Christmas

2021-12-26

There is a war concerning Christmas, and it has nothing to do with the so-called war on Christmas that the media talks about annually. The war I speak of is whether Christmas should be celebrated at all. There are Christians that point out aspects of Christmas and talk about its alleged pagan origins.

Christmas has been a journey for me. Let me share some of this journey and from the Scriptures my thoughts on this. I will not engage on debates on the matter, because so many are angry, whether they be celebrators or not.

I always found Christmas an oddity in the many early years of the faith. There is no mandate to celebrate any special days in the New Testament. The feasts of the Old Testament are all fulfilled in Christ. Every day we celebrate the incarnation of Christ, and every day we celebrate His resurrection. Why do we need this?

I think there are some good spiritual things that come from Christmas. First, because Christmas is known throughout our country and is a national holiday, it is a good opportunity to share the Gospel. It becomes a bridge to share Jesus, who is the Christ and the Son of God, not just the baby. The danger of Christmas is that people see the Son of God as the little baby, and never see Him as anything else. But we know that the baby in the manger grew up, bore our sins on the cross, and rose from the dead. He is returning someday. Christmas is that excellent segue to the full truth of Jesus Christ.

Second, Christmas is a time for churches to talk about the doctrines of the incarnation. Of course, this does not need to be taught once a year in December. But the doctrines such as the hypostatic union and the virgin birth are on people’s minds, so it makes it easier to bring it up and teach it.

I don’t believe in coincidences. Yesterday’s (Christmas Day) daily Bible reading fell right on Jeremiah 10, the famous passage that Christmas critics turn to invalidate Christmas trees (especially the first five verses). Of course, you can celebrate Christmas without the use of these gaudy fire hazards, but most people install these emblems in their homes, and many other such things. Many think they are pretty, and for that reason, have them annually. Let me explain something significant about this passage that strikes me.

First, this passage is something that occurs a few times throughout the Old Testament in various forms discussing the making of an idol. It is a stretch to make the jump from this passage to today’s Christmas trees. If you want to preach against the tree, you should probably do a Bible study on groves and green trees, in which I will forbear. Whether you investigate those things or look at this passage, the result is the same. Consider the following:

They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. (Jeremiah 10:5)

Consider this significant part: “Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.” In themselves, they do not bless or curse your house. They do not have magical powers. “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one” (1 Corinthians 8:4). The implication in this Jeremiah 10 passage is that people used those trees or idols in a sense to bless them or that they will somehow bring them good fortune. They would worship them. It was used in an animistic sense. Today, Christmas trees are used for decoration. If this or other passages talks about the Christmas trees, they have lost their context. But even if this is truly about Christmas trees, we can see from this passage that they have no magical powers to do good or evil.

When was the last time you saw people bow down under a Christmas tree, to worship it (Deuteronomy 12:2)? If it truly is a decoration today, then it has no religious significance. Nobody I have met believes it has animistic powers. It is just a gaudy fire hazard that is serving as a decoration.

Now let us talk about celebrating the actual day. Is it wrong to visit family and give gifts any other time of the year? Or is it just because it is done en masse on a certain day, December 25? Many are given off that day; it is a good time to get together with family. If I am allowed to give gifts to my family and have a special meal on August 3 but not on December 25, then we must concede that we believe in magic days. By magic days, I mean that somehow I am cursed if I give gifts to my family on December 25, but not on any other day of the year.

I feel that the critics of Christmas fall in two categories. First, there are recovering animists that believe in soul substance and magical items and days. If you struggle with these things, and you feel weird around that stuff, stay away from it, and do not celebrate it. Second, there are heresy hunters out there that dumpster dive throughout the annals of history to find fault. In these cases, they are looking for a way to feel holier than others. I was lured by the second category myself. I spent almost my first two decades of Christmases as a non-Christian. Reading the Bible, the custom is absent from the prophets and apostles. I guess I was not sure how to handle this thing in the first many years of being a Christian. However, I am confident that in Christ I am complete, and no day or thing is going to affect that. I can acknowledge the day, or not acknowledge it. The majority of my family and church acknowledge Christmas, so I am with them. Whether you accept or reject the practice, I support your decision.

However, I have resigned to the fact that there is nothing wrong with setting a day or days aside to visit your family, eat food, give gifts, and put up ugly decorations. There are no magic days or magic items. There is testimony to consider, but at the same time, you cannot please everybody. “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).

Before I forget, everything I just said applies to Easter also.

Examine your own heart and motives. Do you animistically believe that celebrating or not celebrating days or having certain decorations blesses you or curses you? Do you think you are superior to another because you celebrate a certain day or that you do not?

I have given up fighting this war on Christmas. If used properly, we can use it as a bridge to reach out to our world to tell them the whole story of Christ. Start thinking about next year.