Christmas stuffs you might simply didn't know!

 

1) The Date! DEC 25 - has been a hot topic for Christians to spend time in logical debates!

Whenever Christmas comes near, there are certain groups who rise again to knock down the date December 25! A typical response to this objection is given by addressing the displacing agenda of the pagan deities birthdays with Christ's so as to pull pagans towards the Christian faith. However, no mere evidence are available to show any of pagan deities' birth date to be December 25!

Then what is all the case with this December 25?

Old odd Jewish idea:

A prophet would die on the same die he was conceived and since they believe Jesus was crucified at Passover on March 25, they believed that was also the date of his conception. Now, simply add 9 months and you land on Dec 25! 

But, could this be actually his real birthday? We simply don't know! Our concern, just as biblical authors, is what happened rather than when it happened! Whose birthday we are rejoicing is more important than knowing when we should rejoice! If this sounds illogical then try asking birthday to Nepali people and their birthday turns out to be on different dates based on different system they use (AD, BS, tithis)! But what's important? Whom we are celebrating! Indeed angels rejoiced and celebrated it first! 

Also go through these materials:

1) Blog: Answering Abhisek Joshi on Christmas Date issue by brother Shanta Tamang

2) Origin of Dec 25: Here!

2) The X-mas! 

Now many assume unknowingly that 'X-mas' refers to boycotting 'Christ'. But this is not true. The letter that seems 'X' to us is actually Greek letter 'Chi'. So, you may ask what does that matter? It matters because the word 'Christ' comes from Greek word 'Christos' which is equivalent term to Hebrew 'Messiah'! Here the Greek word looks like:  Χριστός 

Clearly, you can see something like an 'X' at the first place! That is called 'Chi' and to understand this, go to Bible college and you will surely study Greek language or simply take online course on Biblical Greek! Maybe studythechurch website can give you a quick and useful learning materials on it! Don't get afraid with 'X-mas' but as Paul alerts us let not our knowledge be the barrier for weak believers! Hence, I better not recommend to write Christmas that way! 

3) Santa Claus!

If any Christians assume this to be evil and purely nonsense stuff then that's pitiful! The Santa Claus old man came from a historical person named Saint Nicholas! It comes from Sinterklaas which is a Dutch name of Saint Nicholas! His gift giving traditions were moved to Christmas and he was rebranded from a catholic priest to look like a traditional Dutch man from that time period including being dressed in red suit! Hence, Santa actually evolved from a catholic saint and later blended with pagan images. 

So, should we use Santa Claus? Depends on how we use this figure in our churches and specially in front of children. If our children enjoy this figure (the way they enjoy spiderman, batman and superman) we can surely welcome this figure but we must be careful not to displace the Gospel and Christ with Santa as the secular world thinks Santa is the core figure in the Christ which isn't true. 

Bonus material: The Real story of Santa explained

4) Christmas Tree

Now, there aren't any churches which skip this tradition even if they skip Santa! The beautifully decorated Christmas tree! But where did this tree actually come from? Well, historians aren't pretty sure about its origin. Some claim its origin associated to paganism but this cannot be backed up by any evidences! Its first depiction comes from 1576 in Alsace, France where it was a sculpture in a private home. Out of several legends on its origin, a likely origin seems to be a development from paradise trees. In the middle ages, it was popular throughout Europe to have an Adam and Eve play on December 24. There needed to be a tree and a Fur tree was naturally chosen. So, whatever be the case, it is absolutely certain that this tree has no pagan origin and we can decorate it at our church, at least to glorify God using our creative ideas! 

All these stuffs are more family-oriented than a strict biblical prescriptions that needs to be sought, verified and then accepted! None of these things are in the Bible and yet celebrating with these stuffs aren't anti-biblical. Yes, unless we displace God's glory with these stuffs then they turn to idols. They can be attracting and even welcoming figures to people and we can spend times with peoples and share them the Gospel. There isn't anything wrong with these stuffs! However, if people are uncomfortable, it isn't mandatory to use these stuffs either. But we should at least get this knowledge and teach to our growing children so that they can be guided for future!

Source: Inspiring Philosophy channel