A lot has being said concerning Christmas and a lot continues to unfold as yearly one philosophy or perspective is enacted about Christmas celebration. A lot of people are of the opinion that Christmas is not to be celebrated by Christians while other Christians continue to dispute the actual date for the celebration.
Why many people continue to lament over the way people tend to celebrate Christmas in various parts of the world, it is important to know what Christmas signifies and how it ought to be celebrated. In this article, I will attempt to bring an opinion about what the bible says about Christmas and also, throw light from logical deductions from facts that I have gathered over the years.
What is Christmas? Christmas according to Britannica is a Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus. It goes to say that the term Christmas means "Mass on Christ's day" which goes to let us know that it has the Roman Catholic origin. However, it was noted that since the early 20th century, Christmas was a secular family holiday observed by both Christians and Non-Christians alike but was marked with an elaborate exchange of gifts.
This celebration was characterized by a mythical creature called Santa Claus who was also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, or Kris Kringle. According to Wikipedia, Santa brought gifts such as toys, candy, coal or nothing to children on Christmas Eve depending on whether they were naughty or nice.
According to the Oxford Dictionary; Christmas is an annual Christian festival celebrating Christs birth, held on 25th December in the Western Church. A description by history.com says that centuries before the arrival of the man called Jesus, early Europeans celebrated light and birth in the darkest days of winter on this day. While many people rejoiced during the winter solstice when people celebrated the coming of longer days and extended hours of sunlight having left the worst winter behind them.
History also has it that the Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast for honouring the children of Rome and also, the birthday of Mithra, a god of the unconquerable sun on the 25th of December. In fact, it was said that for some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.
Unfortunately, the bible didn't mention the day that Jesus was given birth to as opined by the Puritans in order to deny the legitimacy of the celebration. However, as Christianity continued to advance, Pope Julius I chose 25th December as the day Jesus Christ was given birth to and has since been adopted by the Church Global according history.com.
Seeing that the bible didn't actually point out the day for Christians to celebrate Christmas; is it then important to observe Christmas Day at all? Let me use the bible to bring out what makes me agree with those Christians celebrating Christmas on 25th December yearly.
In Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18; we see Jesus the reason for Christmas Day allowing Christians to institute anything on the earth and it will be established in heaven by him. Thus, it means that if the Christians have agreed that 25th December every year would be reserved as a day to celebrate the birth of their saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, I think no one should stop them.
By the way, the name Christians was given to the followers of Jesus Christ at Antioch (Acts 11:26) and that was when anyone who believes and follows Jesus Christ was given the name Christians. It simply means Christ-like” according to the above reference.
Also, no theologian or philosopher can dispute the fact that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was actually given birth to on a particular day and if they cannot actually point out a day for the Christians to celebrate Christmas thus, if the Christians have decided to adopt a day which is the 25th December every year to celebrate their Saviour and Lord, I don't think it is logical for anyone to bring an objection.
Biblical knowledge lets us know that Jesus Christ brought salvation to anyone who would acknowledge his Lordship over their lives (Romans 10:8-15) by simply saying, Lord, Jesus I believe you and I receive you according to Rick Warren. He died for the sins of all mankind and no one should stop any Christian celebrating the birthday of their Lord. After all, people celebrate their love ones because of how dear they hold them in their heart so, why should people who hold their Lord dear not celebrate him? Apostle Paul admonished that no man should judge anyone in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or new moon, or Sabbath days (Colossians 2:16). Let us be properly guided please.
So, having said that I wish to add by saying that Christmas should be celebrated in a way that will honour the Lord and Saviour of the Christians called Jesus since he is the reason for Christmas and because, he lived a life to defend the oppressed from the evil ones (Acts 10:38).
I just shared my opinion on this subject matter; I don't claim to know all but I am presenting my opinion from facts on ground, authority given Christians from the bible and common sense. Please, you can leave your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you
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