In the weeks coming up to Christmas, FaceBook has been swamped with post urging Christians to turn away from the practice of celebrating the “pagan” holiday called Christmas. The claim is that it was actually a Roman holiday celebrating one of the Roman gods and tied to the winter solstice. To “Christianize” it, in 250 AD, Pope Julius I simply change the name of the pagan holiday and declared that it would now be a day to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Yule is a Scandinavian fertility god.
Wreaths are tied to Druid traditions.
Thor and Odin (as well as St. Nicholas) brought people gifts in the dead of night.
People even use Jeremiah 10:3-4 to decry the tradition of decorating Christmas trees: “3 For the practices of the peoples (heathens) are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with a hammer and nails so it will not totter.”
Most people fail to mention verse 5: “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” Yep. These scriptures are about idols.
Even without the idol worship, society has taken over this holiday and turned it into the biggest spend fest of the year.
Has the holiness been sucked out of this holiday?
Here’s some Christmas facts that we often forget:
God Himself celebrated His Son’s birth. The angels sang to the shepherds proclaiming the messiah had been born.
The first birthday / Christmas presents recorded were those brought by the three Magi.
The candy cane, the confection most associated with the holiday, is in the shape of a J for Jesus. Turned the other way, it’s a shepherd’s hook to honor the baby’s first visitors. The candy is white to signify Christ’s purity. It’s striped in red to symbolize his shed blood.
Saint Nicholas / Santa Claus was a real person. He was orphaned as a child, but was very rich. He was also a Christian and used his wealth to provide for others – usually in secret. He later became Bishop of Myra (in modern day Turkey) and was instrumental in the writing of the Nicene Creed (also called the Apostles’ Creed).
So, should Christians celebrate Christmas?
Here’s the thing: when my family celebrates Christmas, the winter solstice, fertility gods, Druids, Thor and Odin are never mentioned. In fact, I doubt if most Americans even know about these ties to the holiday.
My family puts up a tree and we put gold and silver ornaments on it, but it’s not an object we worship. It’s merely a holiday decoration. An angel sits on top to proclaim Christ birth, a manger scene is below telling of His humble arrival. The branches are adorned with trinkets the family has collected over the years. Most bring back memories of Christmas’ past: Two kissing mice in a wreath proclaiming “Our First Christmas” , a baseball playing Santa our 18 year old picked out for himself on his third Christmas, the frail paper chain made by our 22 year old back in 2nd grade, the Popsicle stick star of David ornament with our 25 year old’s Cub Scout picture in center. The tree is a memorial of all our Christmases past.
My husband reads the Christmas story. I read about Saint Nicholas and his example of Christian charity and his Christmas spirit.
Christmas morning, our church family heads downtown and hand out stockings with gloves, socks, and candy to the homeless. They join us in singing Christmas Carols.
Later in the day, my family will gather together and exchange gifts we have thoughtfully picked out: a proclamation of our love for each other.
Then we will sit down together to a meal we all had a hand in making.
And we will give thanks for this day to a God who sent His Son to live among us, die for us, and rose to save us.
Because our family believes in keeping Christ in Christmas.
How will you celebrate Christmas this year?