As much as we hear about Christmas, The Bible does not give the date of Jesus’ birth, nor does it say that we should celebrate it. There is no proof that Jesus was born on that date. Church leaders likely chose this date to coincide with pagan festivals held on or around the winter solstice. The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of NT (New Testament) origin.
It’s not hard to recognize what Christmas is all about these days. Long gone are those days when we remembered what this season was about. Now we just worry about where we can get the best deals, who gives the best gift or receives the best gift. Somewhere down the road we forgot what was important and that is the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Yes, it is true that Bethlehem is very cold and rainy during December, for that reason the Shepard’s would not keep their flocks outside at night at that time of the year (Luke 2:8). (Luke 2:1-5) also tells us that that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because, His parents came to town to register in the roman census. Caesar Augustus made a decree that all the world should be registered.
The Romans were highly efficient administrators and it wouldn’t have made sense to conduct a census in the dead of winter, where temperatures often dropped below freezing and travel would have been difficult due to poor road conditions. We all know these things but, celebrating His birth is no different from celebrating our birthdays. On our birthday we give thanks for another year of life and good health that our father has given us.
December 25 is our day to thank our Father for the best gift anybody could ever give us and that is the gift of Eternal Life, believing in His Son that died for us on the cross for our sins so that we wouldn’t have to suffer what he suffered.
The most common theory about the origins of Christmas is that it was borrowed from a pagan celebration that the Romans had in the winter called Saturnalia, a festival in late December. In 274 C.E. the Roman emperor Aurelian established a feast of the birth of Sol Invictus (The Unconquered Sun) on Dec. 25. Christmas is said to be a spin off from these pagan solar festivals.
According to this theory, early Christians deliberately chose these dates to encourage the spread of Christianity throughout the Roman world. This theory however doesn’t have any written proof in Christian writings about a connection between the solstice and the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is attributed with the Roman Emperor Constantine, who in theory converted but, that is something that has no proven evidence.
At the end of the day it is how you celebrate Christmas that’s important. If we celebrate it by worrying about what to get our family and friends and go into debt doing it, then we are forgetting about Glorifying our Father and thanking Him for the greatest gift we can get and that is Jesus Christ. But, then again we should Glorify and praise Him every day not for what He can do for us but, for what He has already done in our lives. His Word says in (John 15:5) that apart from Him we can do nothing.
God Bless,
