Why We No Longer Celebrate Christmas

If you are a disciple of Christ, questioning whether you should be celebrating Christmas, please allow me to share with you some biblical and historical facts to consider, which might help you make your decision.

I would like to share a letter I recently sent to a friend of ours, explaining why we no longer celebrate Christmas.  I hope this will also be encouraging to the growing number of people who are feeling the same conviction in their heart that we have. The letter states:

"I want to mention something to you, since you have mentioned Christmas a couple times to me.  It's not a problem with us if you want to celebrate Christmas, but we don't do so.  So you're probably shocked and wondering, 'Why not?!'  Well, in case you are thinking that, I want to share some of our reasons.

First of all, there is no place in Scripture where we are told explicitly, exactly what day Jesus was born on. And there is no place in Scripture where we are told to celebrate His birthday. Neither do we find any Scriptural record of the early Church celebrating His birthday. In fact, the date when the world celebrates Christmas is closer to the time when Jesus was conceived, rather than the time He was born. He was more likely born in the September-October time frame.

You can read more about this in my blog, called "The Birth of Jesus: On What Day was Jesus Born?" As you would have guessed, I have a blog about this topic, like so many other things the Lord has shown us from His Word.  We believe in living as Jesus did and according to His Word, not man-made traditions or worldly customs.

Christmas is really an invention of the Roman Catholic Church.  And it appears they chose it to fit into the time-frame of another festival that was celebrated by the pagans.  They did this with many of the pagan deities and festivals, replacing them with Christian themes and names.  All of the customs of Christmas pre-date (existed before) the birth of Jesus Christ. You can read more about that here.

Just like all the other man-made traditions of the Roman Catholic church, this one is not life giving.  We just don't see the life in it.  In fact, probably this holiday brings about more death than it does life.  It places so many burdens on people, even in the world, that they have to go shopping and buy all these gifts and they have to have a "merry Christmas".  Then if they don't have the money for the gifts or they cannot celebrate the holiday according to all the established customs, they feel very sad about it. It seems like this holiday drives people to copy the world and conform to the world, rather than be led by the Spirit and obey the Scriptures. This funny skit sums up what we mean.

To us, Christmas is just another day, and every day is alike.  Paul wrote, 'One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.' (Rom 14:5-6). Paul shows here that those with weak faith, who observe certain days, do so for the Lord. And those who regard every day alike do so for the Lord.

So I realize that was a bit of a long explanation, but we knew you would probably ask, so this is the best way we can explain it to you.  I hope you understand.

with love and blessings,
Len and Jennifer"

That's the end of the letter we wrote to our friend.  Actually she wasn't shocked like I assumed she may be.  Her reply said in part, "Yeah, I understand and I agree with this. It was cool though that you've written down for me these facts."

I'd also like to link to a similar letter that I just found online today by a sister in Christ, whom I have never heard of until now. It is excellent, and I highly recommend you read it.  She is an Ethiopian lady now living in the States, and it's amazing to me how the Lord led her to say very similar things to her friend that the Holy Spirit led me to say to ours.  I think it is just additional confirmation that the Spirit of the Lord has led us this way, in order to bring us into greater freedom.  And the Lord used her letter to encourage us.

Since this holiday is so popular with the world, even among those who don't know Christ personally, anyone who does not celebrate it seems rather strange.  But each person has to do for the Lord what they believe to be true and right. We're free in Christ to do so, and that's what we do.  Therefore, if you have faith to celebrate Christmas for the Lord, just allow others, who love the Lord, the same freedom not to celebrate it.

This is our personal decision as a family.  If you are considering whether you should celebrate Christmas, let me encourage you to read your Bible, learn the history behind the holiday, and seek the Lord in prayer about it.  He will be faithful to guide you. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will lead you into all Truth, and the Truth will set you free.  He whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Bearing Christ Within

Have you ever stopped to think about what it must have been like for Mary to carry Jesus Christ? She had the awesome privilege of carrying God’s Son, the Light of the World inside of her? She was also blessed to be able to carry the Lord of creation around in her arms as a baby. Imagine being able to pick up the Savior of the world and hold Him in your arms? It’s worth meditating on for a moment.

The Virgin Mary
This was no ordinary conception, since she was still a virgin. When the angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her she would conceive and bear a son whose name would be Jesus, she was surprised.

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. (Luk 1:34-35).

The angel’s answer explains how this was possible. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that she would conceive. Notice he said the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of the Most High would overshadow her. This was how the Lord Jesus would enter her womb without any man’s involvement.

Who is the Mother of Jesus?
But now I’d like you to consider something that Jesus said when He was an adult, during His ministry.

On one occasion, while Jesus was speaking to a crowd, “One of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.’ But He said, ‘On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’” (Luk 11:27-28)

Do you see how Jesus responded when the woman tried to put the emphasis on Mary? He immediately contradicted her. He corrected her with the leading phrase, “On the contrary”. As Jesus saw it, those who are called blessed are those who hear God’s Word and do it.

Consider another occasion where Jesus spoke about His mother. "While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.' But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, 'Who is My mother and who are My brothers?' And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.' " (Mat 12:46-50)

Do you see how Jesus responded, when He was told His mother and brothers were outside? He said that whoever does the will of His Father in heaven is His mother and sister and brother.

Each and every person must have his or her own personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It goes beyond a human blood relationship, and it’s much deeper than that. When you repent of your sin and ask Jesus into your heart, you enter into a personal relationship with Him through His divine, sinless blood that was shed for you on the cross. When that happens, He takes up residence within you through the Holy Spirit. You become born all over again to a new life – a spiritual life that will never end.

And in this new life, you carry Jesus Christ around inside of you wherever you go. You don’t need to go to some building or shrine to visit Him. He’s right there inside of you. And the new heart He gives you will actually want to do the will of His Father in heaven. His Holy Spirit will enable you to do His will, whereas before it was impossible for you to do it.

Those who do the will of the heavenly Father like this can call Jesus their older brother. In fact, as Jesus put it, they are even His mothers – whether male or female -- in more than one way. First, a disciple of Christ is the mother of Jesus Christ in the sense that he or she carries Jesus within. When Jesus lives in your heart, you bear him inside your body wherever you go. The same awesome privilege that Mary had belongs to every true disciple of Christ. We get to bear Him inside of us.

Another aspect of being His mother is bringing Him forth into the world into the lives of others. If you know Jesus personally, and you do the will of His Father in heaven, you will want to see others come to know Him, too. You will pray for them and share the good news with them that they can know Him, too. As you do so, some will repent and invite Him into their hearts also. Another new birth takes place each time another person does so. So we have the privilege and honor of bringing forth Christ into the world!

Putting it All Together
So while Mary was the first person to be the mother of Jesus, she was not the only one to do so. Whenever anyone tried to put the focus on Mary, Jesus immediately corrected them. In fact, every true disciple is the mother of Jesus and bears Christ within. It all happens by the power of the Holy Spirit, just as it did for Mary.

If you already know Jesus, let me ask you a question: Do you go about life with the awareness that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, lives inside of you? This is the only way to live as a disciple of Christ. We need to have a constant awareness of His presence within us.

Let me ask you another question: Are you bringing forth Christ into the world through your prayers, words, and actions? Through your life, others should be coming to know Him. This is evidence that you are His mother. Every disciple should be multiplying and reproducing disciples by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here's my final question to you, my friend: Are you focusing on Mary and putting emphasis on her? If so, you need to heed the words of Jesus. You need to realize that the one who is blessed among women and the one who is blessed among men is the person who hears God’s Word and observes it.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.