christmas and the christian

I am interested in people's beliefs regarding christmas.Do you celebrate it?Do you put up a tree?Do you tell your children about santa claus?

Stuart:I guess I will be the first to respond to this.I asked a similar question before on a post concerning Christians and Halloween. I think Christmas is much different though than the wicked celebration of Halloween.My family and I do celebrate Christmas. We do put up a tree. We tell our children that Santa Claus is a big lie and takes away the glory from our Lord, Savior and King Jesus. We do not have anything of santa claus and we try to keep our Christmas celebration to enjoying our family time together. I try to keep the gift buying for my kids to a minimum and not get caught up in the materialism of the world. I must say I have questioned the tree thing in the past but decided to continue putting a tree up and decorating it.In the area that I live I have met so many professing Christians that take part in Halloween and the santa claus thing. Even to the point of leaders in the churches dressing up as santa claus at the mall. I have always really struggled with this.I am curious to read what others think and do.Sincerly in Christ,Mike

I do celebrate Christmas. I'm 19 so I really just go with the flow of my family...same situation as Greg (wrtbooks). Not a Christian family, so they do the "Hallmark Christmas" thing.When I have a family of my own, Santa will not be in the picture. We'll probably read the account of Christ's birth in Luke on Christmas Eve and do the whole nativity scene deal. Send Christian Christmas cards, make sure we remember the reason for the season. The only red and green we'll really focus on is the red of His blood and the green of a new life in Him.As for presents...well, I give random gifts throughout the year, why not up the amount I give in December? You can't avoid receiving gifts, and since it's better to give than receive, I'll just give more.I like Christmas. It's one giant witnessing opportunity.

We have gone back and forth on the whole issue of Christmas. Yes, I know it originated from a pagan holiday, etc...We have 3 kids and we have taken it year by year- really listening to what the Lord would have us do. As we've matured in the Lord, we have minimized the materialism big time. I tell them that Santa is not real (I do tell them not to go around telling their friends "hey, you know what? there's no Santa!") I still let them sings songs about it (Santa Claus is coming to Town) because I explain that it is just a story, a fairy tale- like Cinderella, or any other story. Just because Cinderella isn't real- we don't ban the mention of her name :)On the other hand- we don't have santa stuff in our home. I purposely don't buy things with Santa on them. I am appalled at the millions of children who only think of Santa and all the presents that they will be getting from him. We have a Birthday Cake every Christmas Day for Jesus' birthday. (I know it isn't really the real date) but it teaches the kids who we are to honor on this day. That it's not about us but about Him. We talk about what presents we can give Jesus. We can give Him all of our heart, more obedience, love others more. And we discuss alot about how He was the Father's gift to us. That's why we give gifts to celebrate His great gift to us.Also we have decided to give the kids just 3 presents each. In the past we used to give them a ton but not anymore-because that's all they would think about. We tell them if Jesus only needed 3 gifts from the wisemen- they certainly don't need any more than Him :)I really want to please the Lord with this. If He leads us to do something different, then I will be obedient to that. I am not so into tradition that I will follow man's tradition before I follow Him."May the only gift we really care about be the gift of God Himself.A king humbling Himself to become likeone of us.Giving of Himself to be born -giving of Himself to die.Who knew a baby could change the worldby changing hearts!Let us continue to let Him change our hearts every day of the year!" ~Chanin Dec. 2002In His love, Chanin

"While Santa puts gifts under your treeJESUS BECAME OUR GIFTAND DIED ON A TREE"~author unknown

Chanin (moreofHim),Definitely loved your post on how you and your family handle a modern Christmas. In a few years I'll be having children of my own (God willing, of course) and I've often thought on how I would raise my children in matters such as these. Awesome awesome things you shared -- thank you.On a super-side note, we often see the abbreviation for Christmas as "Xmas". I just wanted to point out that it takes "Christ" out of Christmas. Take from that what you will.

Mary wrote: "On a super-side note, we often see the abbreviation for Christmas as "Xmas". I just wanted to point out that it takes "Christ" out of Christmas. Take from that what you will."Reply: Wellllll actually it doesn't, but you have to know Greek to understand the X in X-mas. The X in X-mas is not the English letter of the alphabet, but the Greek X wich is Chi. This was one of the Greek symbols for Christ. It's one of those meanings that has been lost to history.In Christ,Jeremy Hulsey

Jeremy's quote: The X in X-mas is not the English letter of the alphabet, but the Greek X wich is Chi. It often comes as surprise to Christians to know that the early Christians didn't use the cross as the symbol of their faith. In the main they used the symbol of the fish. (I tried to draw one here but the computer thinks I am using HTML codes, so please see the title) The Greek for fish is ixthus.i is the initial letter of the Greek word for Jesus - Iesousx is the initial Greek letter "ch" for Christos - Christth is the initial Greek letter for theos - of Godu is the initial Greek letter for uios - sons is the initial Greek letter for soteria - Saviourso the fish symbol stood for "Jesus Christ God's Son Saviour"The other scratched symbol that early Christians used was the Chi-Rho. It is the joining of two Greek letters Chi (looking like our X) and Rho (looking like our upper case P). If the Rho is superimposed on the Chi we get the Chi-Rho (pronounced Cairo) symbol which would give the sound (Chr)in Greek, this being a secret code of mutual identification used among early Christians.

If my remember correctly, the Chi-Rho that Ron mentioned is also the symbol believed to have been given to Constantine in his vision that he was to put on the shields of his soldiers. Another interesting fact about crucifixion unsing nails. Most people were tied to crosses with ropes as it saved time and labor for the Roman soldiers. Only special cases called for the use of nails. Also, four nails were used instead of three. The feet were placed on either side of the cross and nailed through the side. The tradition of three nails came from middle-ages art. All religious art was filled with spiritual symbolism. There was nothing spiritual about four nails; however, three nails could represent the Trinity. And thus, we now have bumper-sticker that reads, "One cross + three nails = fourgiven." Interesting line of logic I think.One last thing about using the shortened X-mas; you're still supposed to pronounce it Christmas. ;-)

Although the 'X' in Xmas is derived from the Greek langauge, most people don't know this today. For this reason I don't like it being used because it takes peoples minds away from Christ (As Mary implied).

Nasher's quote: Although the 'X' in Xmas is derived from the Greek langauge, most people don't know this today. For this reason I don't like it being used because it takes peoples minds away from Christ (As Mary implied).I understand this position, however for most folk the name Christ is also without content. I can think of some titles for Christmas tracts which could home in on the idea of "X marks the spot" or perhaps one for the mathematicians "Calculate the value of X". ;-) In my scribbling of notes I always use abbreviations e.g. X=Christ, Xn=Christian, Xnty etc. Having done this for a number of years whenever I see the symbol X my brain reads 'Christ'. I knew an old preacher who, without cynicism, would say "Beware of Christmas; it's a trick to get you worshipping Mary". It sounds harsh but just notice your Christmas cards and see who has prime place. You might like to listen to the carols and see who has top billing there too.

When I went "home" for the Thanksgiving weekend, I was able to meet up with a Jewish friend I went to high school with. His friends at his college were planning to throw him a Christmas party since he had never celebrated Christmas.This Hallmark Christmas is awful, and is taking the focus off of the real reason for the season.Satan's laughing, and I hate it.

This Hallmark Christmas is awful, and is taking the focus off of the real reason for the season.On the one hand I would agree with you and I know what you are saying. But I do see a different side to the matter. The Hallmark Christmas is the reason for the season, its (christmas) roots are unholy and so its fruits will ultimatley be unholy also no matter how much we try to put Christ into it. People say "Don't take Christ out of christmas" but there is a good argument that says that He has no buisness being yolked together with a festival that was pagan in the past and carnal today. Christmas is a time of drunkeness, lonliness greed and worldliness why do we try so hard to force spirituality into this festival?Anyway, probably sounds like I am just harsh and legalisticly against christmas, I'm not :-) many of my dear brothers and sisters celebrate it with a good conscience and I have no problem with that.Just giving some of the reasons why I find myself less and less interested in it.Stuart.

I find it hard to beleive that people call themselves christians and celebrate and believe the lies of pagan customs. Jeremiah 10 talks about the tree. If People would study they would see that this pagan hoilday has nothing to do with Christ birth but with the birth of Tammuz. God does not condone lies neither does he approve them no matter how blind the people want to be. Many will find themselves lifting there eyes up in Hell for preaching and teaching these lies such as Christmas and Easter. People can snowball each other all they want down here, but pay day is coming. I say that the people need to REPENT! for these lies which had noting to do with Jesus. Christmas is pagan and No lie is of the truth. Charles Dowell.

Mary wrote: On a super-side note, we often see the abbreviation for Christmas as "Xmas". I just wanted to point out that it takes "Christ" out of Christmas. Take from that what you will.this was very early in the thread, but I am surprised that no-one has commented about the other half of the word. As we have it 'Christ-mass' is of Roman Catholic origin, hence my old friend who used to say 'Beware of Christmas, it's a trick to get you worshipping Mary'.Now if we could get rid of the 'mass' bit that would just leave 'Christ'. I guess we would all be happy with that?Here's a definition: Definition: \\Mass\\, n. [OE. masse, messe, AS. m[ae]sse. LL. missa, from L. mittere, missum, to send, dismiss: cf. F. messe. In the ancient churches, the public services at which the catechumens were permitted to be present were called missa catechumenorum, ending with the reading of the Gospel. Then they were dismissed with these words : ``Ite, missa est'' [sc. ecclesia], the congregation is dismissed. After that the sacrifice proper began. At its close the same words were said to those who remained. So the word gave the name of Mass to the sacrifice in the Catholic Church. See {Missile}, and cf. {Christmas}, {Lammas}, {Mess} a dish, {Missal}.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) The sacrifice in the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the consecration and oblation of the host. bold type is mine.

I must confess brothers and sisters that this is a topic I struggle with. I can find no scriptural support for celebrating the birth of our Lord. (If I am wrong, please advise). By no means am I dismissing the awesome miracle of our Lord's incarnation. I mean the Eternal Word of God pressed into the womb of a woman is just incredible. I was only just talking with our local minister the other day about this very topic. I voiced my concerns as named above and also the pagan origins of Christmas to him. His reply is in line with using the time of year to reach out and to "give cheerfully" to others as God has given to us. As a side note I think that the reason why Jesus came to earth has been lost to some. I know of some ministers who, because of the increased numbers on Christmas day, let the congregants have it. (ie. Telling them that they are filthy rotten sinners and preaching a very strong message of repentance). According to Matt 1:21 the name of Jesus was given to Him "because he will save his people from their sins."Now this is all fair and well (the using the time of the year to outreach), but are we or are we not to "worship the Lord in spirit and truth". I think of the fate of Nadab and Abihu when they offered "strange fire" to the Lord on the altar. And isn't a bit of a cop out to say "Well because it is Christmas I will be able to outreach." We are called to be witnesses 24/7 as far as I am concerned. (I am tragically guilty of not sometimes practicing what I preach).I have waffled enough for now but I will close by leaving two links which give an interesting background to Christmas.http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract3.htmlhttp://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract4.html

Hi Marksoyour quote:I must confess brothers and sisters that this is a topic I struggle with. I can find no scriptural support for celebrating the birth of our Lord. (If I am wrong, please advise). I often share your feelings and have often asked the Lord to do something to clear out the rubbish so that the gospel could be preached without all the historical baggage and new-age syncretistic nonsense. The answer I get in my heart is that it has always been like this. Christianity was always in the marketplace (not the study) competing with other so-called solutions. In the era of the New Testament we have evidence of gnostic attempts to take over the gospel (Colossians), Judaistic preversions of the truth (Galatians), false brethren sneaking in unseen trying to enslave the Christians (Galatians), the beginnnings of decadence in church life (3John)... Why doesn't God just silence all this false witness?Time and again God takes me to this astonishing statement of Paul, and like the disciples I plead 'Lord, increase my faith'..Php 1:15-18 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of partisanship, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice.What kind of perverted witness could have come from people who only preached Christ so that they could get Paul into more trouble? Paul's statement sounds very much like 'any publicity is good publicity'. I'm sure Paul is right and my reactions are defensive, so I continue to pray.. Lord, increase my faith. There is another statement that challenges my view of how things 'ought to be'. It is the comment of the leader of the town council in Ephesus For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. Paul spent more than 2 years in Ephesus and the local 'mayor' says 'they have not blasphemed your goddess'. This can only mean that Paul and the early Christians were not preaching 'against idolatry' but were preaching 'for Christ'. Of course, they were 'against idolatry' but they did not publically attack it they 'preached Christ'. Since I saw this a few years ago, my street preaching has not been 'against' the rubbish and the error but has been a witness to Christ which, after all, is part of the reason as to why the Spirit came (Acts 1:8).

This can only mean that Paul and the early Christians were not preaching 'against idolatry' but were preaching 'for Christ'. Of course, they were 'against idolatry' but they did not publically attack it they 'preached Christ'.That is an excellent insight. I reminds me of the situation in Acts 17, when Paul saw the idolatry in Athens his spirit was stirred within him. So what did he do? go to the highest mountain localy and bind the ruling spirits? no, rather:He reasoned therefore in the synagogue with the Jews, and those who worshipped, and in the market-place every day with those he met with.(Darby)and what did his reasoning consist of? v 18: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.Paul did noy ignore the idolatry, it stirred him. But it didn't stir him to go out and expose it by uncovering its dark history, it stirred him to preach the gospel. He did mention in his address that God is not worshiped with man's hands. That was the extent of his attack on idols.We are faced with the dilema of idolatry in Catholic Ireland. Most homes still have some kind of graven images in them, public places often have large statues of "the maddona and child" or such like. Somtimes christians feel that if only they could convince their neighbours to get rid of their statues and pictures they would be doing well. But often the truth is that when people are brought into contact with the living Christ their idols will quickly lose their meaning.