The Seventh-day Adventist Church does not follow the Christian, or church, year of festivals and fasts, and hence does not celebrate Christmas as an ecclesiastical festival. However, it is customary in some SDA congregations to have a special program or special music with a Nativity theme on the Sabbath that falls on or near December 25.
SDA s have ignored Christmas as a church festival because of the absence of any divine command to observe the day. Furthermore, Christ’s birth date is unknown, and December 25 was chosen by the Roman churches late in the fourth century, to coincide with the “birthday of the sun,” the pagan solstice festival. On the other hand, SDA s have utilized the spirit of the Christmas season to direct people to the biblical teachings concerning Christ’s birth and have encouraged the giving of liberal offerings to missionary purposes.
In SDA publications apparently the first mention of Christmas in connection with the story of Christ’s birth is a poem by Jane Gay entitled “A Christmas Lyric,” which appears in the Review and Herald (15:30, Dec. 15, 1859). A few years later, in the same periodical, the following advertisement by J. M. Aldrich, secretary of the SDA Publishing Association, appeared: “CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEARS COMING!—The little folks of course must be remembered on these occasions. This is right. I would suggest, however, that, instead of filling the children’s stockings with candy, sugar-birds, and rubber-dogs, and telling them that that mythical creature—old Santa Claus—came down the chimney or through the keyhole, and paid such respect to their suspended hosiery, you had far better send to this Office and procure for them one or more of the following named, really beautiful, interesting and valuable little books: viz: Bethlehem and Her Children; Morning Star; Sweet Story of Old; Promised One; Joseph and His Brethren; History of Paul; Sketches From Jericho ” ( ibid. 27:8, Dec. 5, 1865).
In the 1870s it appears that it became customary in some SDA churches to have a Christmas tree in church, on which offerings were placed.
In 1879 there was considerable discussion in the Review and Herald with regard to the use of these Christmas trees for raising money for church projects. The following question, answered apparently by James White, sparked the dialogue: “Is it right to have Christmas trees and festivals? Is there any authority in the Bible for so doing?
“Ans. We do not see any necessary connection between Christmas trees and festivals. . . . We can have Christmas trees without . . . [a festival]. Such trees as were provided in Battle Creek and Oakland, and we trust in many other of our churches, last Christmas, to bear our gifts to some important enterprises in the Lord’s cause, we believe are all right. Is there anything in the Bible against so doing?” ( ibid. 53:24, Jan. 16, 1879).
In the discussion that followed, Uriah Smith wrote that he thought that it was all right to celebrate the occasion of Christ’s birth on December 25 without any particular regard for the day ( ibid. 53:28, Jan. 23, 1879). E. Lanphear, apparently a layman, remarked: “It is a question whether Christ is honored by the practice of celebrating the day as people generally are accustomed to celebrate it” ( ibid. 53:43, Feb. 6, 1879). S. N. Haskell took the position that it is all right to celebrate the event of Christ’s birth with a Christmas tree and a religious service ( ibid. 53:64, Feb. 20, 1879). J. P. Logan, apparently a layperson, suggested that it might be better not to have Christmas trees at all, “especially as its disuse would injure no one, while its use does hurt the weak” ( ibid. 53:163, May 22, 1879).
The next December Ellen White recommended various books as Christmas gifts to children in place of “candies and useless toys.” She also pointed out that while many people spend the Christmas season “in frivolity and extravagance, gluttony and display . . . it is our privilege to depart from the customs and practices of this degenerate age” ( ibid. 54:189, Dec. 11, 1879). In regard to the Christmas tree, she made no specific comment on its use in the home, but stated that “there is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen, and placing it in our churches” ( ibid. ). Gifts for the church were to be placed upon its branches.
In 1888 in an announcement of the Week of Prayer, the suggestion was made that on the Sabbath preceding Christmas a meeting should be conducted to lay plans for the Week of Prayer and also for the “Christmas meeting.” “Daily readings” for the Week of Prayer and “Christmas programs” had been sent out to the churches.
In 1890 the Week of Prayer was announced as coming during the Christmas season from December 20 to 27, and the General Conference president reminded SDA s that “it will be a time when the world around us is indulging in much feasting and folly. . . . Let us deny ourselves . . . and bring large contributions to the foreign missions” ( ibid. 67:745, 746, Nov. 26, 1890).
On the matter of gifts, Ellen White said: “It is pleasant to receive a gift, however small, from those we love. It is an assurance that we are not forgotten, and it seems to bind us to them a little closer.
“Brethren and sisters, while you are devising gifts for one another I would remind you of our heavenly Friend, lest you should be unmindful of His claims. . . .
“While urging upon all the duty of first bringing their offerings to God, I would not wholly condemn the practice of making Christmas and New Year’s gifts to our friends. It is right to bestow upon one another tokens of love and remembrance if we do not in this forget God, our best friend. We should make our gifts such as will prove a real benefit to the receiver” ( ibid. 59:788, 789, Dec. 26, 1882).