Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
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It’s that time of the year again, when most people in the Christian world celebrate Christmas.
Some of us celebrate it as the birthday of our Lord, Jesus Christ, some people celebrate it as part of their family tradition without even acknowledging the birth of Jesus Christ although they might have been brought up in a so called Christian family or surrounding, and on the other hand there are those argumentative Christians, who have nothing but to find something to argue about; these are the people who would tell you all about the root of Christmas being a pagan festival and how it was changed for the birth of Christ. They will take you through a proper history lesson to tell you Constantine did this, and it was never the Birth of Christ, and in fact they try with anything they can to prove that Jesus could not possibly be born in Winter, and they seem to know that He was born in Spring or end of Summer, they have their own arguments between themselves too, so don’t worry, you shouldn’t take those people too serious! I tell you why! With one question from those “know it all Christians”, and that is; “Do you celebrate the birth of Christ in spring or summer? Which day?”
But they have no proper answer to that, at best they will say, they don’t know when it is exactly, so that’s a good excuse for them not to celebrate at all! So the problem isn’t that they don’t know when Jesus was born, but the problem is that these people are against celebration altogether. They have an issue, what the root of that issue is, is a different matter, which varies from person to person.
These are the same people who keep the Sabbath holy, when the bible clearly teaches us that all days are holy, however we are not condemning them for that or for the matters of eating and drinking or other disputable matters as Apostle Paul puts it.
The following passage is the strongest passage of Scripture these people have, to prove that Jesus wasn’t born in winter;
Luke 2:8-12 World English Bible (WEB)
“There were shepherds in the same country staying in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This is the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth, lying in a feeding trough.””
The above passage doesn’t prove it was not winter at all! It simply states that the shepherd were living out in the fields, that was their place of residence regardless of the seasons, they lived out there throughout the year, and by the way, just because it’s Winter, it doesn’t mean that the sheep
have to stay inside!
People who have never ever travelled in their lives and keep talking about the sheep being out is a sign that it wasn’t Winter, need to get out of their little shells a bit more, and see how the sheep graze in fields in the middle of Winter.
However, reading the following passages should remind the Church not to argue over disputable matters, which are usually around eating, drinking, and festivals.
Romans 14:1-10 World English Bible (WEB)
“Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand. One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
Colossians 2: 6-23 World English Bible (WEB)
“As therefore you received Christ Jesus, the Lord, walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving. Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the world, and not after Christ. For in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power; in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us; and he has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross; having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no one therefore judge you in eating, or in drinking, or with respect to a feast day or a new moon or a Sabbath day, which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s. Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s
growth. If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances, “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch” (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men? Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
Therefore, my suggestion to any Christian who find themselves amongst crowds of so called Christians or mere infant Christians who are all wound up and hot on their own convictions arguing over disputable matters such as this, is to simply state what you believe in, and why you’d like to celebrate the birth of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. We do not condemn them for not appointing a day to celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ, and do not allow them to judge or condemn us for celebrating this day either.
May the Lord truly bless you this Christmas, and in the New Year with Spiritual wisdom, visions and dreams.
GOD BLESS YOU!