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Does it say anywhere in the Bible that we are to practice Christmas or even mention the word Christmas?
To me Christmas is a joke to Christianity. I know it is meant to represent the birth of Christ but even Christians raise there kids to believe in santa claus and stress over holiday gifts. Alot of Christians follow these standards of Christmas that are of men and not the word. Why is this ok and widly excepted by Christians?
Did we twist Christmas to suite ourselfs? Are we really pleasing God by practicing the holiday season.
I have practiced Christmas all my life but this will only be my second Christmas as a Christian and it has really made me think of how we got to this point in what we follow and believe as Christians during Christmas.
On top of that December 25th is not even Jesus Christ birthday. December 25 was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma. It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.
As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas.
Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in 221 AD
Early Christians believed March 25 was also the date Jesus was crucified
The earliest reference to the celebration of Christmas is in the Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354. In the east, meanwhile, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus.
Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress of Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by Saint John Chrysostom in about 400.
Christmas was declared a U.S. federal holiday in 1870. Some considered the U.S. government's recognition of Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation of the separation of church and state.
American conservative commentators such Bill O'Reilly, protested against the perceived secularization of Christmas. Some believed that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Christian agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.
The list goes on and on from country to country, so what are we to believe or to believe at all about Christmas. We are to be guided by the word but what does the word say about Christmas? If nothing then why Christmas.
It seems to many people had there beliefs put in to Christmas to the point where it is just tradition and not for God and thats what I believe it is.
Unless someone can provide me with scripture I dont believe I am wrong. I would love to know if there is any reference to Christmas in the Bible?
To me Christmas is a joke to Christianity. I know it is meant to represent the birth of Christ but even Christians raise there kids to believe in santa claus and stress over holiday gifts. Alot of Christians follow these standards of Christmas that are of men and not the word. Why is this ok and widly excepted by Christians?
Did we twist Christmas to suite ourselfs? Are we really pleasing God by practicing the holiday season.
I have practiced Christmas all my life but this will only be my second Christmas as a Christian and it has really made me think of how we got to this point in what we follow and believe as Christians during Christmas.
On top of that December 25th is not even Jesus Christ birthday. December 25 was also considered to be the date of the winter solstice, which the Romans called bruma. It was therefore the day the Sun proved itself to be "unconquered" despite the shortening of daylight hours. (When Julius Caesar introduced the Julian Calendar in 45 BC, December 25 was approximately the date of the solstice. In modern times, the solstice falls on December 21 or 22.) The Sol Invictus festival has a "strong claim on the responsibility" for the date of Christmas, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Several early Christian writers connected the rebirth of the sun to the birth of Jesus. "O, how wonderfully acted Providence that on that day on which that Sun was born . . . Christ should be born," Cyprian wrote.
As Northern Europe was the last part to Christianize, its pagan celebrations had a major influence on Christmas.
Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in 221 AD
Early Christians believed March 25 was also the date Jesus was crucified
The earliest reference to the celebration of Christmas is in the Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354. In the east, meanwhile, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus.
Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the "fortress of Arianism," as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by Saint John Chrysostom in about 400.
Christmas was declared a U.S. federal holiday in 1870. Some considered the U.S. government's recognition of Christmas as a federal holiday to be a violation of the separation of church and state.
American conservative commentators such Bill O'Reilly, protested against the perceived secularization of Christmas. Some believed that the holiday was threatened by a general secular trend, or by persons and organizations with an anti-Christian agenda. The perceived trend was also blamed on political correctness.
The list goes on and on from country to country, so what are we to believe or to believe at all about Christmas. We are to be guided by the word but what does the word say about Christmas? If nothing then why Christmas.
It seems to many people had there beliefs put in to Christmas to the point where it is just tradition and not for God and thats what I believe it is.
Unless someone can provide me with scripture I dont believe I am wrong. I would love to know if there is any reference to Christmas in the Bible?
