Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
For many people Christmas is the most important social event of the year.
They spend lots of time, energy and money on their preparations for the festive
season. At no other time of the year are there so many parties, dinners and
social events. Family visits are arranged and the children look forward to
it with great anticipation. Christmas images abound: snowy, Victorian scenes,
camels crossing deserts and the inevitable Father Christmas. With its colour,
warmth and cheer Christmas is, for many, the high point of the festive calendar.
Christmas, of course, has a religious dimension. Amidst all the tinsel, shopping
trips and coloured lights, is the idea that the birth of Jesus is being celebrated.
Christmas carols sound out on street corners and in department stores. Images
of mother and child, angels, shepherds and stable scenes add to the displays
in shops and churches. Many go to church or sing carols. All this contributes
to the unmistakable and unique atmosphere at Christmas time. Because of its
cultural importance and the assumption that our country is largely a Christian
country, the thought of a Christian not celebrating Christmas may seem strange.
But there are firm reasons why Christians who take a serious interest in the
Bible withdraw from the festive season entirely. The risk of being thought
of as unsociable or overly strict is outweighed in their consciences by a number
of facts about Christmas and their understanding of the teaching of the Bible.
The Origins of Christmas
Many people are aware that the origins of Christmas lie in the pre-Christian
pagan observance of the winter solstice. Neither: Christ, nor the apostles,
nor any of the early Christians celebrated anything that could be described
as Christmas. It was: only in the 4th century AD that the Church of Rome
introduced the idea of a mid-winter ceremony, the Christ-Mass, as a way of
making Christianity more attractive, to pagans. The retention of Christmas
in the Protestant Church depended upon the extent to which the principles
and practises of Rome were deemed acceptable. Where, these were repudiated
as unbiblical, Christmas was also repudiated. So that until recently, the
recognition of Christmas was unheard of in many churches
The Lies of Christmas
The actual date of Christ's birth is disputed. It is wrong, therefore, to invent
a date. Christ never intended the wondrous event of his birth to be associated
with pagan rituals or transformed into an annual festivity. As with the date
of the Saviour's birth, much of what people associate with Christmas is simply
untrue. Christianity, however, is concerned with the truth above everything
else. The Bible is the true Word of God. Jesus said: "I am the way,
the truth and the life." (1) There
is simply no place in the faith and life of a Christian for deliberate falsehood.
He is forbidden by the Ten Commandments from lying (2) and
therefore cannot go along with lies in any shape or form. He must not pretend
that 25th December is Jesus' birthday. He may not sing the carol which says
that Christ was born on Christmas Day. He does not accept the myth of Santa
Claus. The Bible identifies the devil as a liar (3) and
therefore the Christian can have nothing to do with whatever he knows to
be a lie, however "harmless" others might consider it to be.
True Christian Worship
The Christian is concerned with how he worships God. His guide in this matter
is the Bible. The Scriptures state that God is to be worshipped in spirit
and in truth. (4) No place is to be given
to images or idols or anything that could be mistaken for them (pictures
of Mary, Jesus, angels, etc.). The second commandment begins: "Thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is
in heaven above" (5) . The nativity scenes
that abound in homes, schools and even churches, are a flagrant breach of
this commandment. The all too common depiction of the Son of God in the form
of a plastic doll is therefore nothing short of blasphemous.
God's Holy Day
While many see Christmas as a holy day it is not seen as such by God. The day
appointed by God to be kept holy is the first day of the week, the Christian
Sabbath. This is the day He has commanded all people to keep holy and to
rest from worldly work and recreations. (6) The
Lord Jesus Christ said that the Sabbath was made for man,(7) which
means that in appointing one day in seven to be a day of rest and worship,
God had the well-being of people at heart. The Christian Sabbath or Lord's
Day is also given to us to focus on the great theme of redemption, central
to which is Christ's resurrection on the first day of the week. (8)
The True Christ
Jesus Christ is described in the Scriptures as "a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief". (9) He was the
Son of Man who had nowhere to lay his head. (10) He
was nailed to a cross to die for the sins and iniquities of others. The quasi-religious
aspects of Christmas are things which only take people further away from the
truth of the gospel which Jesus came to declare. Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners.(11) Rather than join
with the world in Christmas pleasures, true followers of Christ should listen
to His voice, as found in the Bible, and seek to serve Him in the Ways that
He prescribes there.
Bible References:
1. John 14:6
2. Exodus 20:16
3. John 8:44
4. John 4:24
5. Exodus 20:4
6. Exodus 20:8
7. Mark 2:27
8. Luke 24:1/Acts 20:7
9. Isaiah 53:3
10. Luke 9:58
11. 1 Timothy 1:15
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