THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
All over the
world, most Christians remember in ‘Christmas’ (Mass for Christ) since the 4th
century, the birth of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST.
Christmas is
celebrated on three different dates depending of the Church that celebrates.
According to the
Western Gregorian calendar:
The Armenian Church
celebrates on the 6th of January, keeping the most ancient custom of
Eastern Christians, together with Eastern feast of the Baptism of our Lord.
The Old Calendar
Orthodox and Coptic Church, on the 7th of January, which is
equivalent to the 25th of December in the Eastern Julian Calendar,
the original Christian calendar.
Western
Christians on the 25th of December, according to the Papal Gregorian
Calendar that came in force in 1582.
WHY THE 25TH
OF DECEMBER
Nobody really
knows for certain when our Lord Jesus was born. In fact, the first Christians
did not celebrate the Nativity of Lord Jesus as it was not a Christian custom
to celebrate anyone’s birthday, but the date of their death, when they
considered was our real birth into life.
Nevertheless, it
can be deducted that it must have happened during Spring or Summer (March to August),
since the shepherds were guarding the sheep during the night (Luke 2:8), which
would be most improbable during winter, which is the season marked as 25th
of December in Israel. And fifteen months after the one of the administrations
of the priestly division of Abijah (Luke 1:5, 26). But information is so
limited and ancient, that it cannot be identified beyond doubt and dispute.
However, the Ancient
Christians, as they became less Judaic and more gentile, adopted the use of
celebrations of birthdays, and one of them was the need to celebrate the birth
of Jesus. The 25th of December (7th of January in the Roman
Calendar of the time) was chosen because it was the date of the celebration of the
SOL INVICTUS, or Invincible Sun for the Romans. The bishops, trying to
eradicate this custom from an unconverted people, replaced the pagan Sun for
the birth of JESUS, and since then it stayed on that date.
IS IT
SINFUL TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS ON AN OLD PAGAN DATE OR AT ALL?
Many Christians refuse
to celebrate Nativity Day or Christmas, based in the fact that it is not a
biblical command, and most from the idea that since it replaced the pagan day
of the Sun, we are really celebrating a pagan festival and not a Christian one,
specially since Jesus was most probably not born on that date.
But whatever the
Bible does not directly forbids, like killing unjustly, or thieving, it is not
sinful. Therefore, to celebrate birthdays, national days, wedding anniversaries
and the like, are not sinful at all, because they are not forbidden in
Scripture, neither contain any evil message.
On the other
issue, the date chosen to celebrate the earthly birth of our Lord could be any
date, regardless of what pagan god any religion chose to celebrate on that day,
since GOD is the only owner of time, and not the devil; and since we celebrate
the nativity of our Lord and Redeemer JESUS, we are not participating of any
pagan element in it. We are celebrating a Christian festival and not any pagan
one, and it is not sinful at all.
THE TRUE
CHRISTIAN POSITION
On the modern 25th
of December, Christians chose to remember the nativity of our Savior and Lord
JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, and we do it out of our own accord, and the presence
of Jesus sanctifies the celebration. We congregate in churches, sing hymns and
carols, and meditate on the Scriptures and the meaning of the birth of Jesus. Then
we go to our homes to dine with family and friends, forgetting all offences in
the Name of our Savior.
A true Christian
Christmas has nothing to do with Santa Clause, or Christmas trees, or spending in
commercial manipulation. It is strictly a RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL. All other forms
of celebration are modern pagan customs. No need to worry about the Sun or the
Moon or any star, but we need to worry about the denigration of humanity in
alcohol, drugs, orgies and other forms of modern paganism. WE CHRISTIANS DO NOT
PARTICIPATE ON THAT.
But also. we
must respect our brethren who chose not to celebrate, as our Apostol Paul says
in Scripture:
“Therefore,
if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat
meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”
1Corinthians
8:13
We should not
fight or offend each other if one of us has rejection or is not sure about the
legitimacy of the celebration. The celebration is good, but IT IS NOT A
BIBLICAL COMMAND. Therefore, we must salute them as always, love them as
always, and keep communion with them as always, regardless of what they do. If
they decide to cut from us, let them be them who do it, but never on our part.
That would be sinful on our part if we do.
CONCLUSION
As the Feast of
PURIM was adopted in the times of the ancient Jews and celebrated in the times
of our Lord, we also have adopted Christmas to celebrate the Nativity of our
Lord Christ. And it is an opportunity, not only to give Him thanks for his
mercy and incarnation, but also to meditate in the love that drove the Logos to
become man and to die for us on the Cross, and carry on this message on those
around us.
Omar Flores.
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