Should Christians Observe Christmas? Part 2
Still on the subject of Christmas, we shall research further today on issues around Christmas.
According to History, the first recorded celebration of Christmas was in Rome under Pope Liberius in December, A.D 354 (Hasting, Encyclopedia of Religion, P.601).This is rather strange for Christmas to be celebrated for the first time in Rome, and not in Nazareth, Bethlehem, Galilee or even in Jerusalem, but in Rome which was not the birthplace of Jesus Christ, nor where He grew up or had His ministry.Any honest seeker of the Truth and who is rational would agree that Christmas was never from God but from Man.
It is even more surprising that this event took place in the third Century and not in the first Century.It took over three hundred years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the first celebration of Christmas to take place.Is this not strange if we must be honest to God and to ourselves! What the world does by the celebration of Christmas, is that they impose upon God’s Son a fake date and claim that it is His birthdate.Just like no one would like a fake date to be imposed upon their children, no one has the right to do that upon the Son of God!
Christmas was never mentioned in the Holy Bible which is the Christian guide in religious beliefs and practices (2 Peter 1.3) which is perfect (James 1.25).Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself never celebrated Christmas, nor Commanded it.But what we see in the world is a pagan practice, christianized and made to appear as if it was authorized in the Holy Scripture.Celebration of Christmas is addition to God’s Word and we have been warned against doing that (Proverbs 30.5-6).Therefore, we must not go beyond the doctrine of Jesus Christ in all our religious practices (2 John 9).
It is high time for humanity to pause and ask for the right way says the LORD (Jeremiah 6.16), in order to be guided into doing the right thing, to avoid sinning “innocently” in trying to please and glorify God.
May humanity pause to ask for the right way of serving and pleasing God. May God’s Word continue to be the “lamp unto our feet” in Jesus mighty name.
Tommorow is Christmas and the world would go agog with the celebration and whosoever does not participate in their Christmas celebration would be considered as being eccentric and dogmatic.
It has been established through history that Emperor Constantine was responsible for paganizing Christianity and christianizing paganism (Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol.9, P.392). So, any christian who celebrates Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ or as a day of honour unto Christ is only paganizing his or her faith unknowingly because, such a person is celebrating an unauthorized, unBiblical, uninspired and a pagan feast imposed upon Jesus Christ the Son of God as His birthday. Indeed Christmas is an addition to God’s Word which we have been warned against (Proverbs 30.5-6).
Also of importance here is the fact that most of the items for the observance of Christmas in modern times were mostly borrowed from the pagan festivals of Brunallia, Sigillaria, Saturnalia, and from several myths and legends.The feast of Brunallia in particular was a pagan feast that greatly influenced the choice of 25th December as the birthday of Jesus Christ.
This feast was initially celebrated as the birthday of “the Sun” (Sol Invictus), a pagan god, but was later replaced as celebration of the “Sun of righteousness” on the 25th of December. Imagine what people ignorantly celebrate or even ignorantly argue to justify the celebration. Whosoever insists that Christmas is from God is either lying or is ignorant of historical facts.
Let us, “Stand at the crossroads and look (and) ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it…” (Jeremiah 6.16).May we all hold only to what God says in Jesus name.
“The Churches of Christ Salutes you” (Romans 16.16).
By: Tunde Ezekiel Kayode