By Glen Bowman, Minister at 3rd & Kilgore Church of Christ
Do you celebrate Christmas and if so, how? Do you give presents? Sing Christmas carols? Visit Santa? The Bible never commands Christians to celebrate this holiday (or any others)and it seems up to individuals to decide if they want to set aside a particular day to celebrate Jesus’ birth (Romans 14:5, 6). We don’t know the exact day that He was born, but obviously most people observe it on December 25th. It’s interesting and encouraging to consider how others celebrated Jesus’ birth in the Bible!
God celebrated the birth of His Son by sending an angel to announce the good news to shepherds and many other angels appeared to praise God (Luke 2:8-14). The shepherds celebrated by finding Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the manger, and told them about what they had seen and heard (v. 15-17). Apparently, there were others there too, possibly celebrating the birth of the Savior (v. 18). The shepherds continued to celebrate and praise God even after they left Jesus (v. 20). Clearly for them, this event was cause for a celebration!
In addition, wise men from the east known as magi came to celebrate Jesus’ birth and worship Him (Matthew 2:1, 2). It seems that they came well after Jesus was born, because they met Mary and Jesus in a house, not a manger (v. 11a), and Herodgave a command to kill the children “two years old or under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi”(v. 16). The magi gave Jesus gold, frankincense, and myrrh (v. 11b), which were costly gifts. It makes sense that we likewise should give freely and generously to the King of kings and Lord of lords!
When Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple, a righteous and devout man named Simeon greatly celebrated Jesus’ arrival on earth and praised God (Luke 2:25-32). A prophetess named Anna (who was the inspiration for our daughter’s name) thanked God for Jesus and spread the word about Him to others (v. 36-38). Clearly, Jesus’ birth was an occasion for rejoicing and praising God for many people at that time!
Returning to our original question, how do we celebrate Christmas? It seems like it’s a time for praising and thanking God for Jesus’ birth also! Sadly, many miss the true “reason for the season” and it’s become more about giving and receiving material things instead of celebrating the greatest gift that God has ever given the world. For some, Santa Claus has trumped Jesus in the spotlight of that season and even as the giver of gifts. If we knew about the origin of Santa Claus from St. Nicholas, this would be even more ironic.
St. Nicholas was a devout Christian who lived about 300 years after Jesus. He received an inheritance from his parents, who died at a young age, and used that money to help children and the poor. It’s said that he repeatedly put gold into socks warming by the fire to help a poor family in need. Of course, the habit of hanging stockings on the fireplace at Christmastime probably came from that.
We all probably have traditions connected to the Christmas season. Most of these traditions are probably fun and harmless. However, as we draw nearer to this special time of year, let’s take some time to think about the perfect gift that we received in Jesus Christ. Let’s think about the joy that so many had at His birth and celebrate as well. He has forever changed this worldfor good and that’s something that we can celebrate every day!
