Is It OK to Celebrate Christmas?
Isn’t Christmas a Pagan Holiday?
Every year this topic makes it’s way through the church just after Thanksgiving as everyone is starting to think about Christmas. “Isn’t this a pagan holiday?”. “Is it OK for Christians to celebrate the Christmas season?” “Is it sinful or even dangerous to our family?”
There is no Biblical commandment to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. However the decision to celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas is well within Christian liberty afforded believers. There are other instances in the Bible of taking cultural practices and replacing them with Christian expressions. This may be a commercial time in the United States but it’s also a time where Jesus is on prominent display. Christmas can be a time to celebrate the gift of Christ with family and friends and offer wonderful opportunities to talk about and share our faith. It’s a wonderful thing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! If you are really celebrating the fact that Jesus Christ came in to the world to save sinners…what could be wrong with that?
Is it true that it’s been blended in with many other pagan customs and even commercialism in the United States? Of course, but if we can avoid over-indulging in these things ourselves, and take advantage of the the fact that the world is watching and our Lord Jesus is on display through His people, what a great opportunity! We can use this time to refresh ourselves, share joy with others, and put the focus on where it should be. If there’s an issue, it’s that don’t do it more often!
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks” (Rom. 14: 5-6).
More Resources:
Should Christians Celebrate Christmas? – Grace to You
Don’t Be a Scrooge! – R.C. Sproul
Is Christmas Pagan? – Stand to Reason
