I'm a Christmas nut. Many, many moons ago my ex-wife and I decorated our little apartment in October. Shoot, I'm usually listening to Christmas music in August and I'm Walmart's first shopper in the Christmas section when they put it out.
I realize that many say Christmas has pagan origins and we shouldn't celebrate it. If that's your personal conviction, so be it. I would never attempt to shove Christmas down the throat of someone who didn't believe in its celebration. I would also hope that the reverse would be true; I don't wish to have someone condemning me because of my belief that it's alright. I think this comes down to what Paul talked about in the New Testament. He said some believed it okay to eat meat sacrificed to idols and others did not; he said that we must answer to Christ in regards to what we allow or don't allow.
Perhaps some of the Christmas traditions can be traced back to pagan influences. Number one, I've never been a pagan nor was I alive when the traditions were changed! Let me address the common arguments I hear and I will address them as to how I believe.
One thing I've always heard is that Jesus could have not been born on December 25th. You know, I'm not a theologian nor do I know enough about what the climate was during the time of year He was born. I do hear people make the point that it's always other religions honoring their deity on December 25th. I've always heard that Satan has an imitation for everything real. We find variations of Noah's flood in other religions. We find attempts in other religions to have a savior/redeemer. If Satan is the expert in copying Christianity for other religions, why not copy December 25th for these other religions? Again, there's nothing in Scripture to bear this out but it is a thought.
Another thing I hear often is the "Santa Claus myth" and/or how close "Santa" is to "Satan." I'll take this issue one thing at a time. People say that if you tell your kids about Santa that they will find out it's a myth and they'll also believe Christ to be a myth. Okay, I can see that point but I disagree. First of all, I don't, nor have I ever, prayed to Santa. I don't go to the First Pentecostal Church of Santa. I don't read a Bible about Santa. Growing up, I knew what was real and what was fake. I took Santa no more serious than I did Bugs Bunny or Woody Woodpecker. And for the Santa vs. Satan thing, a quick bit of research will fix that. Santa is another word for "saint." We have Santa Monica in California and there's also the Santa Anna winds; I don't hear anyone saying they must be a haven of evil!
Third of all, if Christmas were this huge pagan holiday that we should avoid, why do we have the ACLU fighting tooth and nail attempting to remove nativity scenes from the public square? We're talking the same group who wishes to remove any religious references from the public square including The Ten Commandments and other vestiges of Christianity. If Christmas offends them, it must not be a big pagan holiday, right?
So, here's my take on the subject of Christmas. I'm not worshiping a tree, not at all! What did Christ hang upon when He died for our sins? A tree! The Christmas tree of choice is an evergreen tree, a tree that stays alive year-round. That reminds me of the eternal life I'm promised when I die or go via the rapture. The decorations, well, I don't worship those either. They remind me of the beauty of Heaven. If we read Revelation it describes the Holy City and the beauty of it. The lights remind me that Christ is the light of the world and that we are to project that light to a lost and dying world. It could also remind us of the star that led the Magi to the Christ-child.
If you choose not to celebrate, more power to you; I won't condemn you or call you names. All I ask is the same respect for my choices!
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