Religion & Spirituality >
Christian Holidays & Celebrations
Get a Widget for this title
RSS FeedCan Christians ever manage to reclaim Christmas as a holy day?
Results so far:
| No | 44% | 338 votes | Total: 766 votes | |
| Yes | 56% | 428 votes |
No
Write now
Print
Invite a writer™
Add to FavoritesI've been alive for 19 years. I don't know how things used to be, but I have a pretty good grasp on how things are today. As long as I've been around, Christmas has meant pretty much one thing; toys.
I was raised catholic. I went to catholic school and attended church regularly. When Christmas morning came around I was not thinking about Jesus Christ, but rather, "Jesus Christ are all those presents for me?" Of coarse, now that I'm older I enjoy Christmas for other reasons. I no longer wake up to a pile of gifts under the tree, just a couple small things from my mom. Which is more than I would ask for. Today what I love about Christmas is spending time with my family. Its one of the few times of the year that I know we will all be together.
Still though, Christmas is ruled by shopping. Every year, countless people wait outside their favorite department stores. Ready to trample anyone who gets between them and that 52" LCD screen that's thirty percent off. When someone mentions Christmas, you don't think of Jesus. You might think of your family, you might think of Christmas dinner, but you're probably thinking, "Shoot, I still haven't gotten anything for Steve yet."
Sure, most of us have deeper feelings for Christmas than just buying stuff. But I know Christmas will never be, "just another holy day". God fearing citizens have become the minority. There were about twenty-five students in my class at Holy Name Catholic School. We would go to mass about three times a week. Now young adults, only a handful of us still go to church on Sundays. I'm not one of them, and I can safely say that most of those who do go, are only doing so to satisfy their parents wishes.
It will be interesting to see how that trend plays out. How many people from my generation will take their kids to church on Sunday. Will priests, like an old rock band, find themselves playing to half empty houses. Sorry, "houses of God". How will Christianity as an institution hold up. Christmas is done for in a religious sense. You don't even have to believe in God to celebrate it anymore. How long before churches are deemed unnecessary, and followers have to meet in each others basements as if they are having a fantasy football draft.
Okay so I guess I'm trailing off a bit. But my point is if you are going to take something you'd better have an army. And there aren't enough real Christians out there today to try to take anything.
Learn more about this author, Kevin Hamilton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Yes
What would you do if you opened your morning newspaper and saw these headlines? - "Will Christians Reclaim Christmas As A Holy Day?"
Did you know that there was a time when Christmas was cancelled? Yes, there really was a Scrooge. In the mid-1600s, when Oliver Cromwell took over England, he officially cancelled Christmas.
In 1789, when the first congress was in session under our new Constitution, it was in session on December 25, 1789. Finally, in 1870 Christmas was declared a federal holiday.
There seems to be something magical about the Christmas season. People who seem to never think of anyone else will drop a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket. Just the mention of the word Christmas to a child seems to make their eyes light up brighter than the lights on the tree. People of all religious beliefs make a point to spend more time with family during this season, whether they actually celebrate the birth of Jesus or not.
Businesses often give bonuses, other gifts or just a couple of extra days off to their employees. Christmas just seems to bring everyone together for one particular season more than any other time of the year.
So, why do we celebrate Christmas in December and why would the shepherds be herding sheep in the middle of winter? We can blame that on the Pope. Pope Julius I chose December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but it was actually called the Feast of the Nativity.
As a child, I always heard that the animals actually spoke at midnight on Christmas Eve. I can remember being in such of a dilemma wanting to sit up until midnight just to see and at the same time realizing that I wouldn't get any presents if I didn't go to bed early. I never really understood why my going to bed early made any difference, but I was never disappointed.
Whether Jesus was actually born in a stable or in a cave doesn't really matter, we Christians celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus. The Bible teaches us to celebrate the birth of Jesus all throughout the year, but doesn't give us any instructions on a particular one day special celebration, but I don't think Jesus would mind if we all got together and had a birthday party for him.
Just try to imagine a man and a woman traveling for miles and miles just to try and find a place for their baby to be born and everywhere they went no one had any room for them. Joseph was totally confused any way because he really didn't understand the whole thing and Mary knew that in just a little while she would give birth to the savior of the world. When Jesus was finally born, what do you think were the first words Mary spoke to him? Do you think she cried?
The Bible doesn't speak much of the pre-teen years of Jesus, but just knowing a mother's instinct, she probably had a special birthday party on his birthday. That's what Christians do. They have a special birthday party on the day that has been set aside as the birthday of Jesus. They didn't invent it, just celebrate it.
My response to the headline would be - I didn't know that we Christians ever lost it as a holy day. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, today and forever. Sometimes I still wonder if the animals really speak at midnight on Christmas Eve and this year I just may find out for sure, since I don't have to go to bed early anymore.
Learn more about this author, Ken Bradford.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Difference of opinion? Debate now.
- Christian Holidays & Celebrations
- Should Christians celebrate St. Valentine's Day?
- Should Christians be discouraged from celebrating Christmas publicly?
