Chistmas Conflict

Christmas seems to be one of those holidays that moves most people to a place of joy. That in itself is really quite commendable as personal joy is something that is often projected outward and in it’s own way reminds others that they have reason to feel joy also. A casual observer would be moved by the inherent happiness and well being exuded by a joyous person without really understanding why. In the United States, a predominately Christian nation, we associate Christmas with the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus. Someone that knew nothing of Jesus the Christ but witnessed the behavior of someone that did, in this season, would certainly feel and share in that person’s joyfulness just because it is there. Being human, we relate to the feelings of those around us.

I’ve always liked the Christmas holiday. When I was a child, it was such a wonderful thing that I looked forward to all year. My parents always had a traditional sort of celebration with Christmas dinner, a decorated tree and the exchanging of gifts. We always did this on Christmas Eve and in the innocence of my youth, I had the gifts of Santa Claus coming the next day. What great stuff for a child. So much candy, homemade sweet treats, Christmas music and often enough, snow.

When I grew up, the holiday still had most of the charm I’d experienced as a child but I did become more aware of the supposed real reason for the season. The birth of our Savior, right? In that light, the commercialism of Christmas seemed kind of wrong somehow. I still celebrated all of it in the same ways but it did seem to have less luster for me. I didn’t look forward to it throughout the year like I used to.

I got married along the way to where I’m at now. My wife and I had the sort of holiday that most people have. For a few years anyway. At some point I felt like I needed to live my life as a Christian and that’s when I met her grandfather. He was a devout Christian man and during a long visit with us we talked about Christmas, among other things. His take on it was that Christmas had nothing to do with Christianity. Though I respected and admired him, I still wanted to celebrate Christmas in the way that I always had. My wife didn’t and insisted that we should no longer recognize Christmas as a holiday that stood as a reminder of the birth of our Savior. Her take on it was that Christmas had pagan roots and to be involved in it was an affront to God himself. I really did need to research the history behind Christmas. It didn’t take much digging to see that the holiday does indeed have pagan roots. Traditions we follow today were instituted by the Christian church to take the place of pagan rituals. This all in an effort to convert the pagans to Christianity. The decorated tree, holly, mistletoe, caroling, gift giving, Santa Claus. All originate in paganism. Many historical scholars, and quite probably many theologians, affirm that the birth of Jesus was most likely in the month of September, not in December. The date 25 December comes from pagan celebrations that apparently start with some god named Mithras and that was eventually converted to celebrations of the Roman god Saturn. Saturnalia supposes that the sun dies on the 22 of December and is resurrected on the 25th. Three days. Note the difference between sun and Son. Saturnalia was an exceedingly wicked celebration by the way. Oddly, the woman that was my wife put me on this path of understanding but is today an avowed pagan herself and denounces Jesus as the Son of God and as any type of Lord and Savior.

I lived my life for approximately 25 years in rejection of Christmas celebrations. Today in my intelligent mind, I understand that Christmas isn’t really about the birth of Christ. The bible does not tell us to celebrate His birth. If anything, it tells us to celebrate his death. That’s where the real hope is.

All that being said, I can tell you that today I’m okay with Christmas. It may have pagan roots but how many other things in our lives do we go with the flow on and have no idea about their origins? Tooth fairies. Easter bunnies. New Years Eve celebrations. Halloween. Step on a crack……
I talked to my mom once about the whole pagan/Christmas thing. She told me that Christmas is for children. How true that short answer is. Life is hard on planet earth for the most part. How can it be so wrong to allow a child (or the child in our adult hearts) to have a few days of joy in the celebration of a good meal, a decorated tree, the giving and receiving of gifts, songs of praise for our Savior, peace and goodwill toward our fellow man? I love my Lord and am here to serve Him in whatever small way that I can. I just don’t believe that he is so harsh as to condemn us for celebrating this holiday.

I say to you Merry Christmas. May the knowledge that a King was born and ultimately died for you, that there is hope for us all, bring joy to your heart. Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.