It’s that time of the year again. Peace on earth, goodwill towards men. Two-for-one, and an extra 15% off if you buy before Saturday. The more you buy, the more you save.
I honestly wonder why we haven’t yet seen an advertisement for a Christmas sale with swarthy-looking bearded gentlemen, a big smile on his face, holding up his arms as if he was on a cross, but in each hand he has shopping bags with a store’s name on them, with the caption underneath, “When Jesus shops here, JESUS SAVES!!”
Come on. You gotta admit, it’d be catchy!
I propose that perhaps one of the reasons that Christmas has become so completely secularized with the all Santa Clauses and reindeer and trees and gluttonous commercialism we see today, is that it was never really a Christian holiday to begin with. It is not a day of the Lord; at least, not OUR Lord.
The use of the evergreen tree as a central element likely harkens back to the pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice. The “Christmas” tree became a part of the modern observance after the Catholic church designated December 25th as the date of Christ’s birth in order to better co-opt the pagan converts into their new religion.
The presence of mistletoe, stockings by the chimney, and the tradition of Santa Claus or “St. Nicholas” are also elements co-opted from early pagan, druid or secular/cultural traditions having absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Christ. The laurel wreath we hang, the ornaments and candles on the tree are likely a holdover from the Roman celebration of the feast of Saturnalia, part of the worship of their Sun god.
Even the act of placing our gifts beneath the tree, while the manager scene sits of to the side, is a strange custom if you think about it. Whereas the Magi of the Biblical account came an placed their gifts at the feet of Christ, we place out gifts at the feet of a…tree. Again, mirroring the pagan act of worshipping the creation, rather than the creator.
If you actually look to the Biblical timeline, the birth of Christ is much more likely to have occurred somewhere in the September/October timeframe. Not December. So, there’s very little reason or historic justification for holding “Christ’s Mass” on December 25th.
So, SHOULD Christians celebrate Christmas?
Sure! Yeah! Go for it! I have a lot of warm and fond memories of Christmas growing up, and plan to build more of the same in years to come. Christmas is a great time in so many ways, and I plan to make it a part of my December, as always. However.
I propose that Christians celebrating modern Christmas is much like Christian parents taking their kids trick-or-treating on Halloween. If you can successfully turn a blind eye to what is really at the roots of All Hallows Eve, and just treat it as a fun, cultural event with no religious or “spiritual” meaning, then that’s your decision. We took our kids out this year, not because we were trying to appease the lost and angry spirits, but because it’s just a fun time for them and for us.
But they didn’t dress up as demons, devils, ghosts or vampires, either.
I, for one, have decided that I am not going to get the least bit bent out of shape if some cashier or bagger wishes me a “Happy Holiday,” because that’s all it really is any more. A holiday. An excuse for a party. It’s two extra days off of work if I’m lucky, and overtime pay if I’m not. It’s a chance to give and get some nifty presents, and have another big feast just as I’ve shaken off the last vestiges of the food hangover from Thanksgiving. To make nice with family and friends I haven’t seen, and for a couple of days at least, pretend that there’s still hope for this crazy, mixed up world.
I’m also going to consider our religious forefathers’ attempts to overlay a thin veneer of Christianity onto what was clearly a pagan ritual a complete failure, and move on.
So yes, I’d say, go ahead and have a Merry Christmas; I certainly plan to! Just as long as you realize that it’s really become more of a cultural event than anything of Christian significance.
And don’t go getting in someone’s face because they wish you a “Happy Holiday,” or threaten to boycott a store because they won’t print “Merry Christmas” on their flyers and banners promising you 25% off all the STUFF you are going to go BUY BUY BUY, mostly out of obligation, to fulfill all the expectations our culture has placed on you.
Should we really be all that upset that Christ’s name ISN’T being put on that stuff?
We should be picketing outside demanding that it’s NOT, not demanding that it IS. I don’t want these stores cheapening the name of my Savior in the interests of making a quick buck!! Talk about WWJD!?! Christians should have a major problem with having the words “Christ” and “One Day Sale” in the same sentence — not getting their feathers all in a fluff because the Lord’s name ISN’T being taken in vain as a marketing ploy.
I would love to see more Christians do the homework to get into and really understand the Messianic roots of so many of the Jewish feasts and festivals, to find a time and way to celebrate the true birth of Christ in a way which honors God, and denies the “form of this world.” So much of what “Christmas” has become cannot be pleasing to God, even when we toss in a manger scene and a few religious Christmas carols.
We need to return to our Biblical foundations, and honor the birth of our Savior in a way that is honoring to HIM, not profitable for Wal-Mart and Pottery Barn.
Jesus was born in the most humble of circumstances, given gifts by people he had no way of knowing, gifts the significance of which he (at the time) couldn’t have known. These gifts were given because they had a prophetic significance, given to honor him, to proclaim him as the Messiah, and ultimately foretelling his death…not because he was the only left on the Magis’ shopping list. “Frankincense? Myrrh? AND they’re on sale? Woot! Shopping DONE!”
I think we should do everything we can to GET the name of Christ out of modern Christmas, and maybe claim another day as our own. Get it on the calendar as “Birth Of Christ (Observed).” Let them have their X-Mas. Let’s write it off as a lost cause, and get back to worshipping God, not mammon.
UPDATE:
Here’s a very detailed article going into the various dates and histories behind the birth and death of Christ. Good reading!
I am a bit disturbed by what I see as a growing trend. Time and again in the news I am seeing stories of people flocking to catch a glimpse of the 
Praying to the Mother of Jesus and asking for her help or intercession 
Does this sound like the kind of God who would be content to manifest himself as a mildew stain an a basement wall, some calcification under a runoff spout, or an odd shape of 
Thoughts on Malachi
My studies took me to the Italian prophet tonight.
The book of Malachi is essentially God slapping the Israelites right upside the head because of their shallow, insincere, and downright insulting attitudes towards Him. The sad/scary thing is…I saw waaaaay to much of the modern Church in these passages.
Through Malachi, God rebukes His people for the crap they are bringing Him as offerings. A harsh word? Not really. They were bringing junk, garbage, crap…and offering it to the Lord of Lords, King of Kings. To say that He was a little put off is putting it mildly.
God asks if they would ever give such poor offerings to their local governor or magistrate? The answer would be heck no! Because they’d end up in shackles or picking up garbage around the village square on trash detail if they tried. But with God? Eh, whatever I’ve got lying around ought to be good enough…
God’s chosen people were offering tarnished trinkets, their lame and blind animals, rotten fruit and stolen goods as their offerings on the altar of Jehovah in the temple. And then they seemed to be confused and surprised when God condemns them for it.
It seems a lot like the father of a clueless teenager who can’t understand why he’s in trouble when you told him to mow the yard, and then he only did half of it and quit to play X-box with his friends instead.
Then I thought about the kinds of “donations” I’ve seen people give to the churches at which I’ve been a member. Heck, let’s be honest here, the kind of donations I have given to my own churches. Stuff left over from the garage sale. Stuff I found in the back of the closet or the attic, some of which doesn’t even work. I pawn it off on the church figuring, “Maybe somebody can fix it, and anyway, it’s finally out of MY house!”
I know for a fact people have used church donation drives as a convenient way of getting out of paying the dumping fee at the county landfill.
What does that say about us? That we’ll give stuff to God that even WE don’t want anymore!?
The words of the prophet Malachi make it pretty clear that God WILL NOT BLESS YOU OR HONOR YOUR PRAYERS if you come before His altar with this attitude. As a matter of fact, these token gestures of piety really anger our Lord, and He actually promises a curse for those who continue to do it! I, for one, was very convicted about my peevish frustration that an 11:30 service “takes up half my day” on Sunday, instead of being able to get in at 9:30 and be out before noon so I can “get on with my day.”
Sound familiar to anyone? Hmmm? To think, I begrudge God two hours of worship. I can’t spare two hours out of “my” day, to go with a willing heart to lay my offering on His altar. I should be frustrated and disappointed that that’s ALL I get, wishing it were more, not less. Like I said, Malachi has been hitting a little too close to home!
Malachi also makes it clear that tithing isn’t optional. This kind of surprised me, because I’ve always heard tithing presented either in the form of a plea from the pulpit, or as a personal decision between me and God. According to the words of God in Malachi, failing to tithe is “robbing God.”
It is also clear that God views the marriage covenant between a man and a women as every bit as important, binding, and sacred as His covenant with Israel. We see here again the archetype of the marriage, and foreshadowings of the NT teachings of the “Bride of Christ.” God promises the same sort of anger and retribution for men who deal with their wives “treacherously” as those who bring corrupted offerings to His temple. Interesting.
I ‘ve also come to see Malachi as actually a pretty powerful book about…fatherhood, believe it or not.
Despite the harsh language, it’s actually a book of love. Huh? Yup. Read it, you’ll see. When I read this book of the Old Testament, I heard a frustrated father scolding his clueless children for their disobedience. I have BEEN that guy, frustrated nearly to tears, stating for the leventy-zillionth time what should be obvious, self evident truths to children who just stare at me in bemused surprised like I just told them the sky is green. He threatens them with terrible consequences, but he ALSO promises great rewards. He lays it out, in plain and simple language. He is setting boundaries, house rules, complete with punishments and rewards, in such a way that they can’t come back later and say, “Wull… I didn’t KNOW! You didn’t tellll me THAT!“