Why are Christians observing Christmas? Is it pleasing God or self or something else? Why so many expensive decorations, meat eating feasts, fashioning dresses, party making and bomb cracklings, Santa Claus, Christmas trees Christmas cards, gifts etc? The Bible or the disciples, the apostles of Jesus or His earthly family did not command or observe the birth day of the savior. Yet Christians are making justifications moved by carnal desire to celebrate it with giving ideological reasons outside the bible. Reasoned that. it is right to celebrate Christ’s birth day even if the date or day is not known or the Bible say nothing about it.Thought that 25th December can be taken as the birth day of Jesus. What right and reason can man supply to suffice such justification away from the Bible and still be called the followers of Christ or Christians? What blindness or blunder has blackened or blocked the eyes of human reasoning of this age? If Christians are called to be children of God, they must return to the biblical truth and reality of God’s plan for fallen humanity. The world is drawing and driving humanity away from the eternal truth and reality of God and His word. The so called Christians are so disobedience to God in many respects. Whatever God instructed or commanded man to do, Christians are trying or attempting to do the different things or ways and think themselves that they are doing the right ways. What else can be said to such a defiance attitude against God? Humanity has gone too wrong or too far a distant from the truth. The sight of human reasoning and discerning the truth has been blinded or blurred. The fact is a global threat to humanity and eternity will be barred lest humanity take a U-turn to God with a deep searching hearts. Return to the source of truth.The birth of Jesus was hidden from public notice for fear of Herod’s antagonism. The time of the year and the manner of His birth could be traced from the Bible with historical references. But the date and Month is concealed for reason left in mystery not necessary for man to dig and do to celebrate the birth of the savior of humanity. The revealed plan of redemption is pure of its purpose and program. It has to do with redeeming work and not of celebrating or observing His birth, death or resurrection. Therefore there is no biblical injunction for mankind to observe but to know of it. What is important is salvation for fallen humanity. Is it not superficial or needless to do things that do not matter about our salvation? Why Christians are much after celebrations and festivals as if God would be pleased? Christians since ages past are following after the pattern of this planet world under Satan’s dominion. Humanity in desperation is struggling to gain eternal life by blindly doing the things supposed or taken to be right before God. Whereas spiritual discernment and human conscience is being kept close and controlled by greed, pride and self-righteousness. For this reason, man is after the things of pleasure, comfort and wishful thinking. God is not pleased with ceremonies, celebrations or offerings of material goods. He is interested in the worship of His people who acknowledge the creatorship, the redeeming grace and all authority of God the eternal father. Humanity under sin-sequential battle of life is a journey of continual struggle and not of celebration. What matter is our total dependent on God’s mercy by worshipping Him in spirit and in truth. I often wonder why Christians are too blind and blunt to see and discern the truth of being the children of God in this world. Many mythological and heathenistic concepts of worship of gods are being accepted and introduced in the churches to be right and true for Christians to do likewise or practice the very things of pagan culture and origin. I see such suppositions are superstitious and superficial which has nothing to do with Christianity if Christianity is to follow and accept the plan of redemption of God.
Let us employ our reasoning by referring to the history of Christianity and its celebrations. History clearly tells that, right after the birth of Jesus up to the fourth Century, Christmas was not observed as Christian festival, neither the disciple, nor the family or Jesus himself celebrated Christmas as the birth day. However, 25th December was celebrated as the birthday of the son of Babylonian queen of heaven, a pagan female deity. It is mentioned in Jeremiah 7: 18,19 & 25. The Prophet Jeremiah warned us not to follow the way of pagan practices. Jere.10:1-4. Christmas was early known as Yuletide. Yule was the name of an old Celtic festival celebrated in honor of the winter solstice. The word Yule according to webster’s new world dictionary is defined as the original name of a heathen festival at the winter solstice, akin to the old Norse Jol. Why and who might have so designed to fit in to make it for Christians to celebrate as for the birth day of Jesus so wrongfully? Why are we Christians just and simply or blindly accepting and celebrating Christmas? Very unbiblical but purely traditional and of the world.
It was 440 A.D. that the early Christian church (claimed as catholic) officially declares 25th December as the birth day of Jesus. The catholic named it as Christmas. Pagan observed the 25th December, the winter solstice as the birth day of Zeus, a pagan god. The day was also observed as the birthday of Mithras, the sun god. Other pagan gods were also believed to be borne on that day, such as Osiris, Hercules, Bacchus etc.
The culture of Christmas decorations has it root in Roman festival of Saturnalia which is celebrated for seven days from 19 December. Roman worshipped Saturn as the god of harvest accompanied with temple decorations and feast of saturnalia. The British absorbed the culture of druids, Romans and Saxons and assimilated into the British Christian society. Today the world over, the culture of Christmas celebration in any place on earth, hotel, club, restaurant or church is identically akin to that of the feast of saturnalia. True worship of God is negligible in Christmas festival. Worship of idols, the image of Jesus, the clown of Santa Claus in the church or at the Church gate or streets, symbols of stars and lighting of candles or colorful electric bulbs in almost every house takes the place of true worship of God. Yet many Christians are still absorbed with deep interest taking for granted that Christ was born and so Christ- Mass is to be celebrated. Fashion and tradition of this world have occupied the minds and lives of the general Christians. Thus Christians are no difference from pagan or heathen or Hindu.
Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the purpose of giving a census account ordered by Caesar Augustus. The journey was about 70 miles. It might have taken three days and reached Bethlehem late in the evening and so no inn or home for them to stay. As the time was coincidentally the feast of Jewish tabernacle which falls in the month of Ethamim (Jewish calendar (October). The Jewish people from different places and regions came for Sukkot; the feast of tabernacle. The day, date, month and year of the birth of Jesus was decidedly not recorded for fear of Herod’s inquiry about the birth of the prophesied coming messiah. However the season and the century could be ascertained. 4th B.C. and during the Month of Ethamim (October) could be the most accurate account of the birth of the Messiah. The date and season of Christmas as in December 25th was set by religious monks and leaders of the middle age. “There is scarcely anything which strikes the mind of the careful student of ancient ecclesiastical history with greater surprise than the comparatively early period at which many of the corruption of Christianity, which are embodied in Romish system, took their rise; yet it is not to be supposed that when the first originators of many of these unscriptural notions and practices planted those germs of corruption…” John Dowling,a protestant clergyman & historian, history of Romanism, 13th edition,p-65. “The Jewish, the Samaritan, even the Christian, were to be fused and recast into one great system of which the sun was to be the central object of adoration” – Henry hart Milman, The history of Christianity, Bk.2.Chpter 8(vol 22,p-175) there is a proverb that says, “everything finally came to Rome”, “all road leads to Rome”
If at all Christians are to worship the true God and gain eternal life after death or at His coming at any moment from now on, every Christian soul should search the way of God by returning to the biblical teaching. Denounce men’s traditional beliefs and doctrines. Paul admonished the Galatians, not to follow the old and useless rules of traditions. He was worried to see that the believers may follow the teachings and telling of things about special days, months, seasons and years and that his mission may be in vain.Gal.4:9-11. The only mention of birthday in the Bible was that of pharaoh, the king of Egypt on whose birthday the chief baker was hanged to death,(Gen 40;20) and Herod, the king of Judah on whose birthday John the Baptist was beheaded. It becomes a human nature and belief that every birthday follows death day. The Bible warns the children of God not to follow the ways of Egytians and the Canaanites Leviticus 18:2-4. In a nutshell, be imitator of Christ in Character and shun the fashions of this world. No reason however strong or justifiable can ever erase the embedded secrecy and history of deception and apostasy that has already crept into the church. Thes.2:7-10.
G. Gwangphun
