Christmas Celebration

The word Christmas is an abbreviation of -- Christ Mass. It is believed that in the fourth and fifth centuries the Catholic Church started commemorating the birth of Christ at their Mass held in December. The original December festivals were pagan and were started before Christ was born into the world. Christ Mass was mixed with some of the features of the Pagan festivals for the purpose of introducing a Christian influence in the yearly Pagan festivals.

The scriptural mention of Shepherd's tending their flocks in the fields at night indicates it was warmer weather than December when Christ was born; therefore the month of Christ's birth is unknown. Since the Scriptures are silent on the year, month and date of His birth, it follows that we should not set up a tradition claiming to know when he was born. Christ did not instruct his disciples to celebrate the day of His birth but He did instruct them to remember his death, burial and resurrection.

We should daily acknowledge and be thankful for the Lord coming into the world to save sinners but we should not join the Cahtolic tradition of Christmas which is laced with Pagan traditions. We can enjoy getting together with family and friends to express Love and to exchange gifts but we should never mix worldly traditions in our efforts to serve God. We hear many saying we should put Christ back into Christmas but would it not be better to put Him back in our daily lives and comform our walk to reflect His teachings?

Elder Claude McKee