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Does the Bible tell us to celebrate Christmas?

F

Fedusenko

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It is well documented that December 25th was a pagan holiday long before Christians honored the Messiah on the same day. With the wobble of the Earth's axis, the winter solstice has changed days from the death of the 'sun of God' on the 23rd which allowed it a day of rest and then a 'birth' on the 25th.

I want to honor God in the way that He has commanded me, not the way man has decided. Remember God rejected Cain's offering because Cain didn't listen to God. Does the bible specifically tell us to celebrate Christmas?
 
No, Christmas also known as Yuletide is the original holiday. I'm not going to treat it as a Christian holiday just because the Catholic Church says I should, they're only doing it because they like to make holidays on Pagan holidays.
 
Fedusenko said:
It is well documented that December 25th was a pagan holiday long before Christians honored the Messiah on the same day. With the wobble of the Earth's axis, the winter solstice has changed days from the death of the 'sun of God' on the 23rd which allowed it a day of rest and then a 'birth' on the 25th.

I want to honor God in the way that He has commanded me, not the way man has decided. Remember God rejected Cain's offering because Cain didn't listen to God. Does the bible specifically tell us to celebrate Christmas?
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Yeah. Its in the verse right after the one that specifically tells us to go on internet forums.
 
Hezikiah is full of useful things. Good thing there is a sequel!
 
Doesn't tell us to, nor does it tell us not to...Myself, I love Christmas, not only for the wonderful family time but also because when else during the year do we hear the Gospel proclaimed over and over on TV, the Radio, you name it.

For those who don't want to celebrate the day, there is no reason to...but then again for those who want to celebrate the day, there is no reason not to.

Just let each person be fully convinced in his own mind. :yes
 
Job regularly celebrated his sons's birthdays with lavish feasts and was attributed as a blameless and upright man by God.

There's nothing wrong with setting aside a special day to observe the birth day of our Lord Jesus Christ even if it isn't the actual day of His birth.

Just because we choose to honour the Lord’s birthday on a certain day of tradition which coincides with some pagan culture doesn’t mean we are guilty of defiling the Lord’s name or something. Every single day today is filled with pagan cultures and festivities around the world, with some days having multiple pagan holy festivals , and I’m not just talking about the Hindu calendar !

The incredible virgin birth of Jesus deserves to be honoured and celebrated, never mind that it does not even fall on Dec 25. We celebrate Christmas each year out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by worshipping Him, blessing one another with gifts and especially being conscious of the poor and less fortunate.

As Scripture clearly spell out, whatever day we set aside for the Lord and consider more sacred than another, whoever regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. So whatever we do, we do it all in the name of Jesus, for His glory, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.


Romans 14:5-9
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
 
His birth was foretold and looked forward to for a long time by those who believed the Father. For Christians not to recognize, celebrate and acknowledge the supreme promise kept would surely be a stiff-necked and rebellious act on our part.
That recognition is an essential that we believe Christ was born, a child given, a promise kept. The lights, the gifts and the day are a liberty by which we choose to publicize the event and remind us that His promises are indeed the basis for our hope and our faith.
 
Fedusenko said:
It is well documented that December 25th was a pagan holiday long before Christians honored the Messiah on the same day. With the wobble of the Earth's axis, the winter solstice has changed days from the death of the 'sun of God' on the 23rd which allowed it a day of rest and then a 'birth' on the 25th.

I want to honor God in the way that He has commanded me, not the way man has decided. Remember God rejected Cain's offering because Cain didn't listen to God. Does the bible specifically tell us to celebrate Christmas?
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Yes it is pagan, and the bible does not tell us to celebrate it as Christ's birthday. I keep it only in the sense of family gatherings and whatnot, but all the decorations are pagan, and I don't think of Christ on that day--- rather I celebrate in the similar manner as other secular holidays such as Memorial Day gatherings and 4th of July gatherings as the summer counterpart. On that note, if one wants to celebrate Christ's birth, it would be beneficial to remember it instead when it actually occurred --- probably September (that's what I believe anyway) instead of trying to take over a pagan holiday and make it into Christ's day. That's a form of elbowing in on another's territory.

BTW, the neo-pagan religion of Wicca based on very very old customs "decorate" exactly the same way most Christians do --- Holly, mistletoe, Santa suits, the yule log and candle centerpieces, ornaments and Christmas trees, etc. etc. They sing familiar songs such as "Joy to the World" and "The Holly and the Ivy" singing about the mother and child "goddess and horned one" or the "sun King". Except for a few song word changes, the decorations and songs would make a Christian feel very much at home celebrating with the Wiccans.

Another related holiday (that I don't see why Christians get upset over celebrating in jest) is Halloween. Same source, but that's another a topic for another time. But if one celebrates Christmas, then they have no right to judge Christians who celebrate Halloween. It's all or nothing.
 
I don't mind that the Church "elbowed in on another's territory". And, I think most Christians look at the traditional decorations and gatherings much in the same way you do, like those of Memorial Day and July 4th...I feel the same way about Halloween.

I do most certainly think of Christ on Christmas though. I think it's good to spend a season celebrating the birth of Christ.


BTW, the neo-pagan religion of Wicca based on very very old customs "decorate" exactly the same way most Christians do --- Holly, mistletoe, Santa suits, the yule log and candle centerpieces, ornaments and Christmas trees, etc. etc. They sing familiar songs such as "Joy to the World" and "The Holly and the Ivy" singing about the mother and child "goddess and horned one" or the "sun King". Except for a few song word changes, the decorations and songs would make a Christian feel very much at home celebrating with the Wiccans.
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Here's the thing about the neo-pagans...they don't really know exactly how, why, and in what manner their forefathers worshiped. There is very little actual history (and by history, I mean documentation written by early Druids and witches) on how the pagans of North-Western Europe worshiped or even what they worshiped. There was no "Wica" religion in Europe in earlier times...Wica is a 20th Century religion that drags in bits and pieces of traditions and folklore.

So, because Wica itself is derivative it's no surprise to me that they also would use the same traditional decorations (no doubt with solemn and wholly spurious meanings for them) as well as changing the words to Christian hymns to celebrate their equally spurious gods and goddesses.
 
Tina said:
Job regularly celebrated his sons's birthdays with lavish feasts and was attributed as a blameless and upright man by God.
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Job? Is this the same Job in the story Sodom and Gomorrah? The man who was perfectly happy to discard his virgin daughter and his wife to a marauding rape gang.

Or is this a different Job?

"blameless and upright", Would not be my choice of words for a man like that.
 
I do not disagree with a celebration of the Messiah, but I do have issue with associating Him with false god worship. Take the Christmas Tree for example. Forget Ashroth Poles, Isaiah and Jeremiah; those arguments brush too much uncertainty. Lets look at the history of the festive tree and see if it fits with Christian ideology.

Encyclopedia Britannica
Christmas tree, an evergreen tree, often a pine, balsam, or fir, decorated with lights and ornaments as a part of Christmas festivities. The use of evergreen trees, wreaths, and garlands to symbolize eternal life was a custom of the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and Hebrews. Tree worship was common among the pagan Europeans and survived their conversion to Christianity in the Scandinavian customs of decorating the house and barn with evergreens at the New Year to scare away the devil and of setting up a tree for the birds during Christmastime; it survived further in the custom, also observed in Germany, of placing a Yule tree at an entrance or inside the house during the midwinter holidays.
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Note how it survived Christian conversion i.e. its orgin is not Christian.

Below is are two excerpts from wisegeeks.com about the early days of the Christian church to fairly recent times and the first known 'christmas tree'.

In the early days of the Christian Church, and even up until the 19th century, the use of evergreen decorations and trees during Christmas was discouraged or prohibited because of its Pagan associations. Although many other elements of pre-Christian winter holidays such as the Roman Saturnalia were retained in Christmas celebrations, evergreen decorations were commonly condemned. Ironically, some people now object to the public display of a Christmas tree because of the Christian symbolism it has relatively recently come to represent.
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The Christmas tree is a fairly foreign practice in Christianity till relative recent history.

The first incarnation of the Christmas tree, as we now know it, occurred in 16th century Germany, where it was used to celebrate a 24 December holiday called "The Feast of Adam and Eve." These trees were called "paradise trees" and thought to be related to the Tree of Knowledge discussed in the book of Genesis. German immigrants brought the tree to America in the 17th century, and it became accepted as a Christmas decoration throughout the Western world only around 1850. President Franklin Pierce is credited with bringing the first Christmas tree into the White House around this time, and President Calvin Coolidge founded the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which takes place on the White House lawn, in 1923.
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Note how it is believed to be the tree of knowledge, the tree condemned by Yahweh to not be touched or tasted. There is much talk about the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge being reference to Jesus and Satan. I would love to be pointed towards any of these topics on this website.

Below is a bit about why the evergreen is used according to religioustolerance.org.
Many Pagan cultures used to cut boughs of evergreen trees in December, move them into the home or temple, and decorate them. 7 Modern-day Pagans still do. This was to recognize the winter solstice -- the time of the year that had the shortest daylight hours, and longest night of the year. This occurs annually sometime between DEC-20 to 23; most often, it is DEC-21. As the solstice approached, they noticed that the days were gradually getting shorter; many feared that the sun would eventually disappear forever, and everyone would freeze. But, even though deciduous trees, bushes, and crops died or hibernated for the winter, the evergreen trees remained green. They seemed to have magical powers that enabled them to withstand the rigors of winter.
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Here is an article much to long to quote, but a worthwhile read from History.com

This is obviously just one tradition of Christmas. I think the date of Christmas should also be scrutinized. It is very pecilular that we celebrate our Lord on the same day that others celebrate the birth of their Sun God especially when we know it didn't happen then.
 
Fedusenko said:
It is well documented that December 25th was a pagan holiday long before Christians honored the Messiah on the same day. With the wobble of the Earth's axis, the winter solstice has changed days from the death of the 'sun of God' on the 23rd which allowed it a day of rest and then a 'birth' on the 25th.

I want to honor God in the way that He has commanded me, not the way man has decided. Remember God rejected Cain's offering because Cain didn't listen to God. Does the bible specifically tell us to celebrate Christmas?
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I am not aware of anything in the Bible that states we should celebrate Christmas, nor do I think anyone should be required to. However, I am reminded of this:

[35] And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their garments on the colt they set Jesus upon it.
[36] And as he rode along, they spread their garments on the road.
[37] As he was now drawing near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
[38] saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
[39] And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."
[40] He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." Luke 19:35-40 RSV
 
Luke 19:40 and questioning Christmas are not the same. I am all for celebrating the birth of the Messiah, but without mixing that celebration with sinful practices. Being mindful of how we honor Him is not hushing praises. I hope you were not comparing me to the Pharisees.
 
Fedusenko said:
Luke 19:40 and questioning Christmas are not the same. I am all for celebrating the birth of the Messiah, but without mixing that celebration with sinful practices. Being mindful of how we honor Him is not hushing praises. I hope you were not comparing me to the Pharisees.
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I misunderstood your intentions.
 
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