The Christmas Conundrum
By Doug Long
Jeremiah 10:1-5
1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2 Thus says the LORD:
"Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers So
that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good."
Does this mean we should not celebrate Christmas anymore?
I got an e-mail form a person with a question about Christmas, it seems that her
Father, and Stepmother don’t celebrate it.
I was puzzled as to why, so I did some
research, and asked some questions, and here is what I found.
God did not intend for us to celebrate the birth of Christ, if he wanted us to,
he would have commanded it, and also given us the date of Christ’s birth. God did
give us a day to come together and honor him though, I will get to that later in
this article.
In ancient times the date we now celebrate as Christmas was celebrated as a pagan
winter holiday to worship the sun. Christians appropriated the date mostly for
convenience since a holiday was already being celebrated. Using this holiday for
their purposes made conversions easier. Some of the pagan practices were adopted also.
If you have ever seen a Christmas tree, this is one of them. Some people today believe
that it is a sin to celebrate Christmas since it started out as a pagan sun worshiping feast.
The Bible says that we should not love the world,
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
Now that I have made a case for not celebrating Christmas, I would like to
point out what the important principle is. If celebrating Christmas, or
4th of July, or Groundhog day will interfere with your relationship with God,
then I urge you not to celebrate it. If your Love of God is first in your life
though, I think it is ok to celebrate Christmas as a holiday to exchange gifts,
and eat lots of candy, NOT as the birth of Christ. The day God gave us to come
together and honor him is the first day of the week, the Lord’s day.
BACK TO START
Jeremiah 10:1-5
1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2 Thus says the LORD:
"Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
3 For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers So
that it will not topple.
5 They are upright, like a palm tree,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them, For they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good."
Does this mean we should not celebrate Christmas anymore?
I got an e-mail form a person with a question about Christmas, it seems that her
Father, and Stepmother don’t celebrate it.
I was puzzled as to why, so I did some
research, and asked some questions, and here is what I found.
God did not intend for us to celebrate the birth of Christ, if he wanted us to,
he would have commanded it, and also given us the date of Christ’s birth. God did
give us a day to come together and honor him though, I will get to that later in
this article.
In ancient times the date we now celebrate as Christmas was celebrated as a pagan
winter holiday to worship the sun. Christians appropriated the date mostly for
convenience since a holiday was already being celebrated. Using this holiday for
their purposes made conversions easier. Some of the pagan practices were adopted also.
If you have ever seen a Christmas tree, this is one of them. Some people today believe
that it is a sin to celebrate Christmas since it started out as a pagan sun worshiping feast.
The Bible says that we should not love the world,
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
Now that I have made a case for not celebrating Christmas, I would like to
point out what the important principle is. If celebrating Christmas, or
4th of July, or Groundhog day will interfere with your relationship with God,
then I urge you not to celebrate it. If your Love of God is first in your life
though, I think it is ok to celebrate Christmas as a holiday to exchange gifts,
and eat lots of candy, NOT as the birth of Christ. The day God gave us to come
together and honor him is the first day of the week, the Lord’s day.
BACK TO START