The Answer is Simple. Christ IS Christmas!
Let me explain, though I’m sure you can quickly guess where I’m headed.
The word “Christmas” means “Christ’s Mass.” Thus, “Christmas” becomes “Christ mas” or “Christ mass.” The mass is an important religious service, but it means little without Christ leading the way.
So it is with Christmas. When you remove Christ from Christmas, as I just tried to do, you’re left with a religious service and perhaps a winter festival. You may enjoy yourself and your mood may lighten, but the activities aren’t meaningful.
Semantics aside, 2 billion Christians around the world have an unwavering belief that Christ is Christmas. Naysayers cannot change this fact.
How long have Christians celebrated Christmas?
Christians have been celebrating Christmas in some fashion for nearly 1,800 years. But in the first two centuries following Christ’s birth, church leaders strongly opposed birthday celebrations. In their minds, such activities were pagan, and they wanted no part of them, according to Britannica.
Then, in the early 3rd century, a Christian historian named Sextus Julius Africanus designated Dec. 25 as the birth date of Christ. By the time of Sextus, all traces of the actual date were gone, but it didn’t matter.
Why did Sextus choose the 25th? Why did he choose any date at all? It’s complicated, and you may want to read more here.
Sextus might have co-opted a pagan Roman celebration that marked the return of longer days. He might have determined that Christ was conceived in March, which was nine months before December. He might have had some other reason. We don’t really know.
Despite early opposition to birthday celebrations in general, many Christians began to accept Dec. 25 as Christ’s birthday by the early 4th century.
One theologian in 320 A.D. responded to criticism of the date by saying, “We hold this day holy, not like the pagans because of the birth of the sun, but because of him who made it,” according to the Christian website Crosswalk.
(The Orthodox Church, by the way, celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7 based on the Julian calendar rather than the Gregorian calendar, which the West uses. per Britannica.)
What do Christmas trees, candles and such mean?
Often, Christians incorporated pagan traditions like greenery and gave them new meanings that reflected Christ’s teachings. For example…
Evergreen trees: One story tells us that Martin Luther introduced greenery into his German home. He used it to remind his family that people have eternal life through Christ, according to Crosswalk.
Another story features an 8th century English missionary named St. Boniface. As the story goes, St. Boniface encountered a pagan celebration involving a mighty oak tree while he was serving in present-day Germany.
He grabbed an ax and chopped down the tree, winning over the pagans when their pagan god Thor did nothing to stop him. St. Boniface told the pagans that the evergreen tree — not the oak — symbolized God’s everlasting love. The pagans converted and began celebrating their new faith with evergreens. Read more here.
By the early 19th century. German settlers were introducing Christmas trees into the U.S. And sometime after the 1830s, Queen Victoria’s German husband Prince Albert brought Christmas trees to England and from there the idea spread.
Candles: The story about Martin Luther tells us that when the reformer brought a tree into his home on Christmas Eve, he decorated it with lighted candles. Candles represented Christ – the Light of the World – and they also were a good antidote to a cold and gloomy winter.
Gifts: Gifts became part of Christmas celebrations as a reminder of gifts the wise men brought Jesus. (We have gone completely crazy with gift giving, but I digress….)
How do I celebrate Jesus despite Christmas madness?
I have never liked shopping, wrapping packages or cleaning up the mess. But I’m no Scrooge — really, I’m not. As a child, I loved Santa Claus as much as anyone. My life was filled with magical moments each and every year.
I can remember the Christmas lights blinking in our darkened living room wintry nights, the scent of greenery filling my home, the cookies and milk my sister and I left for Santa, the strain of listening for reindeers’ hooves on the roof, the mad dash on Christmas morning to see what Santa left us…. That was what Christmas meant to me then.
As a young adult with small children, my excitement stemmed from selecting gifts that “Santa” would bring my children, assembling the toys and placing them under the tree on Christmas Eve, eating the cookies my children left for Santa, experiencing my children’s joy on Christmas morning and joining my parents and other family members later in the day.
But my children are grown, my parents and sister are gone, and I’ve outgrown all the hoopla surrounding Santa and gift-giving.
These days, my celebrations have turned more inward to Christ. I celebrate Advent with meaningful scriptures and devotionals as my daughter and I light our homemade Advent wreath. (See my post, “A Beginner’s Guide to Advent” here.)
I also look forward to the Christmas Eve candlelight service that my church holds every year. And I still love spending time with my family. The faces have changed since I was a child, but the love remains as I enjoy time with my children, grandchildren and wonderful in-laws.)
What other ways can Christians celebrate Christmas?
As you celebrate with Christmas parties, gift-giving and family time, think about doing a little more.
- Give a gift to Jesus. Some of my grandchildren will wake up to a birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas morning, along with toys under the tree.
- Give without thinking about repayment. In other words, pay your blessings forward.
- Thank God for sending the Light of the World into our lives.
Let’s Respect Others’ Beliefs
I have read some harsh criticisms of Christian beliefs about Christmas during this season of peace and love. I don’t understand the need to belittle my beliefs, though I’ll admit that some Christians can be quite obnoxious.
You may choose to reject Christ, but I choose to accept him. You may enjoy a secular Christmas or ignore Christmas altogether, but I choose to celebrate the Lord’s birth.
For me and more than 2 billion other Christians, Jesus is the greatest gift humankind will ever receive. Please let us experience the joy of the season without feeling we are under attack.
For us, Christ is Christmas, and I thank God for him.
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