CHRISTMAS: SHOULD WE CELEBRATE IT?
Anyone who knows much about the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses, knows that the group is well known for their refusal to celebrate the Christmas Holiday. While they certainly are not the only group that doesn't celebrate Christmas, they are perhaps the most well-known. Since we are entering that time of year, I would like to examine the arguments advanced by the Watchtower Society, as to why Christians should have no part of this Holiday. Is Christmas a celebration that is inappropriate for true Christians to recognize, or can it truly be celebrated in a Christ-honoring way?
Let us begin by examining the main reasons advanced by the WT Society:
1. Jesus Christ probably wasn't born on December 25th.
2. December 25th was the date of a pagan festival.
3. There is no command in Scripture to celebrate the birth of Christ. We are only
commanded to celebrate His death.
4. The Christmas tree, as well as other Christmas customs, are of pagan origin.
Are these reasons really a valid argument against the celebration of the Christmas Holiday? Again, I want to emphasize that there other religious groups who object to Christmas for basically the same reasons. Let us consider each one.
A. It is true that December 25th is probably not the actual date of Jesus' birth. This cannot be stated for certain, because no one knows exactly when He was born. Most Bible commentators believe that He was probably born sometime around late September or early October, because the Bible tells us that the shepherds were still in the fields, meaning that cold weather probably hadn't set in yet (Luke 2:8). It is interesting to note that the Watchtower Society, at one time, actually encouraged its followers to celebrate Christmas. The WT founder, Charles T. Russell acknowledged that December 25th wasn't actually the date of Christ's birth, but felt that it really didn't matter. Consider the following quotes from Russell himself:
"Christmas Day, in celebration of our dear Redeemer's birth, has for centuries been celebrated on Dec. 25; and although it is now well known that this date is in error...nevertheless, since the Lord has given no instructions whatever upon this subject, and since it is proper to do good deeds and think good thoughts upon any day, it cannot be improper, ...for us to remember in a social way our dear Redeemer's birth at this time."(Zion's WT, Dec. 15, 1898-pg.370).
Russell also added this 10 years later....
"It matters not particularly that Dec. 25 is not the anniversary of our Lord's birth, according to the Scriptural account; that really He was born about September 25, nine months later. One day, as well as another, will serve us to commemorate our Savior's birth in the flesh, as a gift of God's love to a condemned and dying world."(Zion's WT, Dec. 15, 1908-pg.379).
Early WT leaders were just as aware of the resemblance of some Christmas customs with pagan traditions as are the leaders today. Russell also encouraged giving WT publications as Christmas gifts. Whenever a JW is presented with this fact, they will claim that "the light has gotten brighter", which is an excuse they use for every changed doctrine. No, Jesus probably wasn't born on Dec. 25th, but does that really matter? In Matthew 2:9-11, we are told that the wise men found the birth of Christ a cause for rejoicing. "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." It should be mentioned here that this event took place AFTER Jesus had been born. So, the wise men rejoiced over the birth of the Savior, and it didn't matter that their rejoicing didn't take place on the exact day of His birth. The important thing was that the Savior had finally come!
B. The fact that Dec. 25 was the date of a pagan festival is really irrelevant. Most days throughout the year have been used as celebrations by one pagan culture or another. Just because a day is used as a pagan celebration does not make the day evil (Psalms 118:24). Actually, the celebration of Christ's birth was not done on Dec. 25 in order to celebrate a pagan festival, but to give Christians an alternative to the pagan festival. They felt it would be appropriate to honor Christ on the day so many others were honoring their false gods. JWs argue that Christians should separate themselves from anything pagan. While it is true that Christians should not take part in festivities honoring false gods, that is not what Christmas does. While many have definitely lost the true focus of what Christmas is all about, many truly do use this day to honor the birth of Jesus. For JWs to be consistent, they should also abandon the use of our calendar, since the days of the week are named in honor of false gods. Do JWs refuse to live in places like Manitou Springs, Colorado or Phoenix, Arizona? If they're going to be consistent, they should, because these places (and many others could be listed) were named in honor of pagan gods. The Phoenix was a bird that supposedly died, and raised itself again from the dead. The point is, it isn't really important what may have taken place on a certain day. What is important is that we honor Jesus Christ each and every day, and if we choose to set aside a certain day to commemorate His birth, then make sure He is truly the center of our celebration.
C. JWs also argue that Scripture commands us to celebrate Jesus' death, but never to celebrate His birth. The problem with that is that an argument from silence is no argument. Actually, when the Scriptures are silent on a matter, then it is to be left up to an individual's conscience. Unfortunately, JWs do not have this option. For an individual Witness to decide to celebrate Christmas would be a disfellowshipping offense. While there is no direct command TO celebrate the birth of Christ, there is also no command NOT TO celebrate it. Ask the Witness by what Scriptural authority does he condemn you for celebrating Christmas? The Scriptures simply don't give us a command either way, and for this reason, I don't believe a person should be looked down upon if he chooses not to celebrate the Holiday. By the same token, he has no Scriptural right to look down upon someone else if they choose to celebrate it. Romans 14:4-6 deals clearly with this point......
"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth...One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. LET EVERY MAN BE FULLY PERSUADED IN HIS OWN MIND. He that regardeth the day, REGARDETH IT UNTO THE LORD; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it...."
This thought is found again in Colossians 2:16, where we read....
"LET NO MAN THEREFORE JUDGE YOU in meat, or in drink, OR IN RESPECT OF AN HOLYDAY, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:"
With such clear passages of Scripture, how can JWs continue condemning those who choose to honor the birth of Jesus Christ on Dec. 25? How can the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, in good conscience, continue to rule their membership in this way by telling them what days they can or cannot honor? They certainly have no Biblical basis for it! Some other points should also be mentioned.
1. The angels celebrated the birth of Christ (Luke 2:13-14).
2. In Luke 1:14 we read the following concerning John the Baptist: "And thou
shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth".
If the birth of John the Baptist, Christ's forerunner, was a cause for rejoicing, how much more should we rejoice in the birth of the One who was sent to atone for our sins?
3. As stated earlier, the wise men felt that Jesus' birth was something to rejoice in (Mt.2:9-11).
One final thing is worth mentioning about the Watchtower's argument that we should celebrate only Christ's death. One would expect JWs, since they have raised this issue, to actually celebrate the death of Christ in a Biblical fashion. However, this is not the case. As anyone who is familiar with JWs, or have ever attended their annual Memorial service can testify, their celebration of Christ's death is very strange indeed, in that it excludes the huge majority of those present in the service. When the bread and the cup are passed, nearly all JWs REFUSE to partake of the emblems! The only exceptions are those claiming to be of the 144,000 or "anointed ones", who claim to have a heavenly hope. Since the majority of these supposed 144,000 are already dead, the result is that in most Kingdom Halls, NO ONE partakes of the emblems! JWs may not realize the significance of this, since they are only doing what they have been taught. By refusing the emblems, they are excluding themselves from the New Covenant, and thus, are also excluding themselves from having their sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. They don't realize that, by claiming to not be part of the New Covenant, they are in effect, rejecting the blood of Jesus Christ. Please read Mt. 26:28....
"For this is my blood of the New Testament(Covenant), which is shed for many FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS".
If we exclude ourselves from the New Covenant, then we exclude ourselves from Christ's blood, and cannot have our sins forgiven. May God open their eyes to this! Nowhere does the Bible even hint that one can be a Christian without being in the New Covenant, nor does it mention that the bread and the cup are only for certain Christians. This is clearly not the Biblical way to celebrate Christ's death.
D. The final point that we will discuss is the supposed pagan origin of the Christmas tree. I have studied numerous encyclopedias,and while there are different ideas about where the Christmas tree came from, most seem to believe that Martin Luther was the first to use it. None of the supposed origins were pagan in nature. The only basis for saying the Christmas tree is of pagan origin is a misunderstanding of Jeremiah 10:1-5.
We read: "Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen...For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workmen, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.... Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good."
Rather than speaking of anything that even remotely resembled a Christmas tree, this passage is speaking of making an idol. When completed, this idol looked like a human being and was set up as an object of worship. It looked NOTHING like the modern day Christmas tree! This can be shown be examining some passages, which detail this idol-making procedure. Isaiah 40:19 describes this wooden idol as a "graven image" which had been gold plated. Isaiah 41:7 tells us a goldsmith was involved in the making of this idol. Would a goldsmith really be necessary if the people were merely decorating a tree with garland and ornaments? Isaiah 44:9-18 has the most detailed description of this idol: verse 10 says it was "a god", verse 13 tells us that it was made "after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man;", verses 14-15 tells us that this idol was made from cedar and oak trees and "maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto", and verse 17 tells us that "he falleth down unto it and worshippeth it; and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god". How ridiculous to say that this passage condemns the use of a Christmas tree! This idol, when completed, had the form of a man, and was worshipped and prayed to as a god. In closing, honesty compels me to acknowledge that the Christmas season has certainly become too commercialized, and is often marked more by the greed of merchants, and the mad rush to get that final present, than the spiritual meaning it should have in our lives. We have allowed Santa Claus to steal the attention away from Christ to the point that our children look more forward to Santa bringing them presents than they do to celebrating the greatest gift ever! We would do much better to remove Santa Claus from our Christmas celebration, and to bring Christ back into it. If we do that, then there is no Scriptural reason why Christian people cannot enjoy the fellowship of family, the joy of giving, and celebrating the birth of our wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
