Jeremiah 10: 1-5
People of Israel, listen to the message that the Lord has for you. He says, “Do not follow the ways of other nations; do not be disturbed by unusual sights in the sky, even though other nations are terrified. The religion of these people is worthless. A tree is cut down in the forest; it is carved by the tools of the woodworker and decorated with silver and gold. It is fastened down with nails to keep it from falling over. Such idols are like scarecrows in a field of melons; they cannot speak; they have to be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them: they can cause you no harm, and they can do you no good.”
From Wikipedia:
This is interpreted by some fundamentalist Christians as referring to a Christmas tree, and that therefore the Bible would explicitly forbid the practice. However, the more common interpretation is that the passage refers to idol worship, and it is the practice of making an object out of wood, silver, and gold, and then worshiping that idol, which is pagan. Others feel that since “Christmas Trees” are not biblically ordained, they should not be used. Such individuals and Christian denominations are unlikely to celebrate Christmas at all, for the same reason.
Martin Collins from Bibletools.com believes that the origin of the Christmas tree is tied to the ancient myth of Gilgamesh and Horus, which they associate with character Nimrod in the Bible. Interestingly, that association places the origins of the Christmas tree into a celebration of Nimrod as the “Son of Heaven.” By associating this symbol with Jesus, many Christians are replacing that pagan symbolism with a Christian one by celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25 instead of the birthday of Nimrod.
Some churches however use Christmas trees as decoration at Christmas time. Others use the same stripped Christmas tree as a Christian cross at Easter. Both Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:2 use trees as a symbol of new fruitful life, compared to the Tree of life denied to Adam in Genesis 3:22-23. Paul makes the link between Adam and Christ clear in Romans chapter 5:
Adam is a type of the one who was to come. (v. 14)
In the same way the Christmas tree can be seen as mirroring the tree of life, a symbol or type of the Crucifix which brings redemption.
