When Christmas Isn’t Christmas


Have you ever considered how hard it would be to celebrate something that either has never happened or that you have never experienced in some way?

You can’t really celebrate a wedding without a couple to be married, nor can you celebrate a wedding anniversary without a wedding. Or how about trying to celebrate a birthday without birth, parenthood without children, a good book if you are illiterate, victory without a battle, or …??……

The funny thing is, people are spending great effort to try to do the same thing with Christmas. How can you celebrate Christmas without including Christ?
You say, well Santa can be celebrated in place of Christ, right? Sorry about your luck!!! Santa’s real name is Saint Nicholas who was a Christ centered man. We wouldn’t even know his name if he hadn’t been a lover of Christ to the point he sold all he had to give to the poor because he believed that is what Christ wanted him to do. We even hang up stockings by the fireplace because of him.

Well then we still have the Christmas tree, right? No, Saint Boniface, in 722 encountered some pagans who were about to sacrifice a child at the base of a huge oak tree. He cut down the tree to prevent the sacrifice and a Fir tree grew up at the base of the oak. He then told everyone that this lovely evergreen, with its branches pointing to heaven, was a holy tree - the tree of the Christ child, and a symbol of His promise of eternal life.

Since some believe Christmas is “all about the presents”, we can still do that – what’s that have to do with Christ? Well, to be honest, it first started from the story of Saint Nicholas and his giving of presents anonymously - but is also associated with the gifts that the magi brought to Christ after his birth.

Let’s face it, the only way to celebrate Christmas without something that relates to Christ is to abandon Christmas altogether and not celebrate it in any way.

On the other hand, without allowing Christ to be a part of your life, you have nothing to celebrate anyway. It’s just another day that cost you a lot of money, takes up a lot of your time, and is a major inconvenience …… Bah Humbug, as Scrooge would say!

I pray that you find Christ in the middle your Christmas this year, without Him there is no real celebration!