IN PROGRESS]
I’m sure this will be a difficult discussion for many. It has been a difficult one for my wife and I for years and continues to be so. I would like to use this forum to invite others to the discussion as well.
I’ll start off with some transparency. My wife and I currently do not celebrate Christmas. We used to– and we loved it. I grew up wishing I had more Christmas tradition in my upbringing. I always wanted the Christmas tree, with the presents underneath. I wanted the stockings over a fireplace. I wanted the lights and the warm home sheltering me from the cold, possibly snow-filled streets outside. I was never a fan of Santa, and I want you to know this is not about Santa. As a parent, it hurts to think of depriving my child of a childhood with Christmas in it. However, I can’t celebrate Christmas with a clean conscience. I would like to, but not if I can’t do it with peace in my heart about it being the right decision.
I’ve had many discussions with fellow believers about it, and I’ve heard what seems like all the common arguments. I’ll provide some of them below:
- who cares whether it is or isn’t the date of Jesus’ real birthday, the point is that we are celebrating His birth.
- we’re not practicing witchcraft, it’s just decorations
- we’re not worshiping Christmas, or any demons/false gods
- it’s an opportunity for evangelism– this day and Easter are 2 days of the year we have a good open door to talking to people about Jesus
- it’s a motivator for kids to behave and have something to look forward to
I will provide resources so we can discuss the challenges we face in trying to see whether or not celebrating Christmas honors God– or even whether or not it actually offends Him. Before even looking at the arguments and evidence for either side of this discussion, we need to ask ourselves a question: what is our real motive for the side we begin from in this discussion? Is our emotional investment influencing our stance? Are we taking a stance for God’s sake, or our own?
Let’s look at the different elements of Christmas. Which ones are said to come from pagan origin?
Overall
For: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEu7EYpBlak
Against: https://youtu.be/Yei17uJeKuw
Christmas, Brumalia & Saturnalia
[WIKI] Pope Julius I Christmas Decree
Christmas Tree
Yule Log
Star Tree Topper
Presents
Bonus: Santa Claus
Don’t lie to your kids about Santa and the Easter Bunny. Actually, don’t lie to them period. BUT– it’s even worse when you are lying to them during a holiday that is supposed to be about Jesus. If you lied to them about Santa and the Easter Bunny, why would they believe you about Jesus?
—
Info to be sorted and investigated:
“quote from the renowned Shaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: ‘How much the date of the festival depended upon the pagan Brumalia [The December 25 celebration], following the Saturnalia [an eight-day December 17-24 festival preceding it], and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’ . . . cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence . . . The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.’–“
Shaff Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge