“Long time ago in Bethlehem, so the Holy Bible say; Mary’s Boy child Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day.” But is this true? Did the Bible say this? Was Jesus really born on December 25th?
Most people you ask will always say, ‘No he wasn’t born on Christmas Day, we all know that.’ But why do we still promote this as the church? If we know the truth, shouldn’t we seek to tell that truth?
Where did it all start?
The traditions we celebrate for Christmas goes back to about 4000 years before Jesus Christ was even born. However, it wasn’t first celebrated as Christmas until about 400 years after Jesus left earth.
Because there are no scriptures about when Christ was born, the leaders at the time decided to choose a date. Pope Julius I chose December 25th because he thought he would incorporate the pagan mid-winter festivals into the church as an alternative to the pagan celebrations. In spite of this, the believers would attend the church service called the Feast of Nativity and then go out and celebrate in a drunken, rowdy fashion right after the service.
Santa Claus, Christmas tree, Caroling and a few other traditions that are done, have no Christian principles behind them. But the church still practices traditions without a second thought to the origins and what it may mean.
Why does it matter?
In John 8:32, he writes, “Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” As Christians we are called to the truth and there is nowhere in the bible that it speaks of a date for Jesus’ birth. While it is great to celebrate the birth of Jesus and let everyone know that Christ came to earth, we need to ensure that we spread this news with the whole truth.
The fact of the matter is, that a lot of people now know about the story of Jesus because of this Christmas celebration that has pagan origins. So, there is a lot of good that comes from celebrating Jesus’ birth, but there isn’t a lot of benefits from all the spending done around Christmas time to keep up with the traditions that don’t point to Jesus.
Don’t be a Grinch!
Not conforming to all the traditions of Christmas does not mean that you need to be the Grinch. The whole purpose of Jesus’ birth according to John 3:16-19 is so that people can be saved. He came so that his light can overcome the darkness. If we are sharing the gospel and people are being saved, then we are fulfilling our mandate here on earth. It makes no sense to have a celebration about the birth of Christ in which we are so focus on everything else but Jesus Christ. As this festive season approaches, let us be reminded to put Christ first, and to try to tell at least one person about the gospel.
Ashea West is a third-year medical student from Manchester, Jamaica studying in the USA. I am passionate about sharing the gospel, using whatever opportunities I am given. I do believe in blooming wherever I am transplanted.
