It’s interesting that in the country of Singapore, Christmas
is a big deal. Christmas shopping
accounts for half of the country’s annual retail sales. Shopping malls turn into extravagant theme
parks while traditional hymns play over the loud speakers everywhere. What’s surprising about this, however, is
that while most of the people there enthusiastically embrace the holiday, only
about 13 percent of the population are Christians. Most of the citizens love the holiday without
embracing all of its religious themes.
Now some Christians might be bothered by this, but I’m not
one of them. I don’t have a problem with non-Christians
embracing the holiday, just as I don’t have a problem with non-Christians not
embracing the holiday. And by the same
token, I don’t have a problem with Christians who celebrate Christmas, and
Christians who don’t celebrate Christmas.
And yes, there are Christians who refuse to celebrate Christmas.
There is actually a long tradition of Christian opposition
to the Christmas season. Most of us are
just starting to burn off some of the calories we consumed over Thanksgiving, a
holiday whose origin we trace back to the pilgrims; but pilgrims refused to
celebrate Christmas and Easter!
According the history site, Mayflowerhistory.com:
They believed that these
holidays were invented by man to memorialize Jesus, and are not prescribed by
the Bible or celebrated by the early Christian churches, and therefore cannot
be considered Holy days. "It seems too much for any mortal man to appoint,
or make an anniversary memorial [for Christ]," taught the Pilgrims' pastor
John Robinson. (http://mayflowerhistory.com/religion/)
The Puritans, for years, tried to outlaw the holiday, and even
today Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, some Church of Christ folk,
and some Baptists, refuse to celebrate Christmas for many reasons including its alleged (and
likely) pagan roots. And as many
scholars point out, nobody has the faintest idea when Christ was really born
since the Bible and early Christians never mentioned a date or time of year.
But I don’t believe any of this matters. I hold to the Apostle Paul’s view regarding
this issue. In Paul’s day there were Jewish
Christians who had a whole slew of holidays the Gentile Christians were
ignoring (like Hanukah), and the Gentile Christians observed some days the Jewish Christians
ignored. Each side thought the other was
wrong. So Paul settled their argument with
these strong words:
Who are you to pass judgment on
servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And
they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one
day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all
be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day, observe it in
honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they
give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and
give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then,
whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:4-8 NRSV)
In other words, stop picking on one another just because you
don’t observe the same holidays in the same ways, and do what you do for the
glory of the Lord.
I love Christmas, and I’m going to celebrate the turkey
stuffing out of it! You do what you
think right. But from my perspective, celebrating the birthday of the Prince of
Peace is the perfect opportunity for me to embrace those around me with
kindness and respect. Even, or
especially, those who see things differently.
So whatever your traditions, however you celebrate, I wish
you a holiday full of blessings and grace.
And in that vein I’m going to offer you a greeting that has, in some
circles, become controversial.
Happy Holidays
David
