Can a Christian Celebrate Christmas?

This week in the Vanuatu Times, the headline article was a “Staff Reporter” (unnamed) reporting about a “Strong Christian” (also unnamed) who explained that Christmas was NOT the birthday of Jesus Christ and should not be celebrated. Furthermore, it was mentioned that Christmas was essentially pagan in origin, and listed Easter in the same boat.  Christianity is dominant in Vanuatu so I am sure that anonymity was deemed necessary.  I am not anonymous, my name is Dan Dempsey, and I will help to explain the facts to you about Christmas.

It is interesting that the Jehovah’s Witnesses hold the same opinion but for a different reason: They do not recognize the same Jesus Christ as Christians do and therefore find it, and the cross offensive.  They also ban birthday celebrations as well.  So they must have been most pleased with the article.

The person also added that Christmas was more commercial and few celebrated the true meaning anyway, and that a lot of people simply used the time to get drunk. People also succumb to gift buying out of pressure even though they cannot afford to.  I agree with that and like that person sense how wrong that is.

So When was Jesus Born?

Essentially every bible scholar agrees that December 25th is not the birthday of Jesus.  In fact December 25 or mid Winter is most unlikely.  The best guess is between August to October around 7-4BC.    This lines up with biblical clues, like the Shepherds  were in the fields watching their flocks (Luke 2:8) which is not a mid-winter activity.  At this time of the year they were all tucked away in burial caves which we mistake for stables.  (They didn't build stables).  Can you imagine Mary giving birth in a cave (or stable) if it was full of men and their sheep?  Unlikely, which is why December is unlikely! Some say Jesus was born around March. Historical records point to the Kings and Tetrarchs that were mentioned around at the time.  We can tell from this that he was born around 7-4BC. 

Some use these points to prove he was not born at all, however that argument is weak.  I live in Vanuatu where there are numerous people that have no idea of when they were born or how old they are. (Like biblical times, date was not relevant, but place of birth and parents is.)  Some are my close friends. I can assure you though, that they were born and are real!

Whether Jesus was born on December 25 is irrelevant.  The fact he was born through the virgin (Mary - who did not remain a virgin by the way (Matt 27:56)), in Bethlehem which was a small town just south of Jerusalem at the time (and now a suburb of Jerusalem) is the bit that matters.

In New Zealand we celebrate Queens Birthday on a day that she wasn't born. But on that day we honour the Queen. (Although admittedly most enjoy the day off!).  In the same manner, December the 25th is not the birthday of Jesus but it is the day that we Honour him.  Of course one must not forget that if we are Christians then we honour him 365 days a year in what we do for others and how we uphold God alone as our God.  That, is known by one word - worship.

Do some Christmas traditions have pagan origins?

There are some so called ‘Christmas Traditions” that can be traced back to pagan culture and its celebrations.  For example:

• The Ringing of Bells (pagan winter celebration to ward off evil spirits)
• Lighting Candles (to drive away the forces of cold and darkness - remember that Christmas began in the Northern Hemisphere where it is winter on Dec 25
• Gift Giving (Druid offering to goats)
• Santa (possibly)
• Christmas Trees and Yule Logs
• December 25 occurred during the Festival of Saturnalia (Worship of the God Saturn  -which oddly enough, Saturn can be seen in the evening as the bright star high up in the Western sky here in Vanuatu at present)

Sadly, it is possible to prove some sort of pagan custom or tradition in nearly everything.  Pagans hold hands in circles. Does that mean that a prayer group who hold hands should be stopped?  Wreaths made of flowers and leaves are also pagan practices. So do we stop putting wreaths on the graves of loved ones, or at the foot of memorials on various remembrance days?   Pagans sing and dance, why are these in Church if they are pagan traditions?  You will argue that there are different motives behind each.  That is good! 

Christmas Trees

Some have said that the Christmas tree is pagan.  This goes back to a verse in Jeremiah 10:1-16 that prohibits cutting down trees, decorating them and putting them in homes.   The context of this verse is about making idols.  There is nothing in pagan ritual where physical tree is cut down, pulled into a home and decorated.  But there are rituals where a tree is cut down, worked down to a wooden idol and decorated for worship.  Isaiah 44 says much the same.

Santa

Santa is an interesting character. He is based on Saint Nicholas of Myna, a Roman Catholic cardinal around in the 4th century.  He had a reputation for giving gifts anonymously, out of his sizable inheritance. He did this by throwing bags of money into homes or even down chimneys at night to avoid being spotted.  In fact if that story is true, then we could regard St Nicholas as following the instruction of Jesus:

Some point out that Santa is based on the God Thor who, according to pagan belief, apparently lives at the North Pole and showers gifts down during the Winter Solstice (around December 22 – close to Christmas)

Matt 6:1-2 “Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward.

Santa began as a skinny man wearing a green suit, but the Coca Cola Corporation made him famous as a fat red-suited jolly man.  That picture of Santa has stuck.

The issue I have here is not whether Santa is right or not, but that by telling a child that some magical fat guy in a red suit can sneak into your house and drop off presents makes that child have faith more in Santa than in Jesus. The focus on Jesus takes second stage.  That attitude makes Santa wrong.

The other issue I have is this.  Many families tell their kids that if they are good, Santa knows and will give them a good present.   He does this by travelling to virtually every home in one night.  That makes him all knowing (Omniscient) and almost everywhere (omnipresent).  These two characteristics are reserved for God only.  It is also Santa that seems to determine if the child is worthy of a present.  That makes him Omnipotent (All powerful).  Non-Christian families happily tell this legend and yet frown upon the idea of telling their child about Christ, because in their eyes it is a myth!

Xmas or Christmas?

Some see the removal of Christ’s name as being a conspiracy and a way of appeasing Non-Christians and people from other religions to whom Christ is offensive.  Some even suggest that the X is an occult sign for a pagan god or even of Satan.  However it must also be realized that the X in Xmas can also refer to the Greek name for Christ Χριστός (Christos).  Again, if you are fully convinced that Christmas cannot be Xmas then that’s OK, but if you are fully convinced that X is not Satan, a pagan god or a deliberate attempt to downplay Christ then it’s OK to use X.

I personally prefer Christmas.

What the Bible says

If we believe that Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus then the Bible will be the absolute authority.  The problem is that Christmas is not mentioned in the bible.  Some say this absence proves that God does not condone it.  That is a very weak argument as silence is not evidence.  Often the bible does not directly refer to an event because it is not relevant.  We see this in the New Testament where neither Jesus never said to follow the Sabbath (he didn't even rate it as the top two important commandments (Matt 22:34-40)).  The Apostles also never mentioned the Sabbath.  The reason: The Law of Moses was fulfilled (completed) by Christ’s death, and secondly, the gentiles never observed the Sabbath (actually according to Mosaic Law for a gentile to observe the Sabbath was an abomination to God, even more so if uncircumcised!)

So there is no clear instruction for it.  However the Bible says that “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Rom 14:5. If you are fully convinced that Christmas does not compromise your worship of Jesus as Saviour at this time, then there is not a problem.  If you are fully convinced that it is a sin to observe Christmas due to its pagan origins then that is also not a problem.  There is a problem when anyone tries to judge others for their belief over a matter of little consequence. We see this with Apostle Paul’s words to the Church at Colossi

Col 2:16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days – these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ!

However, I want to enlarge upon one passage in scripture that explains a similar thing.  You will find it in Romans 14:  Beginning in verse 2:

Rom 14:2-3 One person believes in eating everything, but the weak person eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not despise the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not judge the one who eats everything, for God has accepted him.

  

The implication of this verse is that the weak eat vegetables only while the strong eats what he likes.  This does not mean that Vegetarians are weak, It’s their choice. The weakness in this case comes from those believers that refuse to eat meat because often meat in the market was there to sacrifice to pagan Gods in the temples.  The Christian that does not understand that just because it is available to be used as a sacrifice makes the meat evil.  The sacrificing of meat offered to idols is wrong, but not the meat itself.  This same argument is raised by Paul again in 1Cor 10:25 (Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience,)  And later on:

Rom 14:20-21 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. For although all things are clean, it is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you eat.  It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

The point Paul made with eating meat offered to idols; a person strong in their faith has the knowledge that idols are nothing but deaf, blind and dumb trinkets. That by eating the meat does not prove you are worshiping the idol but simply eating clean food. But to a person who is weak in their faith, they may misinterpret such things as condoning idol worship.

The same applies to Christmas.  If you are fully convinced that Christmas is pagan worship then do not observe it.  But if you are fully convinced that it as an opportunity to worship Christ’s birth and to celebrate with the family, to unite the family at this time of the year and to show your appreciation and love to family and friends by gift giving then go for it and freely give!

So I ask you this:  If you ring bells at Christmas.  Do you do so to ward off evil spirits or to do this?: “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” Ps 95:1

Do you refuse to give gifts at Christmas because some pagan Druid gave a gift to his goat centuries earlier, or do you do so because this was a precedent?:

Matt 2:11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

It all comes down to the motive.

REMEMBER THIS AT CHRISTMAS

Remember that Christmas provides a time to reflect on what God has done for us by sending His son Jesus to be born through a Virgin.  He was born to die.  And that death (and subsequent resurrection) meant that you could be saved from sin and come closer to God the Father,   and through him [Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Col 1:20)

We are therefore able to say: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).If you remember this then your motive for observing Christmas is done with a clear conscience. 

Enjoy this time of the year and take time to reflect on what Jesus has done for you.  Celebrate His birth, because he had to be born in order to die so that you could come close to God and receive Eternal Life.

Merry Christmas

 He had to do this

 In order to do this

So that you could do this

And receive this

AMEN!