Torah Portion MIKETZ – Beresheet (Genesis) 41:1-44:17 Haftarah: Zechariah 2:14-4:7
“You are not to plant for yourself an Asherah pole of any kind of wood beside the altar of Adonai your God that you make for yourself. Nor are you to set up a pillar for yourself—Adonai your God hates this.” Deuteronomy 16:21-22 TLV
Shabbat Shalom, dearly beloved!
This is a continuation from Totem Poles, Christmas Trees, and Obelisks Part 1.
An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the Ugaritic mother goddess Asherah, consort of El. The relationship between literary references to Asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar figurines has engendered a literature of debate. (Wikipedia)
The Origin of the Christmas Tree Tradition
Ashera Worship from History.com:
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th century when devout Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles, if wood was scarce. It is a widely held belief that Martin Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. Walking toward his home one winter evening, composing a sermon, he was awed by the brilliance of stars twinkling amidst evergreens. To recapture the scene for his family, he erected a tree in the main room and wired its branches with lighted candles. (History.com)
Does it please Yah?
“Hear the word that Adonai speaks to you, house of Israel, thus says Adonai: “Do not learn the way of the nations or be frightened by signs of the heavens—though the nations are terrified by them.” Jeremiah 10:1-2 TLV
“The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel. They decorate it with silver and gold, and fasten it with hammer and nails so it won’t totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber garden, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk! Do not fear them for they can do no harm —nor do any good.” Jeremiah 10:3-5 TLV
The history of Christmas trees goes back to the symbolic use of evergreens in ancient Egypt and Rome and continues with the German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees first brought to America in the 1800s. Discover the history of the Christmas tree, from the earliest winter solstice celebrations to Queen Victoria’s decorating habits and the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center tree in New York City. (History.com)
“There is none like You, Adonai! You are great and great is Your Name in power. Who should not fear You, Ruler of the nations? For it is your due! For among all the wise of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. They are totally stupid and foolish. Discipline is useless—it’s wood! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz. The work of the craftsman and of the goldsmith’s hands is clothed in blue and purple— all the work of skillful men. But Adonai Elohim is truth. He is the living God and eternal King. At His wrath the earthquakes and the nations cannot endure His indignation. Thus you will say to them: “The gods—which did not make the heavens and the earth—will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” He made the earth by His power, established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out heaven by His understanding.” Jeremiah 10:6-12 TLV
Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries, it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness.
Did you know? Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska.
In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god, and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong, and summer would return.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Ra, who had the head of a hawk and wore the sun as a blazing disk in his crown. At the solstice, when Ra began to recover from his illness, the Egyptians filled their homes with green palm rushes, which symbolized for them the triumph of life over death.
Early Romans marked the solstice with a feast called Saturnalia in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Romans knew that the solstice meant that soon, farms and orchards would be green and fruitful. To mark the occasion, they decorated their homes and temples with evergreen boughs.
In Northern Europe, the mysterious Druids, the priests of the ancient Celts, also decorated their temples with evergreen boughs as a symbol of everlasting life. The fierce Vikings in Scandinavia thought that evergreens were the special plant of the sun god, Balder. History.com
The customs of the peoples are useless: it is just a tree cut from the forest, the work of the hands of a craftsman with a chisel. They decorate it with silver and gold, and fasten it with hammer and nails so it won’t totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber garden, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk! Do not fear them for they can do no harm —nor do any good.” Jeremiah 10:3-5 TLV
Who Brought Christmas Trees to America?
Most 19th-century Americans found Christmas trees an oddity. The first record of one being on display was in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. The Pennsylvania German settlements had community trees as early as 1747. But, as late as the 1840s, Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and not accepted by most Americans.
It is not surprising that, like many other festive Christmas customs, the tree was adopted so late 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.
By the 1890s, Christmas ornaments were arriving from Germany, and Christmas tree popularity was on the rise around the U.S. It was noted that Europeans used small trees about four feet in height, while Americans liked their Christmas trees to reach from floor to ceiling.
The early 20th century saw Americans decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while the German-American sect continued to use apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Popcorn joined in after being dyed bright colors and interlaced with berries and nuts. Electricity brought about Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days on end. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country, and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition. History.com
Today, the Christmas tree has become a decoration during the Christmas season in many non-Christian cultures like Japan and China. Since it’s a pagan tradition, pagan cultures embrace it gladly, but this does not open the door for the Gospel or to embrace the Jewish Messiah and the Word of God.
What should we ask ourselves then?
- The question is: would Yeshua celebrate Christmas, which is a revised version of the worship of the sun god during the feast of Saturnalia? Was the Jewish Messiah born during this pagan celebration?
- Would He sanction the putting up of Christmas trees, a marked pagan custom of sun worship, if His Father said not to do it in Jeremiah 10?
- Will the Christmas celebrations survive the wrath of Yah (God), and will they continue to be celebrated during the Millennial Reign of the Messiah when He returns to Jerusalem? (Isaiah 66:16-17, 23 & Zechariah 14:16-17)
- Is Christmas a Kingdom Biblical feast, or is it a religious feast with pagan customs?
- Does it please the Father that we continue replacing the Biblical feast with feasts borrowed from the pagan world?
- Do nice family memories from the past and emotional attachment justify our continuation of pagan borrowed feasts and customs that mask the Jewish identity of the Messiah and mix our worship with idolatry?
- Is the God of Israel a big Santa Claus figure disbursing Christmas gifts, or is Santa Claus a personification of ancient Norse gods like Thor?
- The Feast of Hanukkah that Yeshua attended (in John 10) is the Feast of Rededication of the Holy Temple of YHVH, purifying it from all pagan influence and worship. Could it be that He wants us to do a massive Hanukkah Rededication of His Bride to holy, biblical worship instead of all the pagan feasts and traditions inherited by His Bride?
I believe that as long as we continue trading Biblical Holy Worship for pagan inherited worship that provokes emotions, we are trading His Holiness, Truth, and Glory for man-made traditions inspired by idolatry. This tradeoff is very costly! It affects His Bride adversely, diminishing her purity, authority, and glory.
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