Today’s question is about the rightness or the wrongness of celebrating Christmas. I guess my initial answer would be, “if you believe it’s wrong to celebrate Christmas, then it is wrong for you.” I’d never ask you to violate your conscience and do something that you feel is wrong. That’s the short answer.
The longer answer is that maybe we should ask if it really is wrong to celebrate Christmas.
Does Christmas Have Pagan Roots?
Those who advocate that it is wrong for us to celebrate Christmas often point to Christmas’ connection with an ancient pagan holiday called Saturnalia. I am not an expert on this, nor do I want to be an expert on this, because I don’t see any need to be an expert on this!
But apparently, some time in ages’ past, some pagans who perhaps were worshiping the sun noticed that the days kept getting shorter and shorter in their particular hemisphere. Of course, the further north or south you are, the more this affects the length of the days.
They noticed that as December continued on, the days grew shorter and the sun set sooner. but then something wonderful happened. That predicament, that sorry situation was reversed, and the days suddenly started getting longer. That is the winter solstice, December the 21st.
In conjunction with all that, they had celebrations. They thought, “The sun’s come back to life, and the days aren’t getting shorter! They’re getting longer, once again. The darkness isn’t setting in. The light is overpowering the darkness.”
They gave gifts to one another and, reportedly, they brought in trees from outside. And they decorated them, and that was part of the celebration.
Does Celebrating Christmas Make Us Guilty By Association?
So, usually, this presents the issue of “guilt by association.”
Here we are, Christians, saying we are followers of Jesus. Yet we are doing these pagan things, like celebrating close to the time of the winter solstice! And we’re bringing these trees in our houses and decorating them!
That’s the basis of why some folks feel celebrating Christmas is wrong.
Now, I don’t feel that it is wrong, and we celebrate Christmas at my house; however, we don’t celebrate the sun god. We’re totally focused on Jesus, and specifically, His birth, which the church worldwide celebrates around this time.
Of course, the Eastern church has a little bit of a later date, but it’s pretty much universally around this time. Even though there’s not really any evidence that this is the time when Christ was born, it is a time when, historically, the church focuses on His birth.
Is Having a Christmas Tree Idolatry?
Now, I just want to make a disclaimer. I don’t worship my Christmas tree. I don’t bow down and say, “You are my god!” This is not idolatry. Idolatry is when you have a false god as your god, and idolatry is not just bowing in front of a statue. Idolatry could be putting anything before God.
I think there’s a lot of people who are anti-Christmas proponents who might do well to take a look at their lives and see if there isn’t some other form of idolatry going on. I’d say that, of course, for all of us. We’re supposed to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and if anything gets in the way of that, it could be considered idolatry.
I’m not worshiping my tree, and I’m not worshiping the sun. In fact, I believe that God made the sun, and rejoice in the fact that He’s got all the seasons under control. When I think about the days getting darker and then, suddenly, at the winter solstice, turning around and started to get longer, I just think about how great God is. Hallelujah! I’m glad that the days don’t keep getting darker. When the sun sets around 5:00 p.m., I don’t like that at all. I love the light.
How a Christian Can Enjoy the Symbolism of Christmas
The whole light and darkness theme is obviously a very biblical theme. God is the one who created light. He created the sun and the moon and the stars. Just because some pagans got it wrong 2,000 years ago doesn’t mean that—because I’m glad for the sun or because I’m happy that the winter solstice has finally arrived and the days are going to get longer—I’m a pagan. I’m not, in some way another, offending God in my happiness about that.
The same thing with trees. I mean, yeah, the pagans brought in trees and decorated them. And actually, I don’t even know that this is true, because I haven’t seen the evidence that this has been something that’s been progressively done since those pagans. It hasn’t stopped. It very well could be true that in some point in time, Christians not even knowing about an old pagan idea, started bringing in trees and decorating them.
But God made trees! The evergreen is a sign of hope and so forth, just as the days getting longer is a sign of hope and the promise of the resurrection of the spring. So, too, in my mind, when I see an evergreen tree, I think, “Boy, that tree stays green while all the other trees lose their leaves!” That could become an easy symbol for eternal life. This thing never dies, as it were. (Although, I got a fake Christmas tree, so it never lived!)
The Great Value of Celebrating Christmas
Now, if you disagree with me, you have to love me. Because that’s the most important thing! Because I am a follower of Jesus Christ doing my very best. And I can tell you right now that I love you if you disagree with me. And I respect your conviction if you think it’s wrong to have anything to do with Christmas or put up a Christmas tree, give out gifts and show people that you love them, all your love ones.
My family capitalizes on Christmas! My wife historically invites international students in for a Christmas dinner from all over the world. We’ve had Chinese international students come in to our house, sit at our table, and the first words out of their mouth were, “Would you please tell me about Jesus Christ?”
And I think, “Is that happening with the folks who believe that it’s a sin to celebrate Christmas? Are they taking advantage of the opportunity when the whole world actually is celebrating Christmas these days?”
An Opportunity to Tell the World About Jesus
I just got back from Burma. It’s a Buddhist nation, but in all the hotels and all the malls and so forth, they have Christmas music playing. Now, they don’t have Christian Christmas music (it’s usually secular Christmas music).
But still, it’s an opportunity to say, “Hey, do you guys have any idea what Christmas is really supposed to be about? Because it’s not about the sun god, it’s not about Saturnalia.”
If you ask the average person anywhere in the world what Christmas is about, they’re either going to say, “Well, it’s a holiday from people over in America and in Europe and so forth. I guess it’s a Christian thing or something.” They’re not going to say it’s Saturnalia and pagans worshiping the sun.
All the people here in my country, they’re not associating this with Saturnalia. It’s the wrong day, for crying out loud! The solstice is December 21. I’m recording this Little Lesson on December 20th, so that’s tomorrow. And I can’t wait to say, “That’s as dark as it gets.” Now, we’re heading towards spring. And we’re hoping to get out of the winter.
Focus, Focus, Focus on Jesus!
I love the traditions of Christmas, being with our family and friends and our love ones. There’s nothing wrong about giving!
On Christmas morning, we read the Christmas story, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. We focus, focus, focus on Jesus.
Well, this is a Little Lesson. I’ve gone too long. Thanks for tolerating me. I love you! See you next time.
