“Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”
(Rom 14:5 NKJV)
From the previous teachings the historical and spiritual origins of Christmas have been made clear. Three general sources to still consider –
- From the Catholic Encyclopedia: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church . . . The first evidence of the feast is from Egypt. … Pagan customs centering around the January calends gravitated to Christmas.”
- From the Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the church … It was not instituted by Christ or the apostles, or by Bible authority — it was picked up afterward from paganism.”
- From the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia: “How much the date of the festival depended upon the Pagan Brumalia (Dec. 25) following the Saturnalia (Dec. 17-24), and celebrating the shortest day of the year and the ‘new sun’ … cannot be accurately determined. The pagan Saturnalia and Brumalia were too deeply entrenched in popular custom to be set aside by Christian influence … The pagan festival with its riot and merrymaking was so popular, that Christians were glad of an excuse to continue its celebration with little change in spirit and in manner. Christian preachers of the West and the Near East protested against the unseemly frivolity with which Christ’s birthday was celebrated, while Christians of Mesopotamia accused their Western brethren of idolatry and sun-worship for adopting as Christian this pagan festival.”
It seems as if the secular world is fully aware of Christmas having no link to Christ Jesus, yet Christians remain naïve in this regard. In an internet chatroom I found the following three comments left by non-believers:
- “As a pagan, I feel it’s great that you celebrate all my holidays.”
- “A lot of the pagan rituals and holidays were merged by the church in an effort to get non believers (of jesus) to belong and conform to their doctrines.”
- “A USA Today article quoted Washington witch Bryan Jordan as saying, ‘Christians don’t realize it, but they’re celebrating our holiday with us . . . We like it.’”
The New Covenant is characterized by the freedom it affords the believer (2 Cor 3:17), all walking according to their own convictions, as we will all personally have to appear before God to explain our reasoning in living the way we have done (Rom 14:12).
Celebrating Christmas is thus obviously not a neutral affair, yet remains a personal choice. Paul’s guideline in 1 Cor 10 emphasizes that we should not judge one another on these fronts, but does warn that we should “flee from idolatry” (verse 14), lest we have fellowship with demons (verse 20). In verse 23 he states that all things are lawful for us, yet not all are edifying. And in Rom 14:5 – “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”
- Sela: Come before God and determine your position in terms of Christmas.
- Read: 2 Chr 30; Job 29; Isa 10
- Memorise: Isa 10:27
- For a deeper understanding: Read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas caroll and Dr Seuss’ The grinch who stole Christmas to see that our perception of Christmas has been more influenced by popular culture and literature than by the Bible.
