Why I changed my mind and celebrate Christmas
Christmas is an amazing phenomenon in that many Christians would never think twice or even once about celebrating it like much of the world does — gifts, trees, music — while other Christians are so vehemently against it that they would call the first group heretics.
The anti-Christmas crowd is not much of a crowd — a minority, to be sure, among American evangelicals — but their insistence that the holiday is unbiblical, pagan, and idolatrous is loud enough to draw attention.
I used to be a Scrooge. I didn’t decry those who celebrate Christmas as apostates, but I made a stink about its origins, commercialism, and materialism. “Keep Saturn in Saturnalia!”, I would joke.
I still don’t like what the world has made of it, and I’m uneasy with the mountains of stuff I see surrounding trees in living rooms, drowning out the reason for the season. While I admire the historical Nicholas, I’m not a fan of Santa Claus, whose naughty-nice list is the opposite of the gospel (we’re all naughty). And every nativity scene is probably inaccurate, but that will be next week’s article.
But other than that, I’m no longer in the humbug camp. I love Christmas. I love Christmas trees. I love Christmas lights. I love Christmas cookies. I love (most) Christmas music.
Here are three reasons why I changed my mind and now have no problem celebrating Christmas:
Celebrating Christ’s birth is celebrating His death. He was born to die. The incarnation is just as much the gospel as His death and resurrection, because it was necessary for God to become a Man in order to live a perfect life and take our place on the cross. It’s all one story. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown. This is why my tree topper is a cross.
It’s true that the Bible never tells us to observe Christmas, but in the Scriptures we do see people celebrating the birth of Jesus. When pregnant Mary went to see pregnant Elizabeth in Luke 1, Elizabeth blessed her, unborn John the Baptist leapt in the womb, and Mary glorified God with the Magnificat. A glorious angel appeared to shepherds proclaiming good tidings of great joy, followed by a multitude of the heavenly host praising God. The shepherds visited the Baby and returned glorifying God. Wise men came from the East bearing gifts in worship, and they rejoiced when the star guided them to the Child. Simeon and Anna blessed the Lord when they saw Him.
I came to learn from trusted teachers that the pagan origins of the holiday are not what they are made out to be, and many of them are not true at all. This video by Mike Winger shows that many of the similarities between the Christ story and ancient deities like Mithra, Horus, and Dionysus are either without ancient sources or contradicted by them. Some of them could have been stolen from Christianity rather than the other way around. Was December 25 borrowed from pagan myths? So what if it was? That’s meaningless now. As Mike says, “It’s just a day … A day is what you make of it.” Nobody who celebrates Christmas today has any thought of any of these myths or idols, even if there is some resemblance. See also this video, which destroys the idea that the decorated idols of Jeremiah 10 have anything to do with Christmas trees.
I’m not saying Christians should celebrate Christmas; I respect those who decide not to. But we shouldn’t shame or bind others’ consciences either way. The Bible speaks very highly of our conscience (see 1 Corinthians chapters 8 and 10:23-33) and freedom of conscience: “why is my liberty judged by another man’s conscience?” (1 Cor. 10:29).
Christmas is the kind of disputable matter that Romans 14 addresses. One passage in that chapter is particularly pertinent to the practice of celebrating certain days:
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.
That’s exactly what I say about Christmas. Be convinced in your own mind, and honor the Lord whether you celebrate it or not.
See also this article by Kevin DeYoung on the history of the date: “There is good evidence that December 25 was not chosen because of any pagan winter holidays.”
One more thing
Another Christmas issue: I have no dog in the culture-war fight over “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy holidays.”
First, the word holiday means “holy day,” so it’s not like that greeting is any less sacred. But as with the debate over Christmas itself, nothing should be forced on anyone. It’s wrong to forbid people to say “Merry Christmas,” and it’s wrong to coerce anyone to say it. In fact, the latter is worse, because if someone says “Merry Christmas” only because they’re compelled to, they’re taking the Lord’s name in vain. This is a petty, prideful squabble that’s often used to score cheap political points.
They’re both polite greetings. If either offends you, get over it.
