Celebrating Christmas

"Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy." Daniel 9:24

There are those that do not celebrate Christmas for a variety of reasons. Some do not do it because there is no proof Jesus was born on December 25th. Others do not celebrate it because it is "rooted in Pagan customs." There are those that still celebrate Christmas on December 25th, but do not put up Christmas trees because of those previously mentioned "pagan customs." I have even heard of at least one, so-called Christian, who stuffed pillows in the fireplace to "prevent" Santa Claus from coming down the chimney so their children would not believe in him. To all of this I say, "To each their own." It is not mandatory for a Christian to celebrate Christmas. However, a person is also free to celebrate Christmas as well and shouldn't be condemned by those that do not. We are not under law. Furthermore, While there is no proof that Jesus was born on December 25th, those that do celebrate Christmas are celebrating the fact of His birth, not necessarily the day of His birth. It is true that Christmas is connected to pagan festivals. However, the early church began celebrating Christmas as "a spiritually positive alternative to what they perceive as a pagan celebration," according to one source. It is no different than what we see with other holidays like Halloween where churches have "Harvest Festivals" and other similar events. Also, I have never known anybody to worship trees or anything else considered pagan. Even Santa Claus, also known as Saint Nicklaus, has a Christian "connection" if you are inclined to look it up. Most children, including myself, who grew up in homes that celebrated Christmas, were not negatively affected by believing in Santa Claus, decorating Christmas trees or doing it all on December 25th. I am of the belief you can do more harm than good by trying to take all these precautions to protect your children and others from the so-called "paganism" associated with Christmas. If you really look at it, what traditions do we engage in, outside of Christmas, that don't have their origins in some sort of pagan activity? As one person put it, "Realistically, how could public ceremony exist at all apart from non Biblical origins, since the Bible doesn’t define or prescribe any public ceremonies to speak of ...?" The one thing missing in a lot of this discussion about Christmas, regardless of what side you fall on, is Jesus Christ!

In the book of Daniel, he was praying to God when Gabriel appeared to him and delivered what is known as the "Seventy-Weeks Prophecy." This was a Messianic prophecy detailing the time when Jesus would make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In Daniel 9:24,  we see some key components of this prophecy; to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring righteousness. In short, the prophesied Messiah, Jesus, would forgive sins and give us the opportunity to be in a right standing with God. Prior to the birth of Jesus, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, who was considering divorcing Mary, and said, "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).” This prophecy about the Lord was about who the baby was that Mary was carrying and what that baby would do after His birth. Would it have been okay to celebrate Christmas if the angel had said, "She will give birth to a son, on December 25th, ....."? The day of Jesus' birth is inconsequential. His purpose was to not only save His people from their sins, but, as it turned out, to save the entire world from our sins! Consequently, because Jesus Christ took the penalty for our sins, by His death on the cross, God can give us the righteousness of Christ when we accept Him as our Savior. Jesus Christ, because He was the perfect sacrifice for sins, can now indwell each believer for eternity because our sins are no longer an issue between us and God. We are given Christ's righteousness, which makes us righteous. We are perfect in God's sight because Jesus Christ is perfect. We are reconciled to God because He is no longer counting our sins against us. This is why His birth was prophesied. This is why His birth was so important. This is why we celebrate His birth. The Bible says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31)." Why somebody does or does not celebrate Christmas is between them and the Lord. However, when we get caught up focusing on everything surrounding Christmas, it only serves as a distraction; dividing the Body of Christ and taking the focus off of Jesus Christ. It does not glorify God, but gives the impression we are glorifying ourselves. Whatever you are doing on December 25th, my prayer is that you're doing it for the glory of God. In my opinion, the birth of Jesus Christ is something to be celebrated. God thought it was such an important event that He prophesied about it in His Word. The least we can do is thank Him for doing so by celebrating the day God became one of us, so He could save us. Merry Christmas!