Why We Don’t Celebrate Christmas

Oh, boy. This is a big one. I know I may lose some “friends” over this. I’m okay with that.

I get asked this so many times every year and I understand why. I mean, yes, I believe in Jesus.
Yes, I believe in God.
Yes, I do Bible study.
Yes, I pray.
Yes, I have a very personal and close relationship with God.

But, more than that, I try to live in a way where none of that is even questioned. I want to project that by what I do, not by professing my beliefs to people I don’t even know.

And that’s the problem, I guess. People don’t understand how I can live in a way that shows my faith without celebrating Christmas!

Ok. Here we go.

Let me set some ground rules for this discussion:

1. I am not judging you if you do celebrate Christmas. I celebrated until about 6 years ago. I understand. I get it. I’m not saying you’re a bad person for celebrating Christmas.

2. I’m not trying to change your mind. I’m just simply explaining my point of view. I’m not trying to start a debate or start a war.

3. I don’t care what you think about me for not observing Christmas. It’s my life and I’ll do what I think is right. I expect you to do the same.

4. People can be different and still be friends. I like pancakes and my sister likes waffles. Same batter, people. We still love each other.

First, take this quiz about Christmas. It’s hard, I won’t lie. But know this: It’s not meant to make you feel dumb at all. Sometimes we just think we know stuff and then realize we don’t know as much as we thought. It’s humbling and necessary for growth. I do this all the time in every area of my life. I think I know stuff and then someone asks me a question and I immediately realize that I don’t know what I thought I knew. Know what I mean?

Did you take it? Did you know all that stuff? If so, you must be a Biblical genius. Congrats, because I would love to be considered a Biblical genius above all other things.

Anyway, there are several reasons that we don’t celebrate Christmas. Among them are arguments for the real date of Jesus’s birth and the whole “Constantine/solstice/whatever-other-celebrations-were-on-this-date-so-let’s-just-all-celebrate-and-be-one-big-happy-family” debates. Based on what I have researched — and I’ve researched a lot — not just online, but real actual books and real actual live people, December 25th was probably not the date. But I don’t know for sure and neither do you, silly. This is because the Bible doesn’t say a date and I wasn’t there and neither were you, so we can only go by the clues left behind. And there are some clues left behind. I’ll let you find them. There are great arguments for and against this date and I’ll let you look it up and decide for yourself.

The other reasons, the lesser reasons, have to do with all the other stuff that surrounds Christmas. The shopping for gifts that no one needs. The decorating. The drama. The stress. I know people thrive on that stuff. I’m just not one of them. I understand family traditions and making memories and all of that, but, believe me — we have our own traditions and we make plenty of memories. When people find out we don’t celebrate Christmas, we are looked on with pity. That’s really not necessary. We ain’t sad, sister.

This will blow your mind, too. Sit down for this. Really.

We don’t celebrate Easter, either. Or Halloween.

We ain’t sad about that, either.

We do celebrate Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. Why? Because Jesus did. That’s really all the reason I need.

No, we aren’t Jewish. We are just disciples and do the things Jesus and his disciples would do. We do celebrate Hanukkah — Jesus did {John 10:22, reference to Feast of the Memorial, Feast of the Dedication, or Festival of Lights all means Hanukkah}, and no, it’s not a substitute for Christmas, it just happens to be around the same time of year.

Hanukkah is about standing up for what you believe . It’s not just about the miracle of the oil lasting for eight days…it’s about a small group of people who did the right thing and took back God’s Temple and reclaimed their right to worship God.

I want to celebrate that!

I don’t want to cram my beliefs and philosophies down people throats all the time. I’m just studying and trying to do what the Bible says. Some days I do okay, and then I get out of bed and mess it all up. I’m still trying, though.

What I want to encourage you to do is this: Find something you know with all your heart to be true and then try to disprove it. If you can’t, then you have a stronger argument for your stand on an issue. If you can disprove it, then congrats! You may have just learned something valuable.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukkah!

Sermon over. Carry on.