10 Reasons Why I don’t celebrate Christmas
Don’t let the sparkling trappings and joyful atmosphere of Christmas deceive you. Rather, let the Bible show you how to truly worship the Living God and His Son, Jesus Christ!
People who personally know about my Christian faith is almost always shocked when they learn I don’t celebrate Christmas. I mean, it is supposed to be the birth of our Redeemer and Master, Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah). Surely, if there are people who will celebrate Christmas, that should be Christians and that includes me.
But do you know there are Christians who don’t celebrate Christmas, not because they don’t believe in Christ, but they decided to worship the Eternal God and Jesus according to what the Bible says?
While there are different reasons I don’t celebrate Christmas, I just want to share ten of them here.
1. Jesus wasn’t born on December 25
Bible scholars and experts would readily admit that December 25 isn’t the birthdate of Christ. As a matter of fact, Jesus isn’t born anywhere near this date!
We all know that shepherds are out on the field when Christ was born. If Jesus was born in the dead of winter, the shepherds would surely put their livestock in danger, exposing their herd of sheep in extreme cold.
Not only that, but we read that Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because of a Roman census. The Roman government would have known better than ordering a census during bad weather and road condition is self-defeating.
2. Christmas celebrates the birth of the sun god
Do you know that Christmas has always been celebrated more than 3,000 years before the human birth of Christ? Shocking but it’s true. The earliest roots of Christmas can be traced as far 200 B.C. In an article I wrote entitled “Who was really born on December 25?” you will read:
The pagan history of Christmas started with the Greeks celebrating a festival in honor of Bacchus. After that, the Romans also have their own festival held in honor of Saturnalia. Both festivals are known for its revelry, nocturnal orgies, chaos, riot and even death.
Centuries later, the Roman emperor Aurelian inaugurated a festival in honor of the sun god on December 25. It was known as the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which means “the birthday of the Unconquered Sun”.
3. Christmas is offensive to Jesus Christ
Imagine, every year, you give a gift to your husband or wife. Only it wasn’t his/her birthday but the birthday of your ex-lover. What’s worse, the gift you gave is the same thing that your ex-lover gave in the past. Surely, it would be natural for your spouse to doubt the genuineness of your love.
Now, think about what Jesus Christ would feel when you celebrate His birthday on the same day that the pagans celebrate the birth of their gods? What’s worse, you celebrate Christ’s birth by using the same pagan traditions you use to celebrate the birth of the pagan gods!
Let’s be honest here for a second. Christmas is something that’s highly insulting to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ.
4. Jesus won’t celebrate Christmas
Nowhere in the Bible do we see Jesus commanding His disciples and followers to celebrate His birth. We don’t even read evidence that the early New Testament Church do so. In fact, we see clear indications that Jesus, the Disciples, and the true Church observed God-ordained Holy Days found in Leviticus 23.
Now, if you are really a follower of Christ, wouldn’t you also celebrate what God commanded us to observe? If we are to celebrate a festival, wouldn’t it be logical to follow what we read in the Bible and not borrow paganistic way of worship?
5. God seeks the true form of worship
I understand that some people are sincere in keeping Christmas. They solemnly believe in their heart of hearts that they are actually worshiping God.
I don’t condemn nor blame them. In a world ruled and deceived by Satan, it is just not their time yet to know the truth.
However, when you finally come to the truth and discovered what the Bible truly says, you come to realize that worshiping God is not a matter of our will, but God’s will.
We need to ask God how He wants us to worship Him. Is He happy when we recycle pagan practices and traditions and sanitize them with Christian trappings?
Is God pleased when we say we believe in Him and yet, turn a blind eye when He decisively commands us to avoid pagan worship? Are we really honoring God when we worship Him according to what seems right to our own eyes?
John 4:23-24 clearly defines what true worship is:
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and TRUTH; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
God wants us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. Are we truly worshiping God in SPIRIT when we are so focused on the material things we receive? Are we truly worshiping God in truth when we know that Christmas isn’t really the birth of Christ and that Jesus did not command us to worship Him by keeping a pagan holiday?
These are hard questions we need to answer with all honesty.
If you think of Christmas, most people would probably think of Santa more than Jesus Christ. It is not difficult to see why because Santa has been the face of Christmas commercialism.
6. Santa has become the face of Christmas
Most business people would rather promote Santa, a man who encourages buying, so they could earn more sales.
However, do you know the real identity of Santa Claus? Do you know the being behind his jolly, bearded smile?
You are up for the shock of your life. If you want to know who Santa Claus really is, including his dark history, please open this link to a new tab and read the truth yourself.
7. Christmas is driven by commercialism
It is no secret for many of us that business establishments get the most of their sales during the Christmas season. Thus, it is not difficuhult to see why Christmas’ popularity is driven by commercialism.
The problem with commercialism is it encourages the way of getting rather than the way of giving.
Yes, a lot of people give gifts during this holiday season but more people get this feeling of entitlement. They feel that since it’s Christmas, they should receive gifts. Not only that, but a lot of people give something expecting that they would also get something in return!
Thus, we have “exchanging gifts” during Christmas. The thing is it is not even your birthday!
8. A lot of lies are propagated during Christmas
Christmas tells us that Christ was born in the dead of winter. Now, that’s a huge lie!
Here are other Christmas lies you should know about:
- Three kings – the bible didn’t specify how many kings there were. They aren’t even kings but wise men from the east.
- Nativity scene – the nativity scene shows a baby Jesus in the manger with the animals. Actually, the animals are out in the field. When the wise men arrived, Jesus is already in a house not in a manger. Plus, Jesus is no longer a baby, but rather a young child.
- Bring Christ back to Christmas – you can’t bring Christ into something that He wasn’t part of in the first place. Christmas is a pagan custom recycled as a Christian holiday.
- You worship God when you observe Christmas – actually not. If you want to worship God, you need to do it according to His will and purpose. We can’t believe in God and do other things contrary to His commands.
Now, these are just some of the many lies and errors propagated during Christmas. Not to mention the many pagan symbolism and trappings used in this holiday season.
9. Christmas hides the true Festivals of God
While it is true that Christmas is something that could give you that warm feeling, make families gather together, and even make you feel closer to God, but it is not the best way for you to achieve these.
After all, it is not about what you feel, but what God feels.
The truth of the matter is that Christmas is a pagan custom used by Satan to obscure God’s true Festivals of God. Most Christians today are oblivious of these God-commanded Feasts found in Leviticus 23.
Jesus didn’t celebrate Christmas but rather God’s Festivals. The Apostles celebrated God’s Festivals as well as the first-century Christians.
Because people are trapped in the illusion that Christmas is the best way for them to worship God, they are blinded by the truth that there are way, way better to be close to God. If you only celebrate God’s Festivals, you will discover why is it better than Christmas and how it can unlock your understanding of God’s great plan of salvation.
10. I would rather follow God’s commands rather than human traditions
It is okay to keep human traditions, but if it goes against God’s commands, then it should be forsaken. Christmas is a human tradition that promotes lies and sadly, obscure God’s truth.
When it comes to choosing between God’s will and human tradition, the answer should be obvious. We must do what God wants us to do rather than what other people want.
Christ, Himself, condemned the Jews of His day when they hold on to their traditions and break God’s command:
“He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men” (Mark 7:6-8).
When we keep Christmas, a pagan holiday which was clearly called an abomination by God, we are breaking the law of our Heavenly Father in the process.
So, between God’s law or human tradition, which would you choose? The popular choice is keeping human tradition, but as for me, I’d rather keep God’s law. Even though it is unpopular and people might ridicule me, I’ll still follow what God says instead of living a comfortable life by going with the flow of mainstream Christianity.
Final Thoughts
As this world celebrates Christmas, remember, what the Bible truly teaches about this worldly holiday. It is the right time that we learn the truth and let the truth transform our lives.
God is not impressed by how many gifts you gave or received during Christmas. He isn’t impressed with how pompous your Christmas decorations are. He isn’t after what feels good for us, but He wants to see whether we will follow His commandments or not.
So, will you still keep Christmas? Some will and some won’t. Some will ignore the truth, while others will act on it. I hope you and I belong to the group of people who will follow God no matter what the consequences may be.