Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
Today’s
Question: Being that the season of Christmas is upon us, we as
Christians have come to celebrate the reason for the season. My brother and I
have been debating this issue lately. Even though he is Christian also, he is
hard to convince that we should celebrate the birth of Christ, not the
commercialism that the world imposes on us. He still maintains that through his
research and studying on the issue of Christmas, that the pagans around Jesus’
time celebrated the giving to a "Sun God" of some kind on the same day that we
celebrate Christmas. I don’t know where he got his sources on that, but of
course I’ve vehemently opposed the notion, and had to remind him that we don’t
know the actual time of year of Jesus’ birth, but we as Christians have come to
honor it on December 25.
Is there any specific references that I can direct him to within the Bible
that will alleviate his skepticism?
Jeff Eisert
jeffeisert19@hotmail.com
Bible Answer: I cannot promise that anything I say will
change your brother’s view. I really do not think this is an important matter.
If he does not want to celebrate Christmas, then he should not celebrate it. As
for my church, family and me we love celebrating it and will continue to do so.
It has been a time where people who would not normally go to church will attend.
Anything to get people to go to church is a good thing.
Concerning Christmas not being in the Bible, that is true as far as the name
"Christmas" which means "Christ-Mass". The name is not in the Scriptures but the
event that the name represents is definitely in the Scriptures. The story of the
birth of Christ and the circumstances surrounding it is very much emphasized in
the Bible. Mathew and Luke both go into detail describing Christ birth,
including the shepherds and eventually the wise men giving gifts to Christ. That
is all in the Bible. Without His birth, there is no salvation.
Someone might argue that since we are not commanded to celebrate Christmas we
should ignore it. Well, we are not commanded to celebrate the resurrection as a
holiday either, so does your brother want to give up that holiday simply because
the name "Easter" is of pagan origin? He needs to forget the name or the source
of the name. Many names and words have pagan origins (see my article on
Nike Man as an example.), but we do not give up using
those words or names. We would not have a language without the use of pagan
words and names.
Someone may argue against Christmas that it is a non-biblical holiday and
since Christmas in not celebrated in the Bible, we should not celebrate it,
either. First of all, the birth of Christ is biblical, so you cannot make a case
by calling Christmas non-biblical, but I suppose you can say that
Christmas is extra-biblical. That is, there is nothing in the Bible
against it, and there are things in the holiday that is based on the Bible, but
there is no command to celebrate the birth of Christ, so it is an extra-biblical
holiday.
Here is how I approach this argument: Jesus Himself celebrated an
extra-biblical holiday that corresponds to Christmas. People are usually
surprised to find this out. Yes, Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, and Hanukkah is not
in the Old Testament.
Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus
was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. (John 10:22-23)
There is no Old Testament Feast of Dedication. There are several feasts
mentioned in the Bible, but not Dedication. What feast is Dedication? That is
Hanukkah. Hanukkah is a celebration of the victory of the Maccabees and the
rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. It also commemorates the miracle of oil
that burned for 8 days. This event took place after the last Old Testament
prophet had written the scriptures. The scriptures were closed before this
event, and thus, this Feast is extra-biblical. And Jesus was in the temple area
where the feast was celebrated. He participated in Hanukkah.
Today, Christmas is celebrated next to Hanukkah. So the question you can
propose to your brother who refuses to celebrate Christmas is this: If Jesus
celebrated a holiday that was not in the Bible, why can’t you enjoy Christmas as
well and give gifts just as the Jews today give many gifts during Hanukkah?
Your brother mentioned that giving gifts was based on giving to the
"Sun-God". Whether or not that is true can be debated, but I have always felt
that giving gifts was based on the wise men giving gifts to Christ. Even if it
were true that Christmas came out of the pagan practices of giving to the
"Sun-God", the truth is the "Son-of-God" is worthy of greater gifts, and giving
gifts is simply a loving way of showing your appreciation to others you love.
Sure, many people get in the commercial spirit than the true spirit, but that is
no reason to get rid of Christmas or to avoid the holiday.
Your brother did not mention it, but others have complained that Christmas is
really pagan because the Christmas tree is pagan. I’ve heard people say that
Jeremiah 10:3-5 is a reference to the Christmas tree:
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the
forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver
and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a
scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried
because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they
do any good."
These people argue that the tree is adorned with silver and gold, a supposed
reference to tinsel around a tree. But look carefully at the passage and it will
be clear that Jeremiah referred to an idol made out of the tree. A craftsman
shaped the tree out of the forest with a chisel. Who has ever seen a
craftsman use a chisel to shape a tree into a Christmas tree? Of course not.
This is a reference to craftsmen making idols that resembled man and animals,
like a scarecrow. Yet Jeremiah says, "They cannot speak and walk."
So obviously this is not a Christmas tree, for Christmas trees do not have
mouths and legs.
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