Can a Christian Celebrate Christmas?

Can a Christian Celebrate Christmas? - Can I as a Christian put up a Christmas tree and celebrate Christmas with Santa for my children?

We received the following email:

As long as I have accepted Jesus as my Savior and know that he died for my sins are you saying that if I put up a Christmas tree and celebrate Christmas with Santa for my children...that I am NOT going to Heaven????

MY RESPONSE

Celebrating Christmas is not a salvation issue; instead, as a Christian, why would you want to participate in something that is displeasing to the Lord? Our article on Christmas clearly points out its pagan origin and traditions, so why would you want to participate in it? Please write me back if you have any more questions.

May God richly bless you today,

Charles Thorell

I dont agree with YOUR interpetation of the verses that you are using. For one ,the verse you mention that talks about a so called "christmas tree", is not as black and white as you say. IF you were to fully investigate, you would know that it refers to the practice of taking a tree and fashioning it into an actual idol to worship. The hammer was used to chisel and shape figures or symbols into the wood of the tree and the silver was then "pounded" and fitted onto the the areas that were cut into the tree. Then the tree itself was worship as an representation of the Idol.

When my family has put up a Christmas tree , we have NEVER done any of these things and we definately DO NOT worship the tree. My children KNOW the real reason of what we are doing during that time of year! AS far as Jesus not telling us to celebrate his birthday.....doesnt mean that he would not appreciate a time of year that we as Christians show joy and honor over his birth........because without his BIRTH we could NOT have our sins forgiven by his death and resurrection!!!

My main problem with what you are doing is that you are tearing down other christians and trying to set your self apart from them and make yourself "better" than them....that is much more wrong. You can find "evil" in just about anything you want to find it...and that is what I feel is being done here.RIght now , at least we have one time of the year ...when it seems most everybody(non christians included) try to treat each other better than usual ...and this time of year is CHRISTMAS!! I think that is why we should continue to celebrate it!!!! If you could totally take away all aspects of Christmas from America....I really think you would be doing SO MUCH MORE harm than good.... and I KNOW that would not please Jesus.

I just think it is sad that you seem to be wanting to lash out at other Christians and that just sends out a poor message to those in the secular world.Bottom line ....I think Christians have a lot more to worry about than whether or not we should celebrate Christmas or not. For me, I see NOTHING but the GOOD that has come out of how my family celebrates it.....and I know the world is a better place because of Christmas. At least there is one time of the year ...when whether the world likes it or not...the focus does turn on the fact that Jesus came into the world to die for our sins. As I said before , I just see that at that time of the year , we seem to treat each other a lot better....and I know we should do that all the time but we are a long way from that right now. So for me, I will take what we can get and hope to build on that!

I appreciate your time and response. But I just can't agree that you are right about this. I feel that most of this issue has been taken way out of context and the scripture has not been interpeted correctly. So I guess would just have to agree to disagree.

God Bless you,

Anonymous ( A fellow Christian- and thats what really matters!)

MY RESPONSE

What I quoted is not “my interpretation” as you are insinuating but simply what the Bible says about this particular topic. Whether you realize it or not, you are inadvertently worshiping the tree when you kneel down and place presents underneath it. I too was convinced I knew “the reason for the season” when I was growing up. I piously tried to get past the commercialism of Christmas and put Christ back into Christmas. However, Jesus was never actually part of Christmas. We have a well documented article that proves this point so why do you want to be sentimental and celebrate something that the Lord hates?

Your problem with me is that you do not understand my thinking, so I will try and clarify it for you. You seem to think that I view myself as a better Christian than you because I seek holiness and obedience. I am not measuring myself against you; on the contrary, I measure myself up to Jesus Christ. I try and emulate Him as my role model. What you’re really objecting to is that you think God’s standard for Christian living is too high. Aren’t we are supposed to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect? Jesus said that if we truly love him, we would obey his commandments. Do you think Jesus’ commandments are grievous and hard to follow?

Christmas is traditionally a time of the year where people celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with gifts, dressing up trees, decorating houses with lights, and there is a spirit of good will in the air. Many people, Christian or not, celebrate this holiday without truly knowing the reason. But not everything associated with Christmas is good. People consume more alcohol during this season than at any time of the year and it is a time of death on our highways when drunk drivers kill innocent people. There is an increase in adultery and fornication at office parties when people get drunk and engage in sexual activities. The suicide rate reaches an all time high. It is also the season for lying, when well-intentioned parents tell their children about Santa Claus. Then there is a massive spending frenzy as millions of people pile up debts on their credit cards to finance presents for Christmas, and at the end of January, many people become frantic as the credit card bills begin to come in. Much of the new year will be spent paying off the debt incurred from all the purchases with the cycle to begin again in another eleven months. Yes, there are many good things that happen during Christmas but I have a hard time believing that Jesus is pleased with this kind of behavior.

The Bible says we are called to judge a righteous judgment. If you feel guilty, stop fighting the truth, and give in to the Holy Ghost. God would rather you have a repentant heart than a reprobate mind and hard heart. I don’t see how we have misquoted or twisted scripture to make it say something that it does not. The Bible is very clear, God hates idolatry. Celebrating Christmas with a decorated tree falls under God’s curse as found in Deuteronomy 18:9-13.

9. When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

10. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

11. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

13. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

We are quick to claim the blessings of God:

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: (Deuteronomy 28:1)

But we are not so quick to own up to the responsibilities of our actions and the curse that comes upon us when we sin.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: (Deuteronomy 28:15)

The Berean's heard Paul and Silas preaching in the synagogue and were commended for listening and searching the scripture as to whether or not the things that they had heard were true (Acts 17:10-11). With that scripture in mind, there are many things that Christian's do that don't always line up with the Bible. It is the responsibility of every Christian to see if what they are doing is glorifying to God, so if a Christian who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, they will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest!

And since most "Christians" react with hostility to information that contradicts what they know to be true. It is our hope that you would re-examine your assumptions of truth through the clear lens of a sincere Biblical analysis. One of the most wonderful aspects of the Good News is the fact that “God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). The truth is, the Strong Delusion the LORD promised he would bring is closely related to the lies that have been told – and God warned them that “I will choose their delusion” Isaiah 66:4, “…because they received not the love of the truth…” 2 Thessalonians 2:10

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