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“Christmas is about Jesus.”If you could change anything about Christmas, what would you change?:
“You know Jesus' birthday and the re-what is it? The birth of Jesus Christ or what not? Something like that. But besides that, gifts for the kids and the family.”
“Parties in the park…”
“Family, giving…Trying to help the needy…”
“Kids…spirits…”
“Presents…”
“For the little kids…”
“Shopping and what not…”
“Gifts and Christmas trees…”
“Naturally, you should think of Jesus, first, but a lot of people don't…”
“Christmas presents…”
“I love Christmas! It's also about fun and family…”
“Celebration of Christ's birth. Um…Unfortunately all the commercial stuff that goes with it too, but I mean it's fun with the kids, but overdone.”
“Change anything about Christmas? I wouldn't change anything.”Christmas can mean different things to different people.Now, what most people really want, and really desperately need, in celebrating Christmas is: meaningful, loving relationships, a purpose greater than themselves, and a desire to connect with God and know that He actually cares. You spend money, go to parties, give gifts, attend worship services. Trying to capture and hold onto the precious moments that make you feel connected and loved.And then, there's the day after Christmas. You return to the grind of daily life, go from store to store returning gifts and sometimes spend months paying off the credit cards.Sort of reminiscent of the famous line from Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” For many people, the Christmas season really is the worst of times. Depression, thoughts of how life might have been better, envy over what others have, loneliness, even suicide are all common experiences during this time of the year.Why is Christmas, for so many people, such a two-edged sword? I mean everyone is really longing for the Christmas spirit of love and peace, family and friends. But, how do we reconcile blatant commercialism with the teachings of Jesus? How do we relate the drunken parties of Christmas Eve with our desire for a connection with God?Why is it so hard to capture this thing called the spirit of Christmas? The folklore of sleigh bells ringing on a snow covered night, Tiny Tim turning the heart of Scrooge, Santa Claus and flying reindeer, really the feelings of childhood.Why can't the Christmas spirit continue on the day after Christmas when everyone returns to the rudeness of the workplace, the anger and hurt of family conflicts, and rushing through life with little thought of anything spiritual? The day after Christmas, you return to a society where it seems that the teachings of Jesus Christ sort of get packed up with the nativity scene and stored in the attic.Why is it that the day after Christmas, the world seems untouched by the Christmas spirit?You know, I'm reminded of an event from World War I. In 1914, the Allies and Germans were locked in the horror of trench warfare on the Western Front. The soldiers on both sides had spent months attempting to kill each other by any means available—I mean rifles, bombs, machine guns, airplanes, hand grenades, trench knives, even their bare hands.Christmas Eve, men began to sing carols. A man here and there ventured out of the trenches and wandered into no-man's-land. Groups began to emerge, began shaking hands with each other, the enemy. Some even began exchanging gifts. Of course, the officers were furious. This Christmas spirit had been taken way too far. Soldiers on both sides were threatened with severe punishment if they ever engaged in that kind of activity again.Wasn't long before the two armies resumed killing each other with barbaric ferocity. The day after Christmas, most soldiers on both sides—German, French, British—they would have told you they were Christians. Many would have said—well if they were alive the next day— they would have said, that they had experienced the Christmas spirit on that Christmas Eve in no-man's-land.Why didn't the Christmas spirit stop the killing and the suffering on the day after Christmas?Well here's the problem. All the preparation and adornment has left out the supposed “key player” of this season, Jesus Christ. He has taken a backseat to mythology and greed.You know every year signs in front of neighborhood churches remind people to “Put Christ back into Christmas.” Or, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” The question we really need to ask is: Was Jesus ever the real reason for the season?So what should you do? Is it even possible to remove secularism from Christmas? Is there really a way to keep the Christmas spirit alive the day after Christmas? Should Christians even give up Christmas?Now before we tackle those questions, let me tell you about today's special free offer.If something is missing in your Christmas celebration, this easy to read free booklet, Holidays or Holy Days: Does it Matter Which Days We Observe? can help you discover what's missing.Do you know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th? The date was actually chosen because of an ancient Roman pagan celebration. What does decorating a tree have to do with Jesus' birth? It's all explained in Holidays or Holy Days . Now before you say, “That's not important. Christmas is for children,” ask yourself this question: Does it matter to Jesus Christ, whose birthday we're supposed to be celebrating?You need to read Holidays or Holy Days by going online to BeyondToday.tv . To receive a free copy sent directly to your home, call toll-free: 1-888-886-8632. Now write this down: 1-888-886-8632.And when you go online to BeyondToday.tv , you can choose from an extensive archive of Beyond Today programs and commentaries. And you can follow Beyond Today on Twitter and join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and suggestions.Let me share with you some pictures from the old family scrapbook.Christmas was a very special time for us. The cute baby, it's me. I remember decorating the tree, the feelings of being loved by my family, gift giving, going to church and the time Santa Claus showed up at our house, and he looked strangely like my dad.One day, when I was around seven years old, my parents came to me and said that we weren't going to observe Christmas anymore. They explained that they had discovered that Jesus wasn't born on Christmas. Now, I wasn't very upset over the news, like most people think a child would be, but I was confused. I was confused because I couldn't figure out why adults would celebrate somebody's birthday if He wasn't born on that day? It just didn't make sense to my little seven year old mind.Now I tell you this story because there are Christians who don't observe Christmas. Christians who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Who confess that He is the only way to salvation. And yet, we don't observe Christmas.Why don't we celebrate Christmas?Well first, the earliest Christians didn't celebrate Jesus' birthday. Its celebration isn't mentioned in the Gospels. It is impossible to calculate the day when Jesus was born. And quite frankly, modern Christmas traditions have little to do with the teachings of the Bible. Does that seem shocking?A number of years ago, I discovered a book that really sheds light on Christmas observance.Episcopalian priest, Dr. Earl W. Count, relates his personal discovery of the origins of Christmas in his book, 4000 Years of Christmas: A Gift from the Ages. Now remember Jesus was born only 2,000 years ago. Dr. Count enthusiastically relates historical connections between modern Christmas celebrations and customs originating in pagan Bronze Age Babylon. He shows that decorating with mistletoe was adopted from Druid mystery rituals and that the December 25th date was selected, not because it was the date of Jesus' birth, but because of the ancient Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia.You know there has been plenty of research supporting Dr. Count's claim that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. It's common knowledge that the origins of Christmas are rooted in the ancient Roman celebration of Saturnalia and the sun-god Mithra. What happened was church leaders in the fourth century simply adapted pagan customs and declared them holy, as a way to attract pagans to Christianity.Now I know you don't feel a spiritual connection to the sun-god Mithra or ancient Druids when you observe Christmas. You observe Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to share a time with loved ones. But Jesus wasn't born on December 25th and the earliest Christians didn't observe His birthday. I remember the simplicity of the issue when I was only seven years old. Why would you celebrate someone's birthday on a wrong day?At this point you might be saying, “As long as we honor Jesus Christ and celebrate love and family, what does it matter?”Actually, it matters a lot. It matters a lot to Jesus Christ, the Person who Christmas is supposed to honor.Now I want to illustrate this point in a story from the life of Jesus. I mean, if you want to celebrate the life of Jesus, let's see what He really taught.In first century Judaism, there was a religious custom known as the Corban Vow. With a Corban Vow, a person could show a great obedience to God by dedicating all his possessions to the temple in Jerusalem. Sounds like a very spiritual thing to do, doesn't it?The person was allowed to keep those possessions during his lifetime. Of course, if anyone asked for a loan the answer was, “Oh, I can't lend you any money. I'm under a Corban vow. Everything I have is dedicated to God.” Now some people were actually ignoring the needs of their elderly parents by invoking the Corban Vow.Jesus confronts these people and claims that “you have made the commandment of God…”—in this case the commandment to honor your parents. He says, “you have made [it] of no effect by your tradition.”Jesus claims that this human tradition, no matter how religious it seemed, had no connection with God. Their religious traditions had made God's way of no effect in their lives.Now here's the tough question that I'm going to ask you. I want you to think about this. Have Christmas traditions, based on a false date for Jesus' birth, customs that are non-Christian in origins, and let's face it, materialism and greed, made the way of God of no effect in your life? Is this the reason the Christmas spirit seems to dissipate on the day after Christmas?I mean, you're trying to connect with God. You want to experience the Christmas spirit of love and peace, but what if, in reality—think about this—Christmas has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus Christ?Jesus said that human traditions can cause people to worship God in vain . In other words, our traditions can cause us to have unrewarding worship.I want you to understand what I just said, because it is very, very important, and very few Christians want to face these words by Jesus. It's just not, it's just not politically correct, even in religious circles. Jesus said that human traditions can cause people to worship God in vain . In other words, our traditions can cause us to have unrewarding worship.You're now faced with a very personal question, that if you're really honest, you're going to have to ask yourself: Have Christmas traditions, based on a false date for Jesus' birth, customs that are non-Christian in origins, and materialism and greed made the way of God of no effect in my life? Ask yourself that question.I mean Christians who lament over the secular way many people observe Christmas, claim that if we could just strip Christmas of commercialism, then we could get Jesus back into the day. We could then recapture the Christmas spirit and bring peace and goodwill to all. Then the world would really change the day after Christmas.Well friends, you can't put Christ back into something he was never part of to begin with. Christmas has been mythologized, commercialized and secularized.At this point you're saying, “But if I give up Christmas, what will my family do as special days of worship of God and of Jesus Christ and family togetherness?”You know in the Bible the earliest Christians didn't observe the birth of Jesus as a Holy Day. But, they did observe an annual calendar of special times of worship. Most Christians don't observe these days today because they are considered Jewish. Celebrations like the Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles.The earliest Christian families observed God's days as times of community worship. They saw these days as memorials to every aspect of the work of Jesus as the Messiah and the plan of God for humanity. In observing the Passover, they honored Jesus as the Passover lamb. And the Feast of Trumpets, they proclaimed the return, in the future, of Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Day of Atonement pictured Jesus Christ as the High Priest.And these times of family celebrations, you can discover the reality of the person we call Jesus, and experience the deep spiritual meaning by observing the times when the earliest Christians honored Him as the Christ.Now I want to really share more of what it is like to be a Christian who doesn't observe Christmas. But first, let me tell about how you can begin to discover the real differences between traditional holidays and the observances of the earliest Christians, like Passover, Pentecost and the Feast of Tabernacles.If you've ever felt unhappy, confused, or spiritually unfulfilled during Christmas, you need to read Holidays or Holy Days: Does it Matter Which Days We Observe? If you call right now, we will also send you a free subscription, one year subscription, to The Good News magazine. Now this magazine will help you discover the biblical secrets of experiencing a deeper personal relationship with God and how to live a happier life.To receive a free copy sent directly to your home, call toll-free: 1-888-886-8632. Or go online to BeyondToday.tv where you can find additional Beyond Today programs.And you can follow Beyond Today on Twitter and Facebook and there we welcome you to comment or give your suggestions.Gary Petty:
“Make it less stressful for people. For people to actually realize the true moral of Christmas.”
“Maybe that it weren't so commercialized.”
“Not much…”
“Materialism.”
“I would change the values that people put on, the you know, the giving gifts so much.”
“Grown-ups shouldn't go out and get drunk and have a big party just ‘cause it's Christmas.”
“Be a little less commercialized…”
“No one talks about Jesus or about Christ in Christmas and anything like that.”
“Just take a lot of the commercialization out of it. Make it simpler.”