December 25th – a day of
many traditions. To many people, this is Jesus birthday. To some, it
is the day a fat elf invaded their house and left gifts. To one group
, it is a magical day of wonder. And there are others that view it as
paganistic rituals perpetuated on the winter solstice.
This isn't to discourage you in what you do. It's simply a survey of a holiday – marred by my worldview.
The tradition my parents decided on was to not lie to their kids. So, I grew up not celebrating Christmas. A tradition that as I reached adulthood have decided is worth keeping with.
If you and your family do Santa Clause,
you are aware it is a lie. Sure it's innocent and keeps wonder and
magic of the holiday. Alongside the lie you tell your children, do
you also tell them the Birth story of our Savior Jesus? As they
mature and find out you lied to them about one, on what grounds
should they trust you concerning the other? So I pose the question
here: How much should you lie to your children about?
Secondly. There is no proof for it being Jesus' Birthday, and your nativity scene is probably wrong.
According to scripture, the only clue
we are given on timeframe is in Luke 2, which tells us that the
shepherds were in the field with their flocks. The latest this occurs
is into the fall, September or October: Which sets the stage for His
birth to have been during one of the Biblical feasts; Also known as
God's holidays. All the other major aspects of Jesus' life were set
by God's calendar, why would His birth be different?
Now, as for your nativity scene being
wrong. 3 wise men- Biblically inaccurate. There was a caravan large
and impressive enough to be stopped and questioned by the governor of
the region as to their purpose. There is a train of thought that
there may have been as many as 50 wise men.
They didn't see Jesus in the manger.
After 8 days Jesus was circumcised, and after her purification:
another 33 days she presented her offering of 2 turtledoves; an
article of the law made for the poor that could not afford a lamb (
see Leviticus 12) and if the wise men had presented their gifts fit
for a king, then Mary and Joseph could have easily afforded a lamb.
There also is no Biblical proof for Mary to have had a donkey to
ride, and knowing that they couldn't afford a lamb, it is reasonable
to assume they didn't own a donkey.
My question here: Why then December 25?
I have not done the research on other
traditions of this holiday . Like the tree, Which is possibly
referenced in Jeremiah 10:3-4, although that passage is arguably
referencing carved idols made of wood, silver and gold.
Anyhow, I like to do my research on these matters and decide if they are Christian. We certainly were never told to celebrate the day of Jesus birth. There are however Holy days that at least the children of Israel were told to celebrate forever, and every Major aspect of what God has done in history was based on those days. But we tend to disregard them, and say our traditions honor Christ....
Merry Christmas yall
