CAN CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AS A FAMILY HOLIDAY?

         I wanted you to read my father's article before this one. I totally agree with what he taught about Christmas. But that still raises a question, "If Christmas is based on paganism, how can I, as a Christian, celebrate it in any way? Do I honor paganist practices when I do what the pagans did? Consider the example and history of the Christmas tree.

"Dating back centuries before Christ, cultures brought evergreen trees, plants, and leaves into their homes upon the arrival of the winter solstice, which occurs in the northern hemisphere between December 21st and 22nd. Although the specific practices were different in each country and culture, the symbolization was generally the same: to celebrate the return of life at the beginning of winter's decline."     http://www.christmastreehistory.net/pagan

         I know there are some Christians who believe it is sinful to even make a family holiday out of the Christmas season even if there is no religious activity associated with their observance. The Bible teaches us to be ready to give anyone an answer to our hope in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15). This is a Bible question and deserves a Biblical answer.

         Some might want to approach this question by asking what can be wrong with giving gifts or having the family gather around for an enjoyable meal? Others might respond by saying we are honoring Christ in a way he does not choose to be honored, so that is wrong. This subject can be "argued" for hours and not apply what the Bible teaches. But when you come down to it, that is the only thing that matters. If the Bible is against it, then no matter how much we might enjoy it, we should avoid it. If the Bible does not condemn it, then we should not condemn those that observe it non-religiously.

         Let me direct your attention to a passage that you might believe has nothing to do with Christmas, yet one I believe that completely answers this question. The subject in 1 Corinthians 8 is the eating of meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods. This was one of the questions put before the apostle Paul. He answers the question in verse 4, but comments further in verses 7-13. First notice verse 4: "Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." It was important for Paul to point out that these pagan gods did not exist. Because of this, the eating of that meat was called by Paul, a "liberty". 

         Our question revolves around a similar situation. We know that God did not authorize our honoring the birthday of Christ, for we were not given a day in which to celebrate it. Therefore, in that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."(Romans 10:17), and in dealing with the same subject in Romans 14:23 Paul said: "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."In that God did not direct us to observe Christmas as a religious holiday, we are doing so without faith, for faith comes from God's word. And in that it did not come from God's word, and therefore is not of faith, Paul calls it sinful. Therefore, to observe it in a religious manner is sinful, for it is acting "not of faith". 

         But if we are aware that this is not the birthday of Christ, and we are not honoring the day as such, and we do not attempt to make it religious in any way, we have the right to have a family holiday. The only stipulation would be that it does not cause a brother, or fellow Christian, to stumble. If I were to move into an area where the belief by our brethren was that observing the Christmas season was sinful, I would not observe it for fear of causing a brother to do something they believe to be wrong.

         We need to be careful that we do not observe the religious practices of the day concerning this day. While the "tree" is a nonreligious symbol for us, what about the "star" many put at the top? What about the nativity scene placed in our yards, or under the tree? What about singing songs about the birth of Christ. 

         While these songs may be scriptural in form, might they not cause someone to honor this day as the birthday of our Lord, and so wound their conscience? It is not wrong to rejoice over the birth of the Lord, for that is biblical. But to religiously set aside a day based on paganism without scriptural authority is most definitely wrong.

         We can enjoy the Christmas season as a family holiday provided we do not make it a religious holiday, and provided it does not cause brethren to stumble.

A fourth reason why Christians should not observe Christmas religiously is: the observance of SPECIAL days is specifically forbidden in your Bible. Few people seem to realize this, and for this reason the mases are led astray. Nevertheless, the Bible reads in Galatians 4:7-11 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain."

Notice how Paul condemns these people for observing special days, months, times, and years..." He says to them that when they do such things it is an indication that his apostolic labor with them was all in vain. Imagine, therefore, the sharp rebuke the world would receive today were it possible for the apostle Paul to return to the earth in our time! For in addition to observing Sunday the only day the Lord commanded Christian people to observe religiously, he would find professing Christians observing such unauthorized days as Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Lent, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Bible Sunday, Christmas, and a host of other days which for the most part have come to us directly from a paganistic ancestry and which have no divine authority supporting them at all! Truly, if Paul found it necessary to warn against keeping special days, seasons, and years during his time, how much more ought we, who are surrounded with all kinds of special days, seasons and holy years, to cry out against them in our time? This therefore is another reason why we ought not observe this annual festival in a religious manner.

A fifth reason why we ought not observe Christmas as a religious day, or as the birthday of our Lord and Savior is because of the origin of Christmas. Christmas did not originate with God. Christmas did not originate in heaven as the majority of people are inclined to believe. Because of this, there is not place in your Bible to which you can turn and read about this day. Because of its absence in the Holy Scriptures, we are forced to look with askance upon the whole affair as a Christian festival; however, to stop our investigation here would not be to make a thorough study of the subject. Nevertheless, the fact that it is nowhere mentioned in your Bible forces us to look elsewhere for its origin. What, then, is the testimony of history as to the origin of Christmas? Here are the facts. George Fisher, when giving us the history of A.D. 100-313 in his book, History of The Christian Church, page 65 says: "About the end of this period two festivals came in. One was Epiphany, originating in the East, not improbably with Jewish Christians and commemorating the baptism of Christ. The other was Christmas, a festival of Roman origin, taking the place of the heathen festival in honor of the sun, or of the deity bearing that name, which was celebrated at the winter solstice, or on the 25^thof December..." 

The New Schaff-Herzog Encylopeia of Religious Knowledge,volume 3, page 48, corroborates the testimony of Fisher when it says: "The pagan Saturnalis and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence. The recognition of Sunday...by the emperor Constantine as a legal holiday, along with the influence of Manicheism, which identified the Son of God with the physical sun, may have led Christians of the fourth century to feel the appropriateness of making the birthday of the Son of God coincide with that of the physical sun. The pagan festival with its riots and merrymaking was so popular that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit or in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Nearer east protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ's birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun-worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival. Yet the festival rapidly gained acceptance an became at least so firmly established that even the protestant revolution of the sixteenth century was not able to dislodge it and Evangelical Christians even of the more radical types who reject or ignore nearly all of the ecclesiastical festivals, have never been able wholly to ignore it." 

Please notice, friends, why it is that neither the Protestant revolution nor the Evangelical Christians of the more radical type could not wholly ignore Christmas. Was it because originated with God? Was it because Christmas originated in heaven? Indeed, it was not; rather, it was because "the pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influences, and because "Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration." In other words, this is just another instance where the old tradition, "If you can't lick them, join them" has been accepted.

Why do people fear speaking in pubic? As a professional speech communication teacher, I have often been asked that question. In addressing a group of young men of high school age, I put it to them this way. Suppose you have never played high school football, but you have always enjoyed watching it. As you were sitting in the stands you heard your name called over the PA system, and asked to report to your team's dressing room. When you knocked on the door, the coach grabbed you by the arm, gave you a uniform, and told you that he wanted you to be the starting quarterback for the second half. How would you feel? One youngster told me that he would run!

         But why wouldn't you want to be the star of the game, I asked? They reflected a minute and the answers began to come forth. Didn't really know the rules...haven't practiced...didn't know the team's plays...not in shape for football.... 

I then told them that is why they were afraid to speak in public. They could enjoy a good speech, but they didn't know the "rules" or what they could do and not do. They had not practiced. They were inexperienced, and so on.

Being able to speak in public gives you confidence in yourself. This is a great skill to learn.