Is Christmas Christian?
Is the 25th of December even Jesus’ birthday, is Christmas a pagan holiday? Should we rather celebrate the Jewish festivals of the Old Testament? These questions aren't new, and thankfully the Bible addresses them in one way or another, but whatever we think about Christmas, it remains a great opportunity to share our faith and be blessings to one another. It’s also an opportunity which is under constant threat whether by distraction or disruption. How can we make Christmas the Jesus centred celebration that it should be?
Scripture
Christmas is worth celebrating
Relationship with God is lived with thanksgiving and praise. Celebration of what He has done is integral and interwoven throughout all Scripture. The birth of the Messiah was celebrated by humans and angels, the multitude of angels made it clear that this was a day to celebrate and remember. Celebrate today and everyday with great joy in gratitude for what God has done for us.
Psalms 100:1-5 ESV A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! [2] Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! [3] Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. [4] Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! [5] For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Luke 2:8-14 ESV And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. [9] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. [10] And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. [11] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. [12] And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” [13] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, [14] “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Celebration days are not mandated
Jewish Old Covenant festivals are not mandated for gentile Christians under the New Covenant. In fact, Paul warns the Churches not to judge or allow themselves to be judged according to which festivals and days they celebrated. All of these were there to direct people to the Messiah, Jesus Christ our Lord. We are free to celebrate whatever honours the Lord Jesus Christ, as long as it is according to the Bible, even if it’s not explicitly directed by it.
Romans 14:5-9 ESV 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. [6] The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. [7] For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. [8] For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. [9] For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Colossians 2:16-17 ESV Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. [17] These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
Jesus celebrated a wedding and Hanukkah
The feast of Dedication or Hanukkah was a commemoration of the dedication of the Temple after the attempts by pagans to enforce their religion and destroy the worship of God. Like the wedding ceremony, Hanukkah was not commanded or ordained in Scripture. Jesus participation in a wedding and in this festival along with Paul’s writings establish the principle that we are free to celebrate Godly or Christ centred events. It also draws attention to the importance of resisting pagan influence and celebration.
John 2:1-3 ESV On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. [2] Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. [3] When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
John 10:22-24 ESV At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. [24] So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
Warning against having anything to do with pagan practices
We are free to glorify God by celebrating Jesus Christ with everything we do, but it must be done in a way that honours and obeys God’s Word. What is not okay, is to have anything to do with pagan worship. We must worship God alone. What are we doing that may be pagan worship or may be encouraging our children towards pagan worship?
1 Corinthians 10:20-22 ESV No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. [21] You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. [22] Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
Jeremiah 44:25-27 ESV Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm your vows and perform your vows! [26] Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’ [27] Behold, I am watching over them for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an end of them.
Ephesians 6:4 ESV Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
1 John 5:19-21 ESV We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. [20] And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. [21] Little children, keep yourselves from idols.
Jesus hears us all the time, we don’t have to write special letters
Because of Jesus we have access to God’s loving presence all the time and everywhere. We can speak to Him every moment, and be with Him wherever we are. We don’t have to find clever ways of reaching Him, He’s found the way to reach us through Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
Acts 17:26-28 ESV And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, [28] for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
Psalms 139:1-7 ESV To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, you have searched me and known me! [2] You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. [3] You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. [4] Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether. [5] You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. [6] Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. [7] Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
Jesus will judge far deeper than naughty or nice
Jesus doesn’t just decode who gets nice gifts and who doesn’t. He will judge every thought and intention of our hearts and decide our eternal rewards. He doesn’t juts know how we’ve behaved this year, He knows everything that we ever thought or done, and everything everyone else has thought or done to us. Because He’s a human being like us He understands and empathises with everything human, and because He’s God He’s able to comfort, heal, correct, restore and protect us through everything.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: [2] preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. [3] For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, [4] and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Jesus carries us through every single day, He doesn’t visit once a year
Jesus doesn't just give us simple gifts that we can wrap and open one day of the year. He’s the one who keeps us alive every moment, and gives us every good thing every day of our lives. His gifts last forever, and He’s already given the best one to us all, eternal life by faith in Him. Everything we do is not to earn gifts, it’s to say Thank You for this One great gift, the gift nobody else can give.
Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. [3] He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, [4] having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.