Christmas is one holiday that has gained global significance over the years. The world over; December 25th is observed a holiday to mark the ‘supposed’ birth of Jesus. This short study is structured under three sub themes:
- The Birth of Jesus
- Origin of Christmas
- Celebrating Christmas
1. THE BIRTH OF JESUS*
This is one event that changed the destiny of mankind forever. Let’s begin with Gen. 3:15; ”and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
One wonders why the use of the masculine pronoun instead of a feminine pronoun ‘her’ which is the correct pronoun for ‘the woman’. The answer is simple; Jesus was the promise in that text; He alone could crush the head of ‘the serpent’ (by rising from the death), while only suffering a bruise on his heel (his nail scared hands and riven side).
Some other texts that prophesy the birth of Jesus are:
Isaiah 7:14b; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Matt 1:18-23 was its fulfillment)
Micah 5:2; ”But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Matt. 2:1 was its fulfillment)
Here are thoughts from a Christian classic text; The Bible does not give us the precise time. Had the Lord deemed this knowledge essential to our salvation, He would have spoken through His prophets and apostles, that we might know all about the matter. But the silence of the Scriptures upon this point evidences to us that it is hidden from us for the wisest purposes. AH 477.2 Perhaps the same reason why the place of Moses’ grave was also not revealed to Israel.
2. THE ORIGIN OF CHRISTMAS
December 25th 336 AD, was the first record of a Christmas celebration. Prior to this time, Antiochus Epiphanes IV, on December 25th, 168 B.C.E., set up in Jerusalem temple a statue of Zeus, to commemorate the birthday of the Greek sun god. It is believed that December 25 is also the chosen birth and worship day of numerous gods, e.g. Tammuz, Nimrod, Ra, etc.
From the scriptural point, some texts give us an insight as to what time in the year Christ must have been born. Luke 2:8; ”And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” Here we see that the very same night Christ was born, shepherds were out in the field grazing their cattle into the night. It most certainly would have been any other time of the year, except the winter. If it were winter, the cattle would be in their barns/ranches, and the shepherds in their homes; probably getting warm by the fire.
From the above, we see that both the Bible and nature discredit the idea that Christ was born on the 25th of December; or even anytime within the winter season. Instead, Galatians 4:4a gives us the closes hint as to the time of Christ’s birth; ”but when the fulness of the time was come...”
3. CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS
Now this is the part where there is a lot of controversy. If Christmas is not biblical, then is it okay to celebrate it? I will attempt this section by answering three questions: what does it mean to celebrate? Should Christmas be celebrated? What can/should we do on Christmas?
Firstly, what is a celebration? Oxford dictionary defines it as; to acknowledge (a special day or event) with social gathering or enjoyable activity; perform a religious ceremony; to honor or praise publicly. From this definition, one could conclude that celebrating Christmas would involve attending a gathering or congregation; social or religious, on the 25th of December, solely to commemorate the day. Other acts of celebrations could include speaking or writing to honor or publicly praise the day.
Secondly, should Christmas be celebrated? My answer is YES and NO, and here is why;
- There is no biblical injunction to do or not to do so.
- Christmas has an origin that is anti-Christ, hence, it is laden with so much deceit and rebellion.
- Celebrating and teaching that Christ was born on December 25th is false teaching. But like every other day, we ought to help the needy even on December 25th.
- Most of the activities (excessive drinking and partying, e.t.c) that many engage in on this day, have no Christian theme, and lead away from Christ, instead of to Him.
Thirdly, what then should we do on Christmas? This is where emotions are wiped up and most lose reasoning on the subject. We have established that Christmas has no biblical root, however, we must not cease to live our lives and ‘let our lights so shine before men’, even at Christmas! Jesus expects us; with every opportunity, even at Christmas, to point each other to His truth. There are some who may never be reached at any other time, with the Goodnews about Jesus, except at Christmas. Jesus expects us, like Paul, to “become all things to all men, that we might by all means save some.” (1Cor. 9:19-22)
I like how this author advised we spend our Christmas (this may be a little lengthy, but I’ll end on this);
As the twenty-fifth of December is observed to commemorate the birth of Christ... It can be made to serve a very good purpose... The youth should not be left on Christmas to find their own amusement in vanity and pleasure seeking, in amusements which will be detrimental to their spirituality... Their desire to make gifts may be turned into pure and holy channels and made to result in good to our fellow men by supplying the treasury in the great, grand work for which Christ came into our world. Self-denial and self-sacrifice marked His course of action... AH 478
By the world the holidays are spent in frivolity and extravagance, gluttony and display.... Thousands of dollars will be worse than thrown away upon the coming Christmas and New Year’s in needless indulgences...instead of expending means merely for the gratification of the appetite or for needless ornaments or articles of clothing, we may make the coming holidays an occasion in which to honor and glorify God... Christmas and New Year celebrations can and should be held in behalf of those who are helpless.
I hope you have yourself a happy holiday and remember to show someone that Jesus loves you and them too!
Shalom!
