Reason for the Season?

Articles/Bulletins

Kevin Harrington
12/23/12 - Sunday Bulletin

The holidays are here. Tuesday is the day that children all around the world will wake their parents up while it is still dark out so they can hurry and open presents. We spend our holidays with family, eating tons of food, and enjoying this wonderful time of year. Many people these days don’t just focus on the man with the red suit anymore, instead they attribute this holiday to someone greater: Jesus. This is supposedly the day that Jesus Christ was born. Many religions celebrate Jesus’ birthday on Christmas day. Special masses are held, special plays are put on, and even the music is attributed to the birthday of our Savior. But is Jesus really the reason for the season?

Let’s consider a few things:

Jesus’ birthday is never mentioned in the Bible. In fact, we don’t even know the month that Jesus was born. The Bible gives no month or day.
It is unlikely that Jesus was born in December. The climate of Palestine closely resembles that of West Tennessee. If Jesus was born in December, it would have been a cold, harsh, wet, and icy birthday. Joseph, Mary, and a newborn Jesus would have never been able to endure a winter in a stable. Also, it is unlikely that shepherds would have been tending their sheep in the fields, especially at night (Luke 2:8). A more appropriate date would be in the Spring or Summer.
The New Testament instructs us to remember Jesus’ death, not His birth. Once the accounts of Jesus’ birth are finished in the Gospel, we never hear about His birth again. The apostles never taught about His birth. Jesus never told the apostles to go into all the world teaching that the Son of Man was born. Instead, much more emphasis is put on His death. His death and resurrection are to be remembered every first day of the week.
Christmas is a tradition of man, not a tradition of God. Historians testify that Christmas traditions originated from pagan, Jewish, and Catholic sources. Most of the customs now associated with Christmas were originally pre-Christian and non-Christian customs taken up by the Catholic church and later adopted by protestants.

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. Lights are hung, Christmas music plays non-stop, and the kitchen normally smells of cookies. Most of us, if not all of us, celebrate this holiday. Is it wrong?

Celebrating Christmas as a religious holy day is a religious tradition of man. We need to remember that we follow the will of God. Celebrating this as a holy holiday goes against what God has given us. However, we are at liberty to observe this day as a civic national holiday. We are at liberty to enjoy the many customs associated with this time of year, which do not directly relate to the birth of Christ.

God’s will is that we remember Christ daily in our lives (Luke 9:23; Hebrews 3:1, 13). Many people attend services once or twice a year. God’s will is that we remember Christ weekly upon the first day of each week as we partake of the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:23-30).

My family loves Christmas. Brooke decorated before Thanksgiving. This is a time to enjoy family, give and receive gifts, and enjoy the end of the year. Enjoy your holiday, but just remember that Jesus is the reason for every season.

~ Kevin