Purim wasn’t divinely mandated like Passover or Tabernacles—it was a human response to God’s providence. Yet its inclusion in Scripture, without any correction or condemnation, indicates divine approval. The tone of Esther 9 is celebratory, not cautionary.
Even though God’s name is famously absent from the book, His presence is unmistakable in the outcome. The people’s joyful remembrance pleased Him because it honored His unseen deliverance.
This sets a precedent: a man-made festival can still glorify God when it helps His people remember His faithfulness. Just as Purim reminded Israel that God had saved them from annihilation, Christmas can remind believers that God has saved us through the birth of His Son.
Hanukkah (The Feast of Dedication)
The second major celebration—besides the Feasts of the Lord—was Hanukkah, also called the Feast of Dedication. This holiday began during the intertestamental period, the roughly 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. It’s not found in the Old Testament, but the story is rooted in real events around 165 B.C. The Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled at the time and tried to eradicate Jewish worship practices.
Antiochus attempted to erase Jewish worship by outlawing Scripture reading, circumcision, and temple sacrifices. He even desecrated the temple by setting up an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs on God’s altar—a direct insult to Yahweh. Out of this oppression rose the Maccabean revolt, led by a faithful priest named Mattathias and his sons, especially Judas Maccabeus. After years of battle, they recaptured Jerusalem and rededicated the temple to God.
To commemorate this victory and the renewed worship of the Lord, the people established an eight-day celebration called Hanukkah, meaning “dedication.” The historian Josephus called it the “Festival of Lights,” likely referring to the lamps lit in the cleansed temple. Over time, lighting lamps or candles became the central symbol of this season—a reminder that God’s light still shines even in dark times.
Jesus and the Feast of Dedication
What’s remarkable is that this man-made festival shows up in the New Testament. John 10:22-23 tells us:
“Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.”
Notice what happens next: rather than distancing Himself from the holiday, Jesus uses the setting to reveal His identity. Surrounded by worshipers celebrating God’s deliverance from pagan oppression, He declares,
“I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).
In other words, Jesus chose this moment—during a human-established festival—to reveal that He Himself is the true light and the ultimate dedication of God’s presence among His people.
There’s no hint of rebuke or correction from Jesus. Instead, His presence sanctifies the occasion. He takes a man-made tradition that honors God’s faithfulness and fills it with even deeper meaning.
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Why Hanukkah Matters
Hanukkah shows us that God can work through the rhythms His people create to remember Him. It was born out of struggle, not Scripture, yet it focused on gratitude, restoration, and worship. Jesus’ participation affirms that a man-made festival can still point to divine truth when its purpose exalts God rather than self.
In the same way, Christmas—though not commanded—can remind us that God entered our darkness as the true Light of the world (John 8:12). Like Hanukkah’s candles, our celebrations can burn brightly when they focus on the Savior who purifies His temple—our hearts.
Paul echoed this same principle centuries later when he wrote, ‘Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31).
So What Does That Mean for Christmas?
Christmas, like Purim and Hanukkah, is not commanded in Scripture. But that alone doesn’t make it sinful. What matters most is the celebration’s focus. If it becomes about materialism, nostalgia, or competition, we’ve missed the point. But if it’s about worshiping Christ, remembering the miracle of the incarnation, and sharing His love with others, then we’re doing exactly what God desires—honoring His Son with joy and gratitude.
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Where We’re Going Next
If Purim and Hanukkah show that man-made celebrations can glorify God, what about holidays whose elements once had “pagan connections?” Is that a different story altogether? Let’s look honestly at the evidence.
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