Christmas - and who is thinking of Jesus?

What do you associate with Christmas?

For many people it is mainly a family feast. At least in this evening the family have the feeling of belonging together. Memories from the childhood are awakened: gifts and songs under the Christmas tree. In reality, who is free from the stress of preparation? Usually there is no time at all to think deeply about what would really give joy to the other one but people are under pressure, not to forget anyone from sending Christmas and New Year greetings and to buy all gifts in time.(1) Preparing the festival meal, cleaning the house etc. - there is much work to do. Some people do take time for some contemplative hours, for Christmas concerts, making cakes, tinkering Christmas decoration and gifts etc. but for what purpose?

As it is visible from the name (Christmas - Christ mass) people originally wanted to honour Jesus with this feast. The question is, however, does the New Testament teach us to celebrate Christ's birth with a special feast, if not, we have to reject it as something non-Christian.

The gospels do not specify when the birth of Jesus was.

Certainly, Jesus was not born in winter, neither in December nor in January. There were shepherds with their flocks in the field at night (Luke 2:8). Although it is true that in Palestine winters are warmer than in Europe, yet from the end of October, it is so cold outside that the sheep are kept in the stable. From the words of Jesus it is also visible that the winters in Palestine were quite cold: "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath." (Matthew 24:20)
It is also improbable that the census, which implied that whole families with pregnant women or little children had to travel back to their place of birth, was held just in winter.

Christmas, celebrated on 25th December, was completely unknown to Christians from the first centuries.

The Mithras-religion was the most widespread in the pagan Roman Empire. The main celebration was the feast of winter solstice on 25th December as a part of their sun cult. Even before the introduction of the Mithras-cult the Roman Caesars dedicated Temples to "Sol Invictus" (invincible sun god) and they celebrated the victory of the new rising Sun.

Christ designated himself as the Light of the world (John 8:12) and is worshipped as such by Christians - yet without a feast!
A great wish of Caesar Constantine the Great (285-337) was to consciously use the elements of Christianity to strengthen the pagan Roman Empire. He succeeded in declaring the feast of the Sun worship as the feast of Christ's birth.(2)

Statements of certain influential personalities in Church history clearly assure us of the pagan background of this feast. For example, the Church Father Ambrosius said, "Christ is our new Sun". Augustine ordered not to worship the Sun on this day, like the paga do, but rather to worship the one who created the Sun. Leo the Great criticised some for celebrating Christmas as the birth of the Sun instead of Jesus.

How does Jesus want us to express our joy in His coming?

It is understandable that we want to express our joy and thankfulness about God's becoming man but we have to ask the question in which way Jesus wants us to do this. In the Bible we do not find in this regard any hint of a special form or a specific day, rather that it should be strongly rejected (Galatians 4:8-11 and Colossians 2:16-17).

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (John 14:23)

Love is manifested in daily relationship with Jesus and in asking seriously about his will in our own life.

And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25)

It is not our aim to reform the Christmas-tradition but to invite you to true Christianity. Do you accept this invitation? We would like to follow Christ with you together.

God's greatest gift of love to us was Jesus, who came to serve God and promises us the greatest gift - eternal life - and wants to teach us love, forgiveness, joy and peace.
How do you think about this gift?

These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)