Expert: Elder Greg Madden - 11/10/2007

Question
Should christians celebrate christmas? Is this holiday biblical.Give scriptures to support your answers please!

Answer
Catonya,

Thank you for your questions. I will do my best to answer them one at a time. But before I do, let me explain what Christmas is, and is not.

Christmas is a holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus, celebrated on December 25. There is no consensus on exactly how and when the celebration of Christmas started, but the majority of scholars agree that the actual birthday of Jesus remains unknown. The word is derived from a contraction meaning "Christ's mass". Aspects of the celebration may include a surge in church attendance, increased focus on teaching about the incarnation, the gathering of many families and friends, the exchange of cards and gifts (often including the Santa Claus myth), and the display of Nativity sets, Christmas trees, and an abundance of lights and decorations.

Despite being nearly universally associated with the birth of Jesus, Christmas is celebrated by a broad range of people of many different faiths. Largely a cultural holiday developed by writers like Washington Irving and Charles Dickens in the 19th century as a family-oriented day of "peace on earth and good will toward men," it is also the most economically significant holiday of the year. This commercialization, along with the relationships some have tried to draw in recent years to ancient pagan festivals, has prompted some groups to oppose the celebration of Christmas, despite the fact that our current traditions bear almost no resemblance to the practices of the ancient, classical or medieval periods.


1. "Should Christians celebrate Christmas?"

In light of what I have written above, it is my opinion that decision is up to the individual Believer. If you should feel that it is wrong, then do not celebrate it. If you have no "check" from the Holy Spirit (conviction) then it up to that individual Christian.

Catonya, let me share with you an example from my own experience. I do not know if you are from the USA, but here there are several holidays that are celebrated. Some have no religious meaning at all (Independence Day/Fourth of July, Veterans Day, Labor Day, to name a few). Then there are several holidays that are celebrated that have a religious "overtone" (Valentines Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and yes Christmas). All of the holidays that have a religious bases my family would participate in except for one, Halloween. It is true that there have been pagan influences upon these holidays. But all of them but Halloween have a Christian bases. So it is my personal conviction not to participate in Halloween because of this. But my personal conviction is that it is alright to participate in Christmas. However Catonya, like anything that we as Believers do, we should always do them while place Christ first in our lives. We should not allow the trappings and commercialism of this (or any) holiday detract us from our commitment to Christ Jesus.

2. "Is this holiday biblical?"

I believe I answered this above. but in case I was not clear let me say it this way. Historically Christ was probably not born on this day (though most understand that it is not), so we do not celebrate His "birthday", but the "day of His birth". And though there is no Biblical reference Christmas each Christian must follow the conviction of their own heart in celebration and remembrance of Christ's day of birth.

Catonya, please let me know if this helps, or if you have any further questions.

Elder Greg Madden
http://www.forministry.com/USOKPENTEMMM1