Does Jeremiah 10:3-4 Speak of A Christmas Tree?

I will examine this controversial text and review the majority of the chapter, concerning the issue, verse by verse. There are some who look at verses three and four and conclude this condemns a Christmas tree as a pagan ritual. I remind you that, Brother Branham never refers to this verse when speaking of a Christmas tree.

Jeremiah 10:1-17:

“¹ Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: ² Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. ³ For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. ⁴ They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

These verses denote, cutting a tree down and beautifying it with silver and gold. These verses are used to compare the place where we “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly;” but the word “deck” is not limited to Christmas: it simply means to decorate. So, they decorate the tree with silver and gold. This does not explain how they do it. We must look further into this chapter to understand the details.

“⁵ They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. ⁶ Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.”

This clearly speaks of an image that is in some form, and now the prophet compares the images unto God. The images cannot speak and cannot even walk on their own. They have to be carried about. When was the last time you saw a Christmas tree carried about?

“⁷ Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. ⁸ But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. ⁹ Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.”

Here we see that silver and gold is spread into plates and is used to cover the idol that is being spoken of and then the idol is covered with they clothing of royalty. These verses are clearly speaking of idols that are crafted by men and not decorated pine trees.

“¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. ¹¹ Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. ¹² He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. ¹³ When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. ¹⁴ Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. ¹⁵ They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.”

The gods that are being spoken about in this chapter will be destroyed by the voice and power of God. Again, the reference is to a graven image covered by beaten gold and silver.

“¹⁶ The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name. ¹⁷ Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.”

As you can clearly see, this is not speaking of the Christmas tree or some form of pagan worship that was like the Christmas tree. Please do not use this verse as a condemnation of Christmas trees because it has nothing to do with that. Brother Branham does say:

“How I can’t understand where a rabbit has anything to do with the resurrection, see, (no, sir) how a Christmas tree has anything to do with the birth of Christ. It’s pagan, friends. We’ve got off the path somewhere. That’s right.” [1]

We find in our history that the Romans celebrated Saturnalia on the shortest day of the year, December 21st. They used to cut down boughs from evergreen trees, hang them up in their home over their windows and doors. They did not cut down evergreen trees and bring them into their homes. That tradition didn’t start until the 16th Century and was mostly limited to Germany. The Romans decorated trees outside. They hung fertility symbols, stars, moons, suns, baby shapes and herd animal shapes like deer and goats.

At the time of the early church we do not find any type of Christmas celebration which would replace Saturnalia. During the medieval period, Christmas was known as the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ. It was the third most important holiday for the orthodox churches after Easter and the Annunciation. There was fasting during the Advent season. The use of Christmas trees in homes is hard to trace, but during medieval times the trees were not in practice. It wasn’t until the 19th century that they exploded in popularity. After fasting through Advent a feast was held on December 25th and went on through January 6th, 12 days. Another tradition that was held was that children traded places with parents and leaders so that things went upside down so to speak. It is reported a child was bishop for the day and he preached a message that he wanted all his teachers to be hung on the gallows.

It seems that the traditions of Christmas that have gained popularity around the world, in the last 100 years, are a from a combination of feasts and celebrations in the month of December. The Day of Saint Nicolas was celebrated December 6th. He was the patron saint of children and the giving of gifts for children were associated with this holiday. December 24th was Adam and Eve day. This was celebrated in the middle ages by making a pyramid shaped tree to represent the tree of life and they paraded it through the streets. It was a tradition in 15th century Germany to decorate evergreen trees in public during the month of December. From the website, “Why Christmas”:

The first person to bring a Christmas Tree into a house, in the way we know it today, may have been the 16th century German preacher Martin Luther. A story is told that, one night before Christmas, he was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches. It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.

So, he had a pine tree brought into his home and put candles on it to recreate the experience for his children. This began to spread, especially through the upper classes of Germany, eventually leading it the royal court of Queen Victoria, through her German husband, Albert.

Up until that time, the Christmas tree was not accepted in American culture. In an article from the History Channel we find this:

It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted much later in America. To the New England Puritans, Christmas was sacred. The pilgrims’ second governor, William Bradford, wrote that he tried hard to stamp out ‘pagan mockery’ of the observance, penalizing any frivolity. The influential Oliver Cromwell preached against ‘the heathen traditions’ of Christmas carols, decorated trees, and any joyful expression that desecrated ‘that sacred event.’ In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts enacted a law making any observance of December 25 (other than a church service) a penal offense; people were fined for hanging decorations. That stern solemnity continued until the 19th century, when the influx of German and Irish immigrants undermined the Puritan legacy.

In 1846, the popular royals, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, were sketched in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree. Unlike the previous royal family, Victoria was very popular with her subjects, and what was done at court immediately became fashionable—not only in Britain, but with fashion-conscious East Coast American Society. The Christmas tree had arrived.

What now?

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

The Christmas tree cannot be directly traced to pagan origins. Though there was a similar practice of decorating one’s homes with pine branches under pagan worship, the modern Christmas tree has only an indirect connection to it. The Christmas tree seems to have indirect connections to various traditions that arose among medieval Catholics; we can more directly trace its use in the home to the fifth church age messenger, Martin Luther. This was already a cultural symbol in Germany, left outside in public areas: trees were decorated with walnuts and apples. Luther saw this time as the season of the birth of Christ and when walking through the pine forest, seeing the stars, it reminded him of Jesus leaving heaven to be born on earth. Desiring to recreate this for his family, as a reminder of the birth of Christ, he erected a pine tree in his home and put candles on it. Thus, we can trace it’s new and redeemed usage as a Reformation teaching tool.

Nevertheless, we are living in a time when the mass commercialization of Christmas leads us and our children to a version of Christmas that would be quite foreign to our Christian ancestors. It is a danger to “do Christmas” the way the world does Christmas. Instead of making this a time where we build the consumerism of our children, focus on toys, etc., make this season a time of teaching and discussion about Christ: a time of fasting and prayer.

My conclusion regarding the Christmas tree is that it is a matter of conscience. Brother Branham had a Christmas tree in his home until the time of his death. He gave gifts to the children at church. He always preached a message about the birth of Christ during the Christmas season.

Santa Claus is traced to a Catholic holiday, revered by the Dutch, combined with Christmas, and adopted in New York by the Dutch settlement. The Christmas tree was not used at all in medieval times, but around the 15th century was decorated in Germany, then was brought indoors by Martin Luther. It has now evolved into a shopping season of mass commercialism, that only leads to discontent, credit card debt and sorrow. Christ, who is our Life has appeared to reveal himself in this day, let us sincerely pray about how God wants us to worship on Christmas and follow this liberty that we have as Christians.  

“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12

If you are brought under the power of Christmas as the world does it then it is best to avoid Christmas altogether. If it is a season of worship, joy, peace, learning and growing then use these customary, cultural and seasonal decorations as a means to remind our family of the birth of Jesus Christ and that he came to save sinners and redeem a fallen world.

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[1] 53-0403, The Cruelty Of Sin, And The Penalty That It Cost To Rid Sin From Our Lives, Rev. William Marrion Branham