by Rainier Wong

Created on: November 18, 2010   Last Updated: November 19, 2010

Christmas is a time when people especially Christians exchange gifts, gather round the Christmas tree to unwrap their gifts, sing Christmas carols, and attend Christmas church services. Some non Christians also celebrate the occasion by attending Christmas shows, watching colorful displays or decorations, and enjoying drinking with their friends. Some people also decorate their gardens with colorful Christmas decorations.

Despite the cheer that Christmas may bring to many people, some people do not celebrate it all. Each person may have a different reason for doing so. Here are some possible reasons:

"Religious Reasons"

Christmas is originally a Christian celebration and in fact it was started by Pope Julius 1 in the year 350.  Therefore, there is not reason for the person to celebrate the birthday of someone he or she does not worship or believe in. It is just like a Christian does not celebrate the birthday of Buddha because he or she is not a Buddhist or the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad because he or she is not a Muslim.

"Differences in opinion regarding Christmas among Christians"

Many Christians celebrate Christmas because they believe that if Christ would not have been born, no one would ever die on the cross to save them from their sins so that they can go to heaven. While many Christians do celebrate the special occasion, some do not because of a number of reasons including the word Christmas is not found in the Bible, there is no where in the Bible that says that  the birthday of Jesus Christ was celebrated, and there is no command in the Bible that one should celebrate Christmas.

Some Christians also do not celebrate Christmas as some activities that occur on Christmas are said to have pagan origins. December 25 is believed to be the birthday of a pagan god. Some Christians also do celebrate Christmas because it is impossible for Christ to have been born on that day which would be too cold for the shepherds to look after their flocks. 

Some Christians also do not celebrate Christmas because celebrating it does not necessary make a person a better Christian and refusing to celebrate it does not necessary make him or her a worse Christian because a Christian's spiritual growth is not based on his or her faithfulness in celebrating the birth of Christ and celebrating Christmas is not a condition for salvation.

"Personal Reasons"

Some people do not celebrate Christmas due to personal reasons. The reasons may include financial reasons where the person cannot really afford to celebrate Christmas or health where the person is too ill to enjoy the special occasion. To enable people with financial problems or who are less fortunate to have a meaningful Christmas, some charitable organizations encourage those who are able to donate some money or goods to them.   

No matter why a person does not celebrate Christmas, we must respect his or her choice, as we expect them to respect our choice in celebrating the occassion.  May this Christmas be used to bring the message of hope and peace to everyone and to foster better relations and understanding among the people of different faiths and beliefs.

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