Christmas and the Christian

Christmas... the annual celebration of the birth of Jesus. So, what about Christmas? Does the Bible say anything about Christmas? When did Christians begin celebrating Christmas? Are churches to celebrate Christmas? Can a Christian celebrate Christmas? All good questions that need Biblical answers.

To be sure, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. The family is together. Gifts are exchanged. Santa comes down the chimney. Children are happy. Songs are sung. Food is eaten... what is not to like? As a child, I didn't really give a lot of thought to the fact that at my house it was Christmas, but at church it was not. We decorated a tree, put presents under it, waited for Santa and talked about Jesus birth... oh, and waited impatiently for the yearly showing of Rudolph. As I got older, my Sunday School teachers would be very careful to make sure I knew that Christmas was not really Jesus' birthday, but just a day that a person had selected to celebrate it. But what about the church celebrating a day that is a human tradition? Is that ok?

First things first, the Bible is completely, totally silent on the matter. Our only record is that His birth took place during the rule of Caesar Augustus and while Quirinius was governing Syria. No day, no month of the year or even the year. So how did we get to December 25th? Ok, here goes... the Jews believed that a prophet died on the same date as their conception. They believed that Jesus died on March 25th, so he was conceived on March 25th, so nine months later... December 25th. Early Christians, like Origen denounced the idea of celebrating His birth, but somewhere around 354 AD, his birth shows up on a calendar on December 25th. Little by little, this spread and soon churches were holding this day a special, Constantinople in 379 AD, Antioch in 380 AD and Alexandria in 430 AD.

Among Protestant churches that arose during the Reformation, Christmas was denounced as the "trappings of popery", since Christmas literally means the "Mass of Christ". It was banned by church leaders in England in 1647. It was outlawed by the New England government in 1659 and completely fell out of favor in the USA after the American Revolution. Over time, through literature and immigration, Christmas was revived in America and in 1870, Christmas was declared a U. S. federal holiday.

So, should Christmas be the work of the church? Should we as a church celebrate Christmas in our assemblies? Should we as individuals celebrate Christmas? Two different questions, with two different answers. First, as a church, we have no authorization to celebrate Christmas. The only remembrance that we are commanded to hold is the Lord's Supper as a remembrance of His death. In fact, Jesus was very strong in condemning human traditions being forced onto God's people as commands. (read Mark 7: 1-13)  Christmas is a human tradition, very clearly so; therefore to bind it anyone in our assemblies is to violate a very clear Biblical principle. Traditions of men are wrong when they become matters of doctrine and are bound upon all, so to bind the observance of a human tradition on a congregation of the Lord's people would be in violation of the Jesus' teaching and is at least unwise, if not wrong.

Ok, can I celebrate it in my home? What does the Bible teach in regard to this? Paul gives us teaching that will help us in this discussion...  So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Col2:16-17) Paul teaches us that as individuals we can hold days as special, but that we must not bind that on others. In Romans 14: 5-6, Paul teaches our personal liberty on the matter...   One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced 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; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.  When we consider these teachings, it becomes clear that we have the personal freedom to hold a day as "special" if we choose, but again, the rub comes when we push that onto others.

In closing, let me make it clear that I love Christmas. I love being with my family and enjoying the fellowship, food and fun. I am free to do that. But, I am not free to bind that on anyone else. You are free to enjoy the day as you see fit, celebrate it or not and no one has the right to condemn either action. Christmas is a human tradition and a very beautiful one at that, but it is not a day set apart by our Lord for remembrance of His birthday. Our Lord set apart each Sunday as the day to remember Him in a special way by the church joining together to eat the Supper. That is what the Bible teaches and that is what His church should do. Individually, hold the 25th of December as a special day or don't, either way is fine, but don't condemn others for their actions... that is not fine.