Can I just point out that not all Christians celebrate Christmas?

[mommaduck]

When my EXMIL was in her Messianic Jew phase, she only used Yahweh. Well, she tried to. She kept forgetting "Yahweh" and would say "Yoohoo". Now she's part of the Hebrew Roots Movement and doesn't believe in Yahweh or Yoohoo or anything in the NT at all.

Those and an even more radical (not exactly organised) lone ranger "Yahwehists". We used to know one. The phrase used by that one was "out-Jewing the Jew" (yes, I know that is offensive, even to me....but the idea was behind some Scripture twisted around that would "provoke the Jew to jealousy". Strange, I'll leave it at that.

[justamouse]

When my EXMIL was in her Messianic Jew phase, she only used Yahweh. Well, she tried to.She kept forgetting "Yahweh" and would say "Yoohoo". .

:lol::lol::lol:

[Michelle My Bell]

And some Christians celebrate Christmas with a tree, decorations, & the works, but do not celebrate it as Jesus' birth - because it isn't his birthday. That said, I don't care if people want to celebrate it as Jesus' birth. :)

 

What... No "Happy Birthday Jesus" cake? What!!! Just kidding, I agree with you actually. I do take Christmas as a time to think of Jesus' birth but I don't necessarily think of Christmas as his birthday or even that it is some sort of biblical feast, festival or holiday because it is not.

[Scarlett]

You could always do what Jesus did and celebrate Chanukah!

 

I have always been uncomfortable with the "Christian" holidays derived from paganism. I'm much more comfortable observing the Jewish holidays as did Jesus, which I did observantly for many years. But to my husband this is just too weird.... being not exactly Jewish nor Christian, so Christmas and Easter it is.

 

There is a thin line between conceit and conviction. I realized the selfless choice, in my situation, was to cede to my husband and my family (parents) so as not to cause strife. My beliefs were creating a bull in a china shop situation.

 

Jesus fulfilled the Law. So the holidays/feasts he celebrated under the Mosiac Law were no longer requird for Christians....although Jesus himself would have partaken of said events/holidays as a child/young adult.

 

As for Christmas....it has its roots in pagan worship of the sun god.

 

One time in a check out line the clerk asked my ds (about 8 at the time) if he was ready for Christmas. He, without apology or embarrasment told her he doesn't celebrate Christmas. She looked....stricken..and looking down said, 'Oh. I don't know think I could deal with that!' I said, 'well, I bet you would have no problem with it if you felt it was wrong.'

 

And basically folks, that is the bottom line. We don't celeberate Christmas because we feel it displeases our God. So it is no sad thing to us. We love our life and our family and friends and find plenty of reasons to celebrate and give gifts and eat and drink and be happy.

[scrappyhappymama]

We are similar to some of the other posters on this thread; we celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday, but not as the day of Christ's birth. Most of the people we worship with have similar viewpoints, although many I know choose not to celebrate Christmas at all. Over the years, my husband and I have discussed not celebrating Christmas (as well as Easter and Halloween), but so far we are comfortable celebrating them as a fun, secular holiday, in the same vein as Independence Day and New Years Day.

 

As far as why, our belief is that the Feasts and Holy Days passed away with the Old Law and that the only new memorial that was established in the new covenant is the remembrance of our Lord's death and resurrection in the Lord's Supper. We do teach our children about Christ's birth, but for us, rather than choosing a day at random to celebrate the birth of Jesus each year, we prefer to be continually grateful that he choose to come to the earth as a man. Of course, it is difficult for it to escape our children's notice that many more people talk about the birth of Christ during this time of year (and the songs! Oh, how I love the songs!). We explain to them that many people choose to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25th, even though we don't really know what day he was born, but isn't it great how many people are thinking about Jesus?

[FaithManor]

When we stopped, it was due to a lot of literature claiming that Christmas was Pagan and that the Roman Catholic Church was really the Whore of Babylon and Sun Worshippers in disguise (that's the nutshelled version). Then we moved into Reformed (aka Puritan and Covenanter). The Regulative Principle kind, not the Normative Principle kind. Regulative Principle means that "anything that isn't prescribed in (Protestant Geneva/KJV) Scripture is forbidden for worship and holy days". I was a die-hard.

 

The more you study cultures and Church History...ALL the way back...the more you learn that early Christians DID celebrate these things (aka the Liturgical Year...Pascha is the biggy...it's currently called Easter in the West, because Easter coincided with Passover during the year it is mentioned in Scripture as well as at other times...both are determined by the moon phases, I believe). Nearly EVERY culture and faith had spring, summer, autumn, and winter celebrations. So it is very easy for someone with an axe to grind and trying to gain an audience to make the "stand in a garage and you're a car" type of argument against any holiday they want.

 

I have no problem with those that are uncomfortable and still choose to believe the way they do for whatever reasons (Pagan, Regulative Principle, Jewish feasts, etc); I completely understand. I've been there and back again. I've had those that thought we were nuts, those that thought we were depriving our kids (no more so than those that don't do it BECAUSE it's a Christian holiday, or recognised as such), to those that were offended by our not recognising it. Eh, as this board proves, humanity is diverse and people can get over themselves.

 

I hope ya'll enjoy the winter however you choose to. Stay warm and enjoy your families.

 

 

On a personal note: Our gift to our children this year was our first Christmas tree in fourteen years.

 

 

BTDT too! :D Thanks for saying this Mommaduck.

 

If the regulative principle were applied evenly, an awful lot of Christians that are against Christmas and Easter would find a huge array of practices must be laid at the wayside...Sunday worship, using the days of the week (all of the current names for the days of the week are root names for Roman gods), birthdays (a celebration that is 100% man-made, man-centered), civil holidays of any type, all worship traditions including the preaching service in modern practice (the prescribed worship for New Testament believers, if one only follows that which is contained within the epistles, is prayer, the Lord's Supper, offerings for the poor and for support the ministry of the apostles, and the singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and baptisms, well...they did seem to enjoy an awful lot of potluck! :D Oh let's see, Wednesday night programs, church parenting classes, Thanksgiving Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day - under the regulative principle, none of it is scripturally prescribed and for that matter, weddings and funerals. Just about every single tradition we have with respect to weddings and burying the dead, are not prescribed in scripture either. As a matter of fact, weddings were civil afairs in Jesus day, not religious events. So, we have no reason Biblically to bring the matter into the church, but we've done that too and I'd suspect it probably has something to do with the practices of the apostles as well as the preachers and teachers they educated, though the actual practice is not laid out in scripture.

 

Some things, Christmas celerations included, are a matter of personal conviction. One should always follow one's conscience...your family is always better off for doing so. There are lessons to be learned in the hard things in life, choosing the path less traveled, etc. But, personal convictions do not imply spiritual law. Dh and I could easily do without Christmas, but in doing so, we'd also be imposing this on extended family members who do not maintain this conviction and we would be stealing their joy. Literally, my mother would be very wounded (dh's mother as well) to not be able to have their grandchildren included in some of their "Norman Rockwellian" traditions...hanging bows on the porch, decorating cookies, etc. That said...we don't do Santa - another personal conviction, not Biblical law.

 

Now, if anyone is interested. A excellent case for Christ being born some time between December 14th and January 6th (as late as January 31st, so definitely a winter birthday) can be made. Most of our assumptions of "he couldn't have been born in December" are based on the West's rather redimentary knowledge of the historical and current weather patterns of the area. In the northern areas of Israel, yes, the shepherds tried to have the flocks off the fields by mid-November. This was because of the rainy season and the northern areas were in danger of a lot of flash flooding in the nasty terrain where the sheep would seek out grass. But, if one has spent some time in Bethlehem and Jerusalem (southern Israel) and studied the historical documents of the time, one would discover that the rains in the southern/lower elevations come in December and particularly towards the middle-end of the second week of December and tend to last until late January. These are much, much gentler rains and produce the most lush grass of the year...more lush than any other area of Israel. Sheep, due to the lanolin they produce, are essentially "waterproof" and will graze quite happily in gentle rain. Shepherds in this region stay out at night with their sheep encouraging them to eat their fill of the best grass they will get all year. In late December in Bethlehem, one can look out over the fields and see large numbers of flocks of sheep out at night and their guardians with them...sheep in the roads, the paths, the byways. It's something that has been noted by both secular and Biblical archaeologists working in the region.

 

Therefore, the account of St. Luke of the multitude of the heavenly host announcing Christ's birth to the shepherds most definitely could have easily coincided with dates ranging from December 14th or thereabouts, to January 6th (even some later, though the absolute prime grazing occurs during the December/early January window). But, beyond that, if one went with the assumption of the shepherding traditions of the northern climes, thus his birth likely being late October/mid-November, then one could make a great case that the celebration is of his incarnation - conception...the point at which he became human. Either way, Christ's incarnation can be tied to the late December/early January time-frame both logically and traditionally. The one thing that is probably likely is that he did not have a spring birth. The predatory animals usually have their young between February and April. One those babes are born, not only are nursing moms on the prowl for nourishment, but they also have to teach their young to hunt. This is a time of the year when shepherds bring their flocks in at night for safety. A late March - April hillside is not a happy place to be with a flock of sheep unless one has several really beefy guard dogs. :001_smile:

 

Since I do not follow the regulative principle because I find that I can not wrap my logical brain around it and the Apostle Paul said, "Come let us reason together", I do not stand in judgment of the celebration of non-prescribed feast days as there are NO prescribed feast days in the New Testament. I believe it is just a matter of personal conviction and each family must make the best choice they can for their family.

 

That said, I know more Christians who celebrate Christmas than those that don't. However, in our area, there are a large number that do not. The Amish, the Mennonites in this community are very conservative and do not, Dutch Brethren, Reformed Dutch Brethren, the Apostolic church down the road from us, some home church families, and a small independent church one town over who appears to be completely unaffiliated and VERY unfriendly such that it is difficult to determine what their theology is but since they usually put out a pamphlet each year decrying all holidays, celebrations, and pretty much all reasons to laugh or smile (seriously, I'm not kidding...they pretty much believe merriment of any kind is a sin) then I am very much used to the concept that not all Christians keep the same observances.

 

Blessings to all regardless of what you believe on the subject. I meant no offense. Just to explain how dh and I have arrived at our decision and what we see as the essential problem with the regulative principle.

 

The great thing about this board is that when it comes to culture, WE ARE ALL WEIRDOS!!! I think that's AWESOME! :D

 

Faith

[ThelmaLou]

We are similar to some of the other posters on this thread; we celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday, but not as the day of Christ's birth. Most of the people we worship with have similar viewpoints, although many I know choose not to celebrate Christmas at all. Over the years, my husband and I have discussed not celebrating Christmas (as well as Easter and Halloween), but so far we are comfortable celebrating them as a fun, secular holiday, in the same vein as Independence Day and New Years Day.

 

As far as why, our belief is that the Feasts and Holy Days passed away with the Old Law and that the only new memorial that was established in the new covenant is the remembrance of our Lord's death and resurrection in the Lord's Supper. We do teach our children about Christ's birth, but for us, rather than choosing a day at random to celebrate the birth of Jesus each year, we prefer to be continually grateful that he choose to come to the earth as a man. Of course, it is difficult for it to escape our children's notice that many more people talk about the birth of Christ during this time of year (and the songs! Oh, how I love the songs!). We explain to them that many people choose to celebrate Christ's birth on December 25th, even though we don't really know what day he was born, but isn't it great how many people are thinking about Jesus?

 

All very well said.

[akmommy]

Messianic Jews... right?

Not you necessarily; I'm just relatively certain that they are one group of Christians (the Jewish church doesn't recoginize them as Jews and insist they are Christians) who hold to Jewish tradition and culture, thus not participating in normal Christian holidays?

Me thinks :D

 

My stepsister and her DH lean this direction. Celebrating and worshipping more in the Jewish tradition and they don't celebrate Christmas or Easter.

[Joanne]

Don't most Christians *know* that Dec. 25 is not his birthday? Isn't it simply the day we CELEBRATE it?

 

Don't most Christians know that some of the decorations and traditions are blended (or co-opted ;)) from other spiritual traditions?

 

My DH (um, was Baptist) was shocked that "we" (Presbyterians) knew that the Kings/Wise Men didn't arrive shortly after birth. I guess he thought that Baptists were privy to inside information.:lol:

 

I always figured everyone knew the above. :001_huh:

[Dustybug]

 

My DH (um, was Baptist) was shocked that "we" (Presbyterians) knew that the Kings/Wise Men didn't arrive shortly after birth. I guess he thought that Baptists were privy to inside information.:lol:

 

:001_huh:

 

I'm a Baptist and this made me:lol::lol::lol:

[Bluegoat]

Don't most Christians *know* that Dec. 25 is not his birthday? Isn't it simply the day we CELEBRATE it?

 

Don't most Christians know that some of the decorations and traditions are blended (or co-opted ;)) from other spiritual traditions?

 

My DH (um, was Baptist) was shocked that "we" (Presbyterians) knew that the Kings/Wise Men didn't arrive shortly after birth. I guess he thought that Baptists were privy to inside information.:lol:

 

I always figured everyone knew the above. :001_huh:

 

 

Yeah, I find it weird to. Christmas is the celebration of the FEAST of Christ's birth - it isn't meant to be a "birthday party" in the normal sense.

 

The idea that it would be only appropriate to celebrate something on the "real" day it happened is pretty modern - people in the ancient world sure didn't think that way.

 

I also find it a bit odd that some who object to the secular aspects of Christmas respond by keeping those and dropping the religious aspects.:001_huh: Wouldn't it make more sense to preserve the religious elements that involve the celebration of the Nativity, and lose all the secular garbage and gift giving?

 

The two are opposed even if you separate them, a giant commercialized holiday that celebrates consumerism is unchristian and reinforces values that should be avoided even if we call it Consumaday or whatever.

[athomemom]

We went to a Reformed church that did not celebrate holidays. We thankfully are no longer part of this congregation. It's hard for me to understand celebrating Santa and not Christ's birth. Yes, I understand the arguments, but I don't agree. I am thankful to have the freedom in Christ to choose to celebrate his birth and resurrection with other believers. And starting today Advent!

[ma23peas]

I am pretty sure in today's world of instant communication, google, media...that most people understand that you can rarely if ever use the word 'all' when referring to people- their beliefs- their traditions or lack of.

[nono]

Interestingly, I've encountered more people who think *my* denomination (LDS) doesn't celebrate Christmas and have been surprised to learn we do :001_smile:

 

Sooo, they thought the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did the Christmas albums....why? :lol:

[SailorMom]

I have met many JW's who do not celebrate, but otherwise only a a few people here and there - and they were many different denominations. Each family had chosen individually not to celebrate the holiday.

 

That said - I also know Christians who still celebrate Passover and Hanukkah. This actually makes a lot of sense to me. They celebrate all the Old Testament holidays along with the New Testament ones.

[mommaduck]

Yeah, I find it weird to. Christmas is the celebration of the FEAST of Christ's birth - it isn't meant to be a "birthday party" in the normal sense.

 

The idea that it would be only appropriate to celebrate something on the "real" day it happened is pretty modern - people in the ancient world sure didn't think that way.

 

I also find it a bit odd that some who object to the secular aspects of Christmas respond by keeping those and dropping the religious aspects.:001_huh: Wouldn't it make more sense to preserve the religious elements that involve the celebration of the Nativity, and lose all the secular garbage and gift giving?

 

The two are opposed even if you separate them, a giant commercialized holiday that celebrates consumerism is unchristian and reinforces values that should be avoided even if we call it Consumaday or whatever.

At one time it was more religious and less comsumerism. For some, it's still that way. I know that the Christmas Liturgy (held Christmas Eve) and the Paschal Service (held in the middle of the night with feasting after till 4am) are both the largest part of each holy day. Trees are a rare thing for many Orthodox. Gift giving is NOT the main thing.

[wapiti]

Random thoughts: so, I guess that Christians who do not celebrate Christmas and Easter are... non-liturgical? Or, do not have an annual "schedule" of readings from the Bible? How does that work?

 

I also suppose it depends on how one defines "celebrate," as religious or cultural traditions. I think it is important to do so for the sake of clarity in this discussion, as they are two very different things.

 

As Catholics, we celebrate Christmas in the religous sense at the celebration of Mass on Christmas. Same with Easter - even if we did not participate in any cultural traditions, I could not say that we don't celebrate the resurrection.

[mommaduck]

Random thoughts: so, I guess that Christians who do not celebrate Christmas and Easter are... non-liturgical? Or, do not have an annual "schedule" of readings from the Bible? How does that work?

 

I also suppose it depends on how one defines "celebrate," as religious or cultural traditions. I think it is important to do so for the sake of clarity in this discussion, as they are two very different things.

 

As Catholics, we celebrate Christmas in the religous sense at the celebration of Mass on Christmas. Same with Easter - even if we did not participate in any cultural traditions, I could not say that we don't celebrate the resurrection.

Most that don't celebrate are non-liturgical. The extremely conservative form of Reformed, mentioned previously, have some that consider themselves "liturgical", but the playing out of the definition is different.

 

I've not known any Protestant or Anabaptist group (aside from the possibility of Episcopalian and Anglican?) that follow a fully Liturgical year, readings and all.

 

Agreed on the last part, but to many that don't celebrate, ime, that is more offensive than the secular giving of gifts.

[unsinkable]

Sooo, they thought the Mormon Tabernacle Choir did the Christmas albums....why? :lol:

 

Money.

 

I kid! I (big puffy heart) my LDS friends!

[Lovedtodeath]

I have never celebrated Christmas. The important thing to remember, and what I emphasize to my kids when so many are celebrating a baby, is that Christ was Lord and King at birth, before having done anything on earth. Luke 2:11

 

I was surprised to find this Christmas Carol was biblical:

 

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace! Revelation 5:13

Hail the Son of Righteousness! 2 Peter 1:19; Malachi 4:2

Light and life to all He brings John 1:4

Ris'n with healing in His wings Malachi 4:2

Mild He lays His glory by Hebrews 2:9

Born that man no more may die John 3:16

Born to raise the sons of earth John 6:54

Born to give them second birth Titus 3:5

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!" Luke 2:11

 

Christ by highest heav'n adored Hebrews 1:5,6

Christ the everlasting Lord! Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:10,11

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see Colossians 2:9

Hail the incarnate Deity John 5:23

Pleased as man with man to dwell John 1:14

Jesus, our Emmanuel Matthew 1:23

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

[Storm Bay]

Sheryl how are they not biblical? Are you referring to the actual dates that they're celebrated on? or the events themselves? Just trying to understand.

 

Bethany I never knew there were Christians who don't celebrate Christmas until finding this forum. It's been enlightening in many ways. :)

 

 

Many of us who either don't celebrate it or who celebrate it as a cultural holiday do so because Christ wasn't born in December, and many of us don't do the liturgical calendar, or just do parts of it that we see line up with Scripture. God looks on the heart, so when I mention the following I'm not criticizing people who follow the liturgy, etc., and we do celebrate this as a family, cultural holiday because it's important to my dh.

 

Someone mentioned that they thought that the roots of Christmas wasn't pagan due to the age of the liturgical calendar, but pagan and other religious things were incorporated into Christianity very early on. In fact, even I Timothy is about how gnostic teachings were being introduced into Christianity, and that was in the first century AD. There is not even one reference to celebrating Christ's birthday annually in scripture, nor of a tree, etc, etc. The New Testament has a section about not following times or seasons, and we interpret this to mean that we don't need to follow a liturgical calendar. Many Christians do follow one because that's what their churches do and/or because they have a strong conviction about it and how it was instituted.

 

We celebrate it as a cultural family holiday because my dh finds it important to do so to help our extended family relations. We often have a tree, even though my grandfather, who celebrated Christmas his entire life, researched the pagan origins of it. To us it's a decorated tree, and we don't do with it what was done in that religion.

 

We don't celebrate Easter and I'm not going to get into why here, but we do point out Resurrection Sunday and make a point to notice Pentecost, which is the "birthday" of the Christian church. We don't follow Lent, Advent, etc, although we are affiliated with a church/ministry where the season of Advent has been mentioned. Our family, and those of most of the people we fellowship with as Christians, are happy to remember the birth of Christ at any time of the year, and so often use Christmas as another time to remember it. We also focus on the resurrection & ascension, etc, etc, and remember those throughout the year, too. If Christmas helps some people with this, that's fine, but I don't ever think of it as a truly biblical holiday the way that the 3 feasts of the law were or the feast of Purim, etc, that are mentioned in scripture. As someone else mentioned, Christians, at least for the most part, believe that Jesus fulfilled the law and therefore we don't have to follow the OT law (there is a law for us to follow, and it's outlined in the epistles as well as teachings in the gospels that aren't about the OT law, and it's the law of love--there are things we should & should't do) so we don't celebrate the same feasts as Jewish people do, although there are some exceptions!

Edited November 27, 2011 by Karin

[Jay3fer]

Fascinating thread - it's interesting that we're not the only ones celebrating, and it's helpful to be able to tell my kids that not even all Christians are celebrating Xmas.

 

You could always do what Jesus did and celebrate Chanukah!

 

Yeah, but if you were to celebrate it the way he did, it would be very different from the way Jews celebrate today.

 

You wouldn't put on a yarmulke or eat latkes or chocolate, give gifts or sing songs. You wouldn't play a "dreidel" because that's Yiddish, from Europe, though there might have been some sort of spinning top.

 

You might also light only a single oil lamp each night, or start with eight lights the first night and light one FEWER each night, as was the opinion of Shammai, a prominent Jewish scholar from around the same period as Jesus.

 

It bugs me when Christians observe modern Jewish festivals simply because "Jesus celebrated them."

 

Judaism has changed almost as much as Christianity over the last 2000 years, and though the core beliefs have remained remarkably consistent, Jesus himself would probably not recognize many of its customs and observances. :001_smile:

[LAmom]

I thought we were the only ones. :tongue_smilie: I haven't read the whole post yet, but I will later. It is rather confusing to our unbelieving family members on why we, Christians, do not celebrate it. It confuses me why they do! I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. I want the nostalgia and warm fuzzies, etc. But, my husband is absolutely opposed and I understand his reasoning. We do something special as a family on New Year's Day with gifts, etc. Our church has many that celebrate and many that do not. My husband, being the pastor, goes on preaching as normal and does not do any type of Christmas sermon. Looking forward to see what everyone else is saying on here. :001_smile:

 

Adding in that we also do not celebrate Easter on the day called Easter.

[Whereneverever]

I have never celebrated Christmas. The important thing to remember, and what I emphasize to my kids when so many are celebrating a baby, is that Christ was Lord and King at birth, before having done anything on earth. Luke 2:11

 

I was surprised to find this Christmas Carol was biblical:

 

 

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace! Revelation 5:13

Hail the Son of Righteousness! 2 Peter 1:19; Malachi 4:2

Light and life to all He brings John 1:4

Ris'n with healing in His wings Malachi 4:2

Mild He lays His glory by Hebrews 2:9

Born that man no more may die John 3:16

Born to raise the sons of earth John 6:54

Born to give them second birth Titus 3:5

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!" Luke 2:11

 

Christ by highest heav'n adored Hebrews 1:5,6

Christ the everlasting Lord! Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:10,11

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see Colossians 2:9

Hail the incarnate Deity John 5:23

Pleased as man with man to dwell John 1:14

Jesus, our Emmanuel Matthew 1:23

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

 

 

 

 

Why does it surprise you?

[SKL]

Well, I certainly thought it was common knowledge that some Christians don't celebrate Christmas or other holidays. Maybe it's less apparent now that nobody's allowed to discuss religious matters in forums where people of different religious views mix. Or maybe we just ignore each other more nowadays.

[Swirl]

I know of a couple of families that don't. But taking a stand against stuff is kind of their thing.

[FaithManor]

Well, I certainly thought it was common knowledge that some Christians don't celebrate Christmas or other holidays. Maybe it's less apparent now that nobody's allowed to discuss religious matters in forums where people of different religious views mix. Or maybe we just ignore each other more nowadays.

 

 

I do think you may be onto something. It's not just forums. I find that IRL an awful lot of people do not discuss religion, politics, opinions about much of anything except superficial topics - weather, the latest video games, restaurants, etc. - and that political correctness, while is does save a lot of offense, also results in a wider cultural phenomenon of people not really knowing what others believe or practice thus the generalizations, stereotypes, and assumptions. My parents generation, for the most part, seemed (again, as far as I could tell from my parents, their friends, their conversations, etc.) to be more culturally aware of similarities and differences. They also seemed to be capable of discussing them without getting rude and offensive. Maybe my parents and their crowd were different and this doesn't hold true of that era. I just know that I spend a HUGE amount of time informing my kids of cultural and faith differences between peoples than my parents ever had to because we were exposed to it naturally. I feel that except in anonymous situations such as this, the info is kept "pretty tight to the hip" with most people. Though we've tried to get to know our neighbors in this community, I would only be making blatant, uneducated guesses as to what their family beliefs or traditions would be. They.just.don't.talk.about.it.

 

I know that if my childen attended public school they would not be taught nor exposed to one single thing along these lines. The PC rhetoric is so strong in our area that it is absolutely taboo to discuss family traditions of any kind. There is a real movement to cleanse the curriculum and classroom discussions of anything culturally relevant so that none can be offended. You can imagine the effect on education.

 

We could very easily end up with a generation of kids who are completely, totally, 100% clueless about other cultures and variences within our own culture. Good thing we all homeschool!! :D The Well Trained Mind to the rescue!

 

Faith

[Teachin'Mine]

To me, it matters little on what date Christmas is celebrated. To me it's the celebration of the Incarnation of God in Baby Jesus, born to the Blessed Virgin Mary. If that isn't cause for celebration, I don't know what is. Well other than His Resurrection. :)

 

Mary's nativity is celebrated by the Catholic Church on September 8th. The Blessed Mother, in her appearances in Medjugorje, has told the visionaries that her actual birthday is August 5th. Whether Jesus was born on December 25th, or on another day, hasn't been disclosed as yet. I know many don't follow these apparitions, and belief in any apparitions, even the ones which have ended and have been given Church approval, is never a requirement of Catholics - or others of course - but it is through many of these heavenly visits that we gain new information -never anything new about faith, but new details. When the Blessed Mother appears to the visionaries on Christmas, she is adorned in gold - rather than the usual grayish - and is accompanied by the Infant Jesus in her arms. So Christmas is celebrated in Heaven, and in our house too. :)

 

As for decorations, the tree and lights are a lot of fun, but the most important one to me is the Nativity scene as that's what it's all about.

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I do think you may be onto something. It's not just forums. I find that IRL an awful lot of people do not discuss religion, politics, opinions about much of anything except superficial topics - weather, the latest video games, restaurants, etc. - and that political correctness, while is does save a lot of offense, also results in a wider cultural phenomenon of people not really knowing what others believe or practice thus the generalizations, stereotypes, and assumptions.

Faith

 

 

How I wish that that would carry over to Facebook. I think that people are far too willing to talk to other people about their IN YOUR FACE beliefs. I have heard these questions either directed to me or to someone standing next to me IRL:

 

Where do you go to church?

 

Are you a Christian?

 

Why aren't you a Christian anymore?

 

Who are you voting for?

 

Who did you vote for?

 

Don't you hate what the President is doing?

 

etc, etc.

 

These questions would have NEVER been asked in polite circles decades ago. I wish we could return to that. I'd love to be able to visit with someone without it turning religous or political!

 

(I'm not talking about these forums. This thread was obvious and I could have just not opened it if I found it offensive. I do not find it offensive, btw.)

[SnowWhite]

Yes, I am aware that many Christians don't observe Christmas. My parents did a very scaled-down observation with the caveat that "This is not Jesus' Real Birthday" and no tree or presents from them (but we did have them from other relatives).

 

Surprisingly, my Amish neighbors DID observe, sometimes on January 6 or sometimes on December 25 or sometimes both, though without trees or electric lights.

 

Personally, I have always believed one's heart was the important part of one's religion and that abstaining from fun celebrations was unnecessary. I've had a nice big tree ever since I had a house to put it up in. Christmas and Thanksgiving rival one another in my heart for favorite holiday. I do like to keep the "Christ" in Christmas, with Nativity scenes and hymn/carols. It's not important to me what day Christ was born but I revel in celebrating the fact of His birth. (I don't pretend about Santa though.)

[kalanamak]

Do people know that? No snark, I promise. I'm just curious if most people think that all Christians celebrate

 

It has been mentioned here in the nearly-annual thread "I love Christmas, but my husband has decided it is un-biblical, how do you cope" threads.

 

I certainly thought it until I started hanging out here and getting very bummed by those threads.

[Tree House Academy]

I know Christians IRL that do not celebrate Halloween. I do not know any that do not celebrate Christmas. I was aware that some didn't, though, because of this board really. To each his own.

[SKL]

How I wish that that would carry over to Facebook. I think that people are far too willing to talk to other people about their IN YOUR FACE beliefs. I have heard these questions either directed to me or to someone standing next to me IRL:

 

Where do you go to church?

 

Are you a Christian?

 

Why aren't you a Christian anymore?

 

Who are you voting for?

 

Who did you vote for?

 

Don't you hate what the President is doing?

 

etc, etc.

 

These questions would have NEVER been asked in polite circles decades ago. I wish we could return to that. I'd love to be able to visit with someone without it turning religous or political!

 

(I'm not talking about these forums. This thread was obvious and I could have just not opened it if I found it offensive. I do not find it offensive, btw.)

 

I think we're talking about two different things, though. From what I've heard, the Facebook issue is "I respect you more / less based on whether you are enough like I am today." But being aware of the religious beliefs of the people you know does not have to mean judging them.

 

In my view, no matter how much you study about religion / God or how much you pray, there is still going to be lots of room for interpretation. I would not dare assume that my understanding at any particular moment is "THE" correct belief. But I would like to be aware of beliefs that are important to someone I know, because it will help me to respect that person better. For example, I don't send Christmas cards to one of my Christian friends, because I know she does not want to receive them. Not because she ever told me that per se, but because I know her well enough.

 

For the record, I don't actually think Jesus was born on December 25, but I think it's still a good day to celebrate the birth. Because of the dark and cold, it is a good time of year to light up the place and spread good cheer and focus on the "light of the world." I think celebrating the birth of Christ some way or other is a good way to explain the basics of the religion to little kids and to those who weren't brought up in families who make religious instruction a priority. I also think that if people stop celebrating Christmas (with Jesus as the focus) openly, it's only a matter of time before the religion becomes a shadow of its former self, and as we've said, it's better to have and understand diversity of religion than to have no clue about it at all. So my household celebrates Christmas. That said, I have no attitude about those who do not.

[PeacefulChaos]

I think if you're celebrating (or not) for Christ, then it doesn't matter. I've heard the arguments all over the map for and against celebrating Christmas, how a tree is pagan, etc. But "things" only have the meaning you give them. Trees, lights, candy canes, etc are just things. They hold no power and only hold the meaning an individual ascribes to them. One may see a tree and worship it, another may see one and worship He who made it. But the tree simply remains a tree (or a candy cane, or a poinsettia, etc).

:iagree:

 

Don't most Christians *know* that Dec. 25 is not his birthday? Isn't it simply the day we CELEBRATE it?

 

Don't most Christians know that some of the decorations and traditions are blended (or co-opted ;)) from other spiritual traditions?

 

My DH (um, was Baptist) was shocked that "we" (Presbyterians) knew that the Kings/Wise Men didn't arrive shortly after birth. I guess he thought that Baptists were privy to inside information.:lol:

 

I always figured everyone knew the above. :001_huh:

:lol:

 

For us, I absolutely love Christmas. I think that whatever people choose to do - celebrate it or not - is up to them. I don't consider one group holier than another, everyone's convictions are different. I don't see any problem with it, and to me it's all good. :)

[cathmom]

I knew that the Puritans banned Christmas celebrations in England and New England, much to the chagrin of many of their fellow Christians. I also knew that JW don't celebrate Christmas and the Orthodox have it on a different day. Can't you tell I watch the History Channel?:D

 

Yes, those Puritans were great about denying others the freedom they came to the New World to enjoy. :tongue_smilie:

[QueenCat]

My DH (um, was Baptist) was shocked that "we" (Presbyterians) knew that the Kings/Wise Men didn't arrive shortly after birth. I guess he thought that Baptists were privy to inside information.:lol:

 

I always figured everyone knew the above. :001_huh:

 

That is funny. Did he ever explain why he thought that? I grew up Lutheran, and understood that at a relatively young age. My children's Bible showed a toddler aged Jesus with the wise men.

[Parker Martin]

I knew that Jehovah's Witnesses didn't celebrate it, but I did not know that other Christians didn't. I know now.

 

It's interesting because I know all sorts of Christians and people of various other religions or lack thereof, and I've never run into a Christian that didn't celebrate Christmas.

[Audrey]

I was aware there were some denominations and many individual Christians who did not celebrate Christmas. However, I think the most common perception is that all Christians celebrate Christmas.

[TheAutumnOak]

Colossians 2:15-17 (NASB)

 

15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.

 

16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

 

 

I think if you're celebrating (or not) for Christ, then it doesn't matter. I've heard the arguments all over the map for and against celebrating Christmas, how a tree is pagan, etc. But "things" only have the meaning you give them. Trees, lights, candy canes, etc are just things. They hold no power and only hold the meaning an individual ascribes to them. One may see a tree and worship it, another may see one and worship He who made it. But the tree simply remains a tree (or a candy cane, or a poinsettia, etc).

 

:iagree: My exact feelings on the subject...Well said...

[Onceuponatime]

I know there are people who don't celebrate, but I don't know the reasoning. I'd be interested to see it laid out. :bigear:

 

My father had us quit doing Christmas when I was about 10. It really hurt my mother's feelings but she did not complain, until she decided to leave him 20 years later. My brothers and I all celebrate.

 

My father came to this decision after listening to Garner Ted Armstrong on "The Plain Truth" radio program. One scripture used as justification was Jeremiah 10 which talks about cutting down a tree and decorating it with silver and gold. However, if you read this in context, it is obviously talking about creating an idol and doesn't even have anything to do with the pagan aspect of Christmas trees.

 

Later we were part of a church where Christmas was not talked about or celebrated as part of corporate worship, but most people did what they wanted in their homes. They just didn't discuss it. Things changed through the years and it became more acceptable to give a sermon on Christ's birth, sing carols and have gift exchanges. But there are still no trees or decorations allowed in the church building.

 

Everyone is reminded that Jesus was probably not born around Christmas and there are no examples of celebrating his birth in the Bible, (except for the actual day he was born) then they just go on and do what they want. In fact Christmas is more accepted as a secular celebration than a religious one, which can be kind of confusing and seem hypocritical.

[In2why]

I knew that Jehovah's Witnesses didn't celebrate it, but I did not know that other Christians didn't. I know now.

 

It's interesting because I know all sorts of Christians and people of various other religions or lack thereof, and I've never run into a Christian that didn't celebrate Christmas.

 

 

This was my understanding as well until reading this thread. We celebrate Christmas and are Christian "light" but we don't see much of Jesus in the season for hardly anyone anymore. Probably my favorite spiritual thing to do during the Christmas season is go to midnight mass, and I haven't been a Catholic since childhood when my parents left the Church, but midnight mass can bring me to tears.

[Alessandra]

Sorry, haven't read all the posts. But, in case it hasn't been pointed out yet, many strict Scottish Presbyterians do not celebrate Christmas.

 

I was surprised a few years ago when I called a mainline Presbyterian church in Washington, DC and found that they were closed at Christmas. (The minister was Scottish.)

[AnnaM]

We celebrate it as Jesus' birth. Not because we believe it is his actual birthday, but because are celebrating his birth, full stop (I hope that makes sense). We are celebrating because without his birth there is no death and with out his death there is no life. I seriously dont believe that he cares at all what day we celebrate this on. In fact, I am pretty sure we should celebrate it regularly.

 

We also give gifts and have a tree. We have been blessed so we enjoy blessing others!

 

That said, I dont believe it is manditory to celebrate any more than I think it is manditory not to :) In this case, to each their own.

[Kathleen in VA]

Do people know that? No snark, I promise. I'm just curious if most people think that all Christians celebrate Christmas?

 

FWIW, dh and I are devout conservative Christians, and we do not celebrate Christmas. Or Easter, for that matter. We don't decorate, or have a tree, or any of that. We don't do Santa Christmas OR baby Jesus Christmas. :tongue_smilie:

 

We don't say "Merry Christmas", and couldn't care less what sort of 'greeting' anyone shares with anyone else this time of year.

 

I know we've had the whole 'Why do Atheists celebrate Christmas' threads before on the boards. The latest one left me with the distinct impression that it is just *assumed* that if you are a Christian, you celebrate. So I just thought I'd throw my two cents in.

 

That's all. Now you all know a little more of the odball-ness that is me and my family.

 

ETA: Our family has no denominational affiliation. We are simply Christians. We do homechurch, but we have no denomination. For those who were wondering. :P

 

Also, plenty of those that we homechurch with DO celebrate. Some do the whole nine yards, with the tree and lights and all that. Some don't do a tree, but do other aspects. It's not a 'rule' for our homechurch that 'we don't celebrate Christmas'. (Uh, we don't have rules at all.) Just trying to clarify where we're coming from.

 

Oddball Christian here too.

[AHASRADA]

Nearly EVERY culture and faith had spring, summer, autumn, and winter celebrations.

 

I realize this thread is for Christians, but I wanted to point out that Islam is one culture that does NOT have any celebrations tied to the seasons whatsoever.

 

The Islamic calendar is lunar, so each new year begins about 10 days earlier than the previous one. Thus, the dates in the calendar, including holidays, slowly move through all the seasons over roughly a 30 year period.

 

Muslims see a wisdom in this type of calendar, in that it does not allow any holiday or occasion to be associated with a particular season. This eliminates the danger of associating a religious occasion with natural phenomena, which can evolve into paganism over time.

 

So no, not EVERY culture has celebrations related to the seasons. Islam specifically avoids it. BTW, Muslims do believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and in his miraculous virgin birth, but we don't celebrate it ;).

[mommaduck]

Sorry, haven't read all the posts. But, in case it hasn't been pointed out yet, many strict Scottish Presbyterians do not celebrate Christmas.

 

I was surprised a few years ago when I called a mainline Presbyterian church in Washington, DC and found that they were closed at Christmas. (The minister was Scottish.)

Yep, the Covenanters (Scottish Reformed) were mentioned along with the Puritans (but many people do not know of the Covenanters). I am slightly surprised that it was a mainline Presby church, regardless of the minister being Scottish, though. That is unusual.

[mommaduck]

I realize this thread is for Christians, but I wanted to point out that Islam is one culture that does NOT have any celebrations tied to the seasons whatsoever.

 

The Islamic calendar is lunar, so each new year begins about 10 days earlier than the previous one. Thus, the dates in the calendar, including holidays, slowly move through all the seasons over roughly a 30 year period.

 

Muslims see a wisdom in this type of calendar, in that it does not allow any holiday or occasion to be associated with a particular season. This eliminates the danger of associating a religious occasion with natural phenomena, which can evolve into paganism over time.

 

So no, not EVERY culture has celebrations related to the seasons. Islam specifically avoids it. BTW, Muslims do believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and in his miraculous virgin birth, but we don't celebrate it ;).

Thank you. I apologise and can only claim that Islam is one of the few faiths that I actually know very little about...but I'm willing to admit it ;) Very interesting.

[Just Robyn]

I guess if you asked me if I think all Christians celebrate Christmas I would just assume that some don't simply because there are so many people who do so many different things in so many different ways. However, I have never met a Christian (or a non-Christian) who didn't celebrate Christmas so I guess if someone told me they didn't celebrate xmas I would be surprised.

[VaKim]

Protestant, Calvinistic, Baptistic, non-denom homechurcher here. ( It appears I just made up a few words, oh well.) We do not do xmas, easter, halloween, advent, lent, etc. etc. Nor do the Christians we meet with. We don't care that others do, but sure wish others would respect our convictions not to do so. Instead, we have family members insisting on buying gifts and getting together, but only calling it a "winter celebration" instead. No, no, no!! It is still your xmas celebration, no matter what you call it, and we want nothing to do with it! If you want to get together for dinner or whatever, there is the whole rest of the year to do so. (Sorry for the rant. Just tired of it all.)

[HS Mom in NC]

We celebrate it as Jesus' birthday. We don't do Santa. I didn't care one way or the other on the Santa thing, but my husband is an engineer type who insists it's lying. (We both did Santa as kids.)

 

Anyway, I had met several Christians who don't do Christmas in any form over the years. To each his own. What surprised me was that two of them had NO IDEA!?!?! that those of us who celebrate is as Jesus' birthday are well aware of the fact that his actual date of birth is unknown. They "informed" me that no one knows His date of birth. You should have seen the look of surprise when when I responded, "Of course no one knows that actual date. We just choose celebrate it then." It was genuine surprise both times.

 

Why is anyone living in a free country of 300 million people surprised that someone does or thinks something differently than other people? We should all have noticed that by now. There's diversity among religions, denominations, family cultures, etc.