Why I Don't Celebrate Christmas (Tony Davis)

Christmas is a hugely popular holiday celebrated by some 2 billion people worldwide. It's become such an ingrained part of modern culture that even people in nations with little or no Christian history or tradition are celebrating it in increasing numbers.

Christmas is so big that it plays a key role in the economies of many nations. Christmas is big— very big. Schools and colleges commonly take a week or longer break at this time, some businesses shut down to give their employees time off, many families plan trips and get-togethers, and some people darken the door of a church for perhaps the first time all year.

So it's not surprising that when people say to me happy christmas , I get some pretty shocked looks when I tell people I don't celebrate christmas.

So what's up with this? Why would anyone not want to celebrate christmas like nearly everybody else? Are there valid reasons for not participating in the media driven christmas.

Christmas is driven by commercialism.

It's not that difficult to recognise what really drives the holiday in our age. Christmas has become a road show of reindeer, winter scenes, elves and the god substitute, santa claus, who serves as a front for merchants seeking to play on the guilt some parents bear for ignoring their kids the rest of the year. Why do we pretend that this is a religious holiday when the focal point of worship has shifted from a babe in a manger to a babe in the victoria's secret window , when no room in the inn has been replaced by no room in the car parking park.

Christmas is nowhere mentioned in the Bible.

This is rather obvious, but most people never give it a second thought. The books of the New Testament cover 30+ years of jesus christ's life, then another 100+ years of the early church following his mythology "death" and "resurrection", but nowhere do we find any hint of a christmas celebration or anything remotely like it.

jesus wasn't born on or near December 25.

Remember those shepherds who were "living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night"? (Luke 2:8). December weather around Bethlehem is often miserably cold, wet and rainy. No shepherd in his right mind would have kept his flocks outside at night at that time of year, the weather would not have permitted" shepherds to be out in the fields with their flocks then.

Also, Luke 2:1-4 tells us that Jesus was born in Bethlehem because his parents came to that town to register in a Roman census. The Romans were well known as highly efficient administrators. It would have made no sense to have conducted a census in the dead of winter, when temperatures often dropped below freezing and traveling was difficult due to poor road conditions. Taking a census under such conditions would have been self-defeating!

The Christmas holiday is largely a recycled pagan celebration.

Read it for yourself in just about any encyclopedia.

Consider the customs associated with christmas. What do decorated evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, yule logs, a jolly plump man in a fur-lined red suit, sleighs and flying reindeer have to do with the birth of jesus christ?

None of these things have anything to do with him, but they have a lot to do with ancient pagan festivals.

And what about the date of Dec. 25? How did it come to be assigned as the supposed date of Jesus birth? The tradition of celebrating December 25 as Christ's birthday came to the Romans from Persia. Mithra, the Persian god of light and sacred contracts, was born out of a rock on December 25. Rome was famous for its flirtations with strange gods and cults, and in the third century the unchristian emperor Aurelian established the festival of Dies Invicti Solis, the Day of the Invincible Sun, on December 25.

Mithra was an embodiment of the sun, so this period of its rebirth was a major day in Mithraism, which had become Rome's latest official religion … It is believed that the emperor Constantine adhered to Mithraism up to the time of his conversion to Christianity. He was probably instrumental in seeing that the major feast of his old religion was carried over to his new faith,

It's difficult to determine the first time anyone celebrated Dec. 25 as Christmas, but historians generally agree that it was sometime during the fourth century—some 300 years after the "death" of mythical jesus. This was also traditionally the celebrated birthday of Nimrod,oAnd then a contrived date was chosen because it was already a popular pagan holiday celebrating the birth of the sun god!

Similarly, virtually all of the customs associated with christmas are recycled from ancient pagan festivals, as the winter solstice, and honouring other gods.

god condemns using pagan customs to worship Him.

Since christmas is supposedly a day to worship and celebrate god the father and jesus, wouldn't it be a good idea to look into the bible to see what it says about how we should worship God?

The answer is quite clear. god gives specific instruction about using pagan practices to worship Him— the exact thing christmas does! Notice what He says in Deuteronomy 12:30-32: ". . . Do not inquire after their gods, saying, how did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the lord your god in that way . . . Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it" (emphasis added throughout).

"Therefore 'Come out from among them and be separate, says the lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.' 'I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the lord almighty.' Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of god" (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 7:1).

Rather than re-labeling pagan customs as christian, or allowing members of the church to continue their old pagan practices, the apostle Paul told them in no uncertain terms to leave behind all these forms of worship and worship god in true holiness as he commands. jesus likewise says his true followers "must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24)—not revel in recycled pagan customs and symbolism.

Christmas is worshipping god in vain.

Since christmas is a jumble of ancient pagan customs invented by men, and a holiday found nowhere in the bible, does god honor or accept such worship?

jesus provides the answer in his stern rebuke of the religious teachers of his day, men who had substituted human traditions and teachings for god's divine truths and commands: "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites . . . 'in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' . . . All too well you reject the commandment of god, that you may keep your tradition" (Mark 7:6-9).

In the 17th century christmas was actually outlawed in England and some parts of the American colonies because of its unbiblical and pagan origins. They knew something most people today have forgotten or have never known!

You can't put christ back into something he was never in.

Some people admit the many problems with christmas. But rather than face up to those problems, some assert that we should "put christ back in christmas."

However, it's impossible to "put christ back in christmas" since he never was in christmas in the first place! If jesus was real he would never so much as heard the word "christmas" during his lifetime on earth, nor would his apostles after Him. You can search the bible cover to cover but you won't find the words "christmas," "christmas tree," "mistletoe," "holly," "santa claus" or "flying reindeer."

Putting christ back in christmas may sound like a nice sentiment, but it's really only a misguided effort to try to justify a long-standing human tradition rather than what the bible tells us we should do.

Christmas because it is a hodgepodge of unbiblical customs and beliefs thrown together with a few elements of biblical laws,
It's always good to ask the question, what would Jesus do? The answer, from the Scriptures, is quite clear as to what jesus did. Jesus didn't allow His followers the option of adopting pagan practices in their worship. He and the apostles plainly kept god's holy days and festivals that we find recorded in Leviticus 23.
As noted above, they kept the Passover (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Scripture shows they also observed the Days of Unleavened Bread (Acts 20:6; 1 Corinthians 5:7-
Most people don't know that the bible includes a whole list of festivals that god commanded, in the bible..

the LORD condemns using pagan religious practices in His worship (Deut 12:29-31).
. . .
the LORD condemns adding to or taking away from His commandments (Deut 12:32).
. . .
the LORD condemns doing anything under green trees in His worship (Deut 12:1-4)
. . .
the LORD condemns the heathen use of decorated trees at a solstice (Jeremiah 10:1-4)
. . .
the LORD commands us to separate from and not touch pagan religion (II Cor 6:14-18)
,,,
the LORD commands us to come out of Roman Catholicism and her sins (Rev 18:4)
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the LORD condemns turning to the left or right from His commandments (Deut 5:32-33).