SHOULD CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

The following is text (boldface mine) from a website, gotquestions.org where readers submit questions (usually of a Christian nature) to “someone” who theoretically has done the homework for you, and proceeds to answer the question. I don’t know when the question was asked or by whom, as there is no reference given…

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Question: "Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?"

Answer: The debate about whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries. There are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue, each with multiple reasons why or why not Christmas should be celebrated in Christian homes. But what does the Bible say? Does the Bible give clear direction as to whether Christmas is a holiday to be celebrated by Christians? 

First, let’s look at the reasons why some Christians do not celebrate Christmas. One argument against Christmas is that the traditions surrounding the holiday have origins in paganism. Searching for reliable information on this topic is difficult because the origins of many of our traditions are so obscure that sources often contradict one another. Bells, candles, holly, and yuletide decorations are mentioned in the history of pagan worship, but the use of such in one’s home certainly does not indicate a return to paganism. While there are definitely pagan roots to some traditions, there are many more traditions associated with the true meaning of Christmas—the birth of the Savior of the world in Bethlehem. Bells are played to ring out the joyous news, candles are lit to remind us that Christ is the Light of the world (John 1:4-9), a star is placed on the top of a Christmas tree to remember the Star of Bethlehem, and gifts are exchanged to remind us of the gifts of the Magi to Jesus, the greatest gift of God to mankind.

Another argument against Christmas, especially having a Christmas tree, is that the Bible forbids bringing trees into our homes and decorating them. The passage often cited is Jeremiah 10:1-16, but this passage refers to cutting down trees, chiseling the wood to make an idol, and then decorating the idol with silver and gold for the purpose of bowing down before it to worship it (see also Isaiah 44:9-18). The passage in Jeremiah cannot be taken out of its context and used to make a legitimate argument against Christmas trees.

Christians who choose to ignore Christmas point to the fact that the Bible doesn’t give us the date of Christ’s birth, which is certainly true. December 25 may not be even close to the time Jesus was born, and arguments on both sides are legion, some relating to climate in Israel, the practices of shepherds in winter, and the dates of Roman census-taking. None of these points are without a certain amount of conjecture, which brings us back to the fact that the Bible doesn’t tell us when Jesus was born. Some see this as proof positive that God didn’t want us to celebrate the birth, while others see the Bible’s silence on the issue as tacit approval. 

Some Christians say that since the world celebrates Christmas—although it is becoming more and more politically correct to refer to it as “the holidays”—Christians should avoid it. But that is the same argument made by false religions that deny Christ altogether, as well as cults such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses who deny His deity. Those Christians who do celebrate Christmas often see the occasion as an opportunity to proclaim Christ as “the reason for the season” among the nations and to those trapped in false religions. 

As we have seen, there is no legitimate scriptural reason not to celebrate Christmas. At the same time, there is no biblical mandate to celebrate it, either. In the end, of course, whether or not to celebrate Christmas is a personal decision. Whatever Christians decide to do regarding Christmas, their views should not be used as a club with which to beat down or denigrate those with opposing views, nor should either view be used as a badge of honor inducing pride over celebrating or not celebrating. As in all things, we seek wisdom from Him who gives it liberally to all who ask (James 1:5) and accept one another in Christian love and grace, regardless of our views on Christmas. ~ gotquestions.org

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Well… where does one begin with such an ecumenical, politically correct, worldly non-answer from an ecumenical, politically correct, worldly, religious organization? Let’s go back to the beginning…

Should a Christian celebrate Christmas? How is “celebrate” defined?

Celebrate is defined by Merriam-Webster:

Simple Definition of celebrate

1. to do something special or enjoyable for an important event, occasion, holiday, etc.

2. to praise (someone or something) : to say that (someone or something) is great or important

3. to perform (a religious ceremony)

Full Definition of celebrate

transitive verb

1. to perform (a sacrament or solemn ceremony) publicly and with appropriate rites

2a.  to honor (as a holiday) especially by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business

b. to mark (as an anniversary) by festivities or other deviation from routine

3. to hold up or play up for public notice

intransitive verb

1. to observe a holiday, perform a religious ceremony, or take part in a festival

2. to observe a notable occasion with festivities

So the answer is NO! Right? Right! Christmas is not only a SECULAR holiday, but it has such associations and “holdovers” to pagan rituals.

I must interject here… the “contemporary” (I hate that word… and “archaic” too) definition of pagan is, “a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.” A very avant-garde definition by a Megan Bennett, of no particular re-known, is given as… “a somewhat vague term derived from the Latin word paganus. Pagan is a term which refers to a variety of different religions ranging from Wicca, to that of ancient Egypt and even Hinduism, among many others. Some Pagans are of no specific religion, but rather are eclectic. In general Pagan religions have more than one deity, or many gods which are aspects of one (an idea similar to that of the Christian trinity). Another quite common feature of Pagan religions is that they tend to be nature oriented. Pagan can also be used as a derogatory word for any non-Judeo/Christian/Islamic religion.”

Unbelievable! Pagan religions are similar to the Christian religion??? Wow, satan has had great successes. We live in a very hedonistic, ungodly world. Such are the dangers of “associating” with religions. 

But the REAL definition of "pagan" is UNGODLY... false gods notwithstanding. So the answer is definitely NO, for all the reasons that can be researched, especially because of the institution of saturnalia by the pronouncement of the catholic religion as being Christian.

But I did want to comment on the gotquestions.org article.

Right away, the “teacher?” says “there are equally sincere and committed Christians on both sides of the issue.” NO THERE ARE NOT!!! There ARE sincere and committed Christians who know the truth of the matter, and then there are those that are in error. It’s as simple as that. We cannot both be correct on both sides of the aisle, as it were. By making such a statement, he/she declares both sides valid and makes this a non-issue. Fence-sitting, complacency, lukewarm… the bane (poison which causes death) of sincerity and truth.

Ah… but what does THE BIBLE say? If one goes to a boozer, party animal and asks them, “Is drinking bad for you?” they will say, “No, it’s fine.” Because they do not know any better or worse, they do not WANT to know any better. But what does the Bible say.

There are issues in life where someone else can dictate an absolute to you and there is no argument. What do I mean? Well, for example, the Bible says, “It is appointed onto man once to die” Hebrews 9:27a. That is an absolute... all die… we SEE death. The second half of that verse says, “but after that the judgment.” which is also an absolute, but many people refuse to accept that because we can’t see it… in THIS life. Foolish, foolish. Then there are those absolutes that are clear by what the Bible does NOT say, but which may be known by way of revelation to those who sincerely study the Word. To celebrate or not celebrate Christmas is one of those areas, as is keeping any holiday, in general; eating or not eating certain meats, or other dietary habits; how to dress, etc.

There is an inherent idolatry in celebrating a “baby” Jesus. The same goes for santa claus, christmas trees, etc.; even apart from the very godless history of saturnalia/christmas. It is a roman perversion. Look it up.

So this writer above says, “One argument against Christmas is that the traditions surrounding the holiday have origins in paganism.” Bingo… enough said, stop there, the answer is NO! But what does the writer say? “Reliable information on this topic is difficult to find because of the obscurity of the origins of traditions.” Really? So we can know history going back billions of years (OK, thousands) but we cannot be sure of the origin of christmas… as in Christ’s Mass, instituted by the ROMAN catholic religion to replace saturnalia. We can’t know that??? Of course we can. Again… you don’t WANT to know that.

The writer goes on to say, “the true meaning of Christmas—the birth of the Savior.” Again… another reason NOT to participate in this perversion. It was the re-birth of the sun-god Sol Invictus, dies natalis solis invicti (the "Birthday of the Unconquered Sun) and this celebration by the mithras, that was the celebration of saturnalia. Constantine, the first “Christian” emperor who made Christianity the religion of the empire, was brought up in the sol invicta cult. So you see, worshipping a baby Jesus is wrong on many levels. The BIRTH of Jesus has nothing to do with our salvation. It is His death and RESURRECTION that we are to remember. It is His resurrection that proves everything about Him. We are to worship Jesus and not a birth, or a baby, or a holiday.

So then the writer continues with, “Christians who choose to ignore Christmas point to the fact that the Bible doesn’t give us the date of Christ’s birth, which is certainly true. December 25 may not be even close to the time Jesus was born.” Bingo AGAIN! Two reasons which the writer offers as being reasons to NOT celebrate the worldly christmas, but the writer just won’t commit to the right thing to do… no doubt because it offends. And that’s our problem isn't it. We ENJOY Christmas; we enjoy partying, we enjoy giving and getting gifts, and eating, etc., because we are screwed-up, immature, carnal Christians, and except for the undeserving Grace of God in His Son Jesus the Christ, we would ALL be joining satan in hell.

The writer concludes with, “As we have seen, there is no legitimate scriptural reason not to celebrate Christmas. At the same time, there is no biblical mandate to celebrate it, either.” 

We have seen nothing of the kind! What we see is you telling us to “Agree to Disagree.” That is one of the lamest, weakest, spineless phrases I ever hear. I DO NOT agree to disagree. We disagree because one of us is WRONG. That is division. UNACCEPTABLE.

Should a Christian celebrate christmas? NO!

Should a Christian celebrate Christ? YES!

What does the Bible say…indeed.