Today the Christmas season has become a commercialized fiasco coercing hard earned dollars from households and has precious little to do with the birth of Christ. Santa holds center stage and corporate marketing dollars dominate the airwaves and visual media. Other than the odd “Keep Christ in Christmas” billboards or signs, the Christian Church it seems is a distant memory to we who are restricted from gathering in this COVID era.
While most believers acknowledge that December 25 is not the true birthday of Jesus, should we accept and tolerate the claims that Christmas is nothing more than a pagan festival and has nothing to do with the nativity of Christ? The Church didn’t settle on Dec. 25th until the fourth century and it has been suggested that the main reason was to align with pagan festivals such as the Roman Saturnalia or other winter solstice traditions in an effort to encourage the spread of Christianity.
Early Christian theologians such as Origen and Tertullian often employed complex calculations in determining possible dates for the birth of Jesus and their logic had nothing to do with pagan festivals. In 1659 the Puritans even outlawed Christmas celebrations as unbiblical. Is all this debate warranted or is celebrating God’s miracle of the virgin birth of the greatest man to ever live an appropriate response regardless if the actual date is correct?
God is amazing and not well understood, and long ago he put a plan into motion that is still playing out today. He gave these words to the Prophet Isaiah, written over seven hundred years before Christ, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6
In the second chapter of Luke’s gospel we are given the details surrounding the Messiah’s birth. An angel announced the event to shepherds who were watching their flocks of sheep at night, “Today in the town of David a savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:11-14.
If God saw fit to announce the birth of Jesus in this manner, wouldn’t it seem counterintuitive that Christians today would not also celebrate the birth of our savior? Jesus set us free from the shackles of sin, the restraints of the Law and the constraints of religion. Jesus said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36. We are free to worship on any day of the week, free to eat any food and free to celebrate the birth of our Lord on Dec. 25 if we wish.
It is requisite though that Christians resist the temptation of syncretism, which is the practice of observing different beliefs in one celebration. In simple terms, Santa has no place in a Christian Christmas.
This freedom we have in Christ means we are free as the wind. “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John:3:8. So whether you deck the halls or choose a simple candle lit ceremony commemorating the birth of Jesus, you are correct in your personal and sincere application of Christmas in your household on December 25th.
