I must make a confession; I have officially entered my least favorite time of the year.  In one 24 hour period I go from enjoying my favorite holiday to dealing with the day I despise the most—black Friday.  Everything I hate about Christmas starts on the day after Thanksgiving and ends around New Years Day.  I know that Almighty God never intended His Son’s so called birthday to be the reason for promoting unbridled covetousness.  At least in the old days, Christmas was a time to share hearts, fellowship and love, instead of elaborate decorations, huge credit card bills and one party after another.  Unfortunately those old days have long ago evaporated.

Any Biblical scholar, who knows anything about dating, knows that it was impossible for Jesus to be born on December 25^th.  With even a small amount of honest research, one can easily see that Jesus was born during the feast of Tabernacles which is always in September or October.  Debating the exact date of an event God deliberately kept secret is not the purpose of this post.  If God wanted His Son’s birthday celebrated, He most certainly would have given undeniable evidence as to its date.  He didn’t because it is not the date that is important, but the event.

As far as we know, the only people who knew exactly when and where our Savior was born were some shepherds who were watching over their flocks on the hills outside Bethlehem.  An angel came to these most humble of men and told them the glad tidings of the Messiah’s birth.  Of all the people who could have witnessed the event, God chose some obscure shepherds.  David was an obscure shepherd also, and God chose him to become king of Israel.

The “wise men” didn’t show up the night Jesus was born.  Good grief, they didn’t make it until Jesus was perhaps two years old.  There were no jet airplanes or high speed trains in those days.  It took a long time to get a camel to go thousands of miles.  By the time the “wise men” arrived, Jesus was a young child according to Matthew 2:11.  Of course this truth, along with all the other truths regarding the birth of Jesus, has been hidden behind the curtains of religious tradition.  We most certainly cannot have the wise men showing up two or three years later, for all the nativity scenes would have to be redone.

There is no holiday which has more worthless tradition than Christmass.  December 25^th was the most pagan date of the year.  It was chosen as the date of Jesus’ birth to conform to pagan traditions.  Hey, we need to select a date to celebrate mass honoring the birth of Jesus; why not select the one everyone knows already even if is 100% pagan in nature.  Thus December 25 became the date everyone worships as Jesus Birthday.  It is not, never has been and never will be.  Amazingly, there is a possibility that the conception of Jesus might have been on or near December 25, but most certainly not his birth.

Who wants to celebrate Christmass in September?  It is still warm in September.  We can’t have our white Christmass complete with snowmen and one horse open sleighs and Bing Crosby singing in the background.  No, it is not right to have Christmass in September for it must be after Halloween and Thanksgiving.  September is for Labor Day and back to school sales, not Christmas sales.  Oh my, if Christmass was in September, “black Friday” would have to be in August.  Who wants to go Christmass shopping in the middle of summer?

Let’s be honest about this most treasured holiday.  It is a 100% pagan date that should be celebrated by pagans.  If a Christian wants to celebrate the birth of Jesus, then he needs to set aside a day in September or October and remember the significance of our Lord’s birth.  After the shepherds went and saw the baby Jesus with Mary and Joseph, it says in Luke 2:20:

“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them”.

This would be an appropriate thing to do.  Take a day and glorify and praise God for all the things we have seen and heard concerning Jesus Christ our Savior.  No national holiday, no pageants or special services, no lights or decorations would be needed or allowed; only a special time to pause and remember the significance of our Savior’s birth.

I do not understand why Christians who know the truth about Christmass are so timid to share it.  December 25^th is a pagan holiday to be celebrated by pagans who wish to honor their gods.  Why on earth would a Christian want to share fully in this silliness.  Tradition does not make something true.  To the contrary, most traditions fly directly in the face of truth.  Matthew 15 absolutely makes this point crystal clear.

I know this post might ignite a firestorm of controversy. “How dare someone trample on the most sacred of all ‘Christian’ holidays?”  “Christians should celebrate December 25 whether it is Jesus’ birthday or not, because of principle.”  What principle is that, I ask?  Should we as Christians always lower our standards of truth to appease the unbeliever?  Whatever happened to upholding the truth and thus giving the unbeliever something to rise up to?

Will I put a tree and lights and stockings in a few days?  Yes, I probably will.  Not as any kind of religious celebration but because my wife enjoys them.  These decorations bring back fond memories of a long distant age of innocence regarding Christmass.  Her birthday is December 5, and I usually put up the decorations as a birthday present to her.  Some may think this hypocritical, but I think of it as harmless décor.  We do not “celebrate” Christmass, nor do we spend a bunch of money on gifts that are totally ignored and forgotten by New Year’s Day.  We just happen to enjoy a silly tree decorated with silly little ornaments and a few lights.  It helps brighten the darkest time of the year and generate a little warmth when it is so cold.

Let the pagan’s keep Christmass or whatever they want to call it.  December 25^th is not a day God ever intended to be celebrated by His people.  As absurd as it sounds, if Christians really do want a day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus, then start a movement to establish a date in the fall of the year as “Jesus birth recognition day”.  It would be strictly a “religious” day set aside to honor the introduction of God’s light into this dark world.  No big sales, no trees, no lights, no gift exchanging, no cards sent, no masses and no compromising to the world.  In reality, the very best date would be the date which corresponds with Jewish Feast of Tabernacles each year. 

While those around me run themselves ragged this coming month trying to catch the elusive “Christmass Spirit”; I prefer to spend my time doing what I do just about every other month—trying to be a good and upright believer.  In this wonderful season of maxing out credit cards, eating oneself to heart attacks and running to and fro like mice in a maze; I pray that we, God’s people, choose to only casually participate in this insane holiday.  Please, for your credit card, heart and sanity’s sake; remember that Almighty God does not celebrate December 25^th as anything other than just another day in paradise.