Over the years I’ve watched as people get prepared for the Christmas Celebration, believers and unbelievers alike. Not much difference in most cases, that is of the people I know. Parents get a wish list from their children, spouses or significant others do the same (I don’t agree with wish list). The squirming and sighing of not being able to afford what everyone wants. We also have our preparing of lights, trees, the various ornaments and decorations being placed or hung around our homes and businesses. We have the Church services and plays. Oh, and the parties! Everyone has to have a get together. From the office vendors who want to come by and take you out to eat, various co-workers may have their own separate party. If you’re part of a church typically instead of having only one celebration you have your Study Group party, Youth party, Young Adult party, Senior get-together, various people of the church have their own thing, then you have the different staff dinners, and so on. It’s almost as if it will never end.
All the while you have the unbelievers screaming you can say Happy Holiday but you can’t say Merry Christmas. You have the zealous Christians saying I’m going to say Merry Christmas and put Christ back in Christmas. Before I get going on my point; I understand but I still think we miss it, as Christians that is.
If you know the history of what we know as Christmas initially was not a “Christian” celebration to begin with. It was a secular celebration that the Pope adopted with hopes to change it to a church celebration in memory of the birth of our Savior. To that point His birth had not been celebrated although His death and resurrection had, which of course is what we know as Easter. The original celebration was much like Mardi-Gras and the Pope saw the adoption as a means to get people out of the Mardi-Gras party into a more controlled celebration since some of them were church people. And so, Christmas has evolved into what we westerners now know. By the way this is an extreme abbreviation of this history so you may want to read more about it elsewhere.
Later in years the Puritans wanted Christmas abolished from being a church celebration. I don’t want it abolished but I do want us as Christians to keep it in perspective. Paul said not to judge someone based on their feast or celebrations. Jesus said that when we come together to take the wine and bread, wine representing His blood, bread representing His broken body, and when we drink the wine and eat the bread do that in remembrance of Him. I love the communion service because of this, if it happened at every service it would be appropriate I believe. It brings our compete attention to Jesus, who He is and what He has done. But as many say, “put Christ back in Christmas”, I agree with what Jesus said about the money and I think we can apply the same principal here, “give to Caesar what is Caesars”.
I say, enjoy the celebration! In most cases those that scream about it on either side simply just don’t have enough to do. I do know from the Church side those that scream the loudest are usually the ones that only go to church once or twice a year anyway and this is simply a tradition for them they don’t want changed, or their so steep in legalism they choke the life out of everything.
I’m a bit cynical these days anyway and somewhat skeptical of those that want everything religious because it’s usually just that “religious”. I think we can participate in Christmas without losing our salvation and nonbelievers should be able to participate without getting religion shoved down there throat. Forcing people to accept Jesus usually don’t work anyway not to mention that’s not that way it should work anyway. Celebrate it and simply be a witness and living testimony of what Jesus has done and can do.
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