Santa is welcome, but Jesus is not?
Not even the scholars know when Jesus was born, however, the day of Christmas is not the reason why Christians celebrate. While the holiday derived around a pagan holiday, for Christians, Jesus is still central to our celebration. Christmas is also derived from the Old English term, "Cristis Maesse", meaning the Mass of Christ. The celebration of Christ's birth, reminds us not only of His great love and sacrifice for us, but also the desire for universal love, joy, gratitude, and peace.
The day has nothing to do with the celebration. Where are our priorities? Christians celebrate the reason for the season...because of who Jesus is, and what He did for us. We can celebrate Christ all year round and just because we have a global celebration at a certain time of the year to emphasis our love and respect for Jesus, I don't think He's too upset about that. But I do think He is upset with people who want to do nothing but commercialize it, concentrate only on gifts, and completely ignore Him. I'm certain Satan hates it, when we celebrate Christ's birth.
I think it's a wonderful and glorious occasion when we can celebrate Jesus any time. It's the attitude of some that are pagan, that turn it into something other than what it was meant to be. We don't celebrate Christmas because the pagans did. I think God cares more about our motive, reasons, and attitude. I could be wrong, but I can't help but feel that Mary remembered and celebrated with great joy, her Savior's birthday every year, but if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then you definitely shouldn't. I personally feel the most important part of Christmas, is remembering Jesus Christ, who was born long ago to save us all (Matthew 1:21).
I think we can carry anything, too far. If you think that celebrating Christ at Christmas is going too far, then maybe we should not have funerals, or remember our loved ones on a certain day, or celebrate birthdays. Perhaps we shouldn't even have the Lord's Supper, in remembrance of Him. That occasion is held on a certain day. I think Jesus is more concerned about our heart and attitude, than the day we worship Him. Even Paul said there's no certain day that we are to gather together for worship. There was a big discussion about that, and Paul said to do what we feel is personally right. God knows where our heart is. It's pagans that turned Christmas into a gift-giving occasion, only, but that didn't include me. As with anything, we can carry things too far. Christmas is still commonly associated with Jesus's birth, and the Bible does say quite a bit about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2).
People living in the northern hemisphere celebrate winter solstice (or the shortest day of the year) smack bang in the middle of December, and this is why Christmas just so happened to fall around the same time as many existing pagan holidays. The winter solstice was a huge part of pagan life. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god. We're not celebrating any pagan god. Christmas is not mentioned in the bible, one way or another and we're not told whether we should celebrate it or not. I think the whole thing has to do with our reason/heart for our celebration, and God knows where it is, when it comes to loving Him. I think he cares more about the REASON why we're celebrating.
I don't feel Jesus would be upset with us commemorating His birth...spreading the message of love, good will, and compassion: ...fostering togetherness and family bonding...remembering that He is the Light, in a world of darkness...nor for promoting Peace and Unity. It is also a time to reflect on love, compassion, and good will to others, fostering togetherness among families and communities. A time to refresh our Spirit in the Lord.
The day has nothing to do with the celebration. Where are our priorities? Christians celebrate the reason for the season...because of who Jesus is, and what He did for us. We can celebrate Christ all year round and just because we have a global celebration at a certain time of the year to emphasis our love and respect for Jesus, I don't think He's too upset about that. But I do think He is upset with people who want to do nothing but commercialize it, concentrate only on gifts, and completely ignore Him. I'm certain Satan hates it, when we celebrate Christ's birth.
I think it's a wonderful and glorious occasion when we can celebrate Jesus any time. It's the attitude of some that are pagan, that turn it into something other than what it was meant to be. We don't celebrate Christmas because the pagans did. I think God cares more about our motive, reasons, and attitude. I could be wrong, but I can't help but feel that Mary remembered and celebrated with great joy, her Savior's birthday every year, but if you don't feel comfortable doing that, then you definitely shouldn't. I personally feel the most important part of Christmas, is remembering Jesus Christ, who was born long ago to save us all (Matthew 1:21).
I think we can carry anything, too far. If you think that celebrating Christ at Christmas is going too far, then maybe we should not have funerals, or remember our loved ones on a certain day, or celebrate birthdays. Perhaps we shouldn't even have the Lord's Supper, in remembrance of Him. That occasion is held on a certain day. I think Jesus is more concerned about our heart and attitude, than the day we worship Him. Even Paul said there's no certain day that we are to gather together for worship. There was a big discussion about that, and Paul said to do what we feel is personally right. God knows where our heart is. It's pagans that turned Christmas into a gift-giving occasion, only, but that didn't include me. As with anything, we can carry things too far. Christmas is still commonly associated with Jesus's birth, and the Bible does say quite a bit about the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2).
People living in the northern hemisphere celebrate winter solstice (or the shortest day of the year) smack bang in the middle of December, and this is why Christmas just so happened to fall around the same time as many existing pagan holidays. The winter solstice was a huge part of pagan life. The Romans actually celebrated two holidays in the month of December. The first was Saturnalia, which was a two-week festival honoring their god of agriculture Saturn. On December 25th, they celebrated the birth of Mithra, their sun god. We're not celebrating any pagan god. Christmas is not mentioned in the bible, one way or another and we're not told whether we should celebrate it or not. I think the whole thing has to do with our reason/heart for our celebration, and God knows where it is, when it comes to loving Him. I think he cares more about the REASON why we're celebrating.
I don't feel Jesus would be upset with us commemorating His birth...spreading the message of love, good will, and compassion: ...fostering togetherness and family bonding...remembering that He is the Light, in a world of darkness...nor for promoting Peace and Unity. It is also a time to reflect on love, compassion, and good will to others, fostering togetherness among families and communities. A time to refresh our Spirit in the Lord.
