why do Christians celebrate Christmas,when the bible dose not teach us to do so?

Question

it's a pagan holiday,and not in the old testament of things to celebrate

Answer 1

True Christians do NOT celebrate Christmas. It is pagan in origin, but that means nothing to a lot of people. They are going to celebrate it anyway and try to give legitimate reasons why it is okay. Can anyone who celebrates something that is clearly pagan be "worshiping God in spirit and in truth"? John 4:24

Answer 2

You're right! The holiday was originally a pagan holiday- the winter solstice; the celebration of "Mithras" in Persia, and Roman "saturnalia".

Those winter holidays were so popular, the Pope decided to make Christmas official, and usurped the holiday as a Christian holiday. It's terribly unlikely that Jesus was born in Dec (since the bible indicates that he was born while cattle were grazing outside- it would have been impossibly cold) but the Christian Pope didn't want pagan winter holidays overshadowing Christian celebrations.

Nowadays, it's a celebration of gift-giving, family and fun. No big deal, so long as we don't lose sight of the real, important Christian holiday, Easter, which commemorates Christ's resurrection.

But don't get me started on THAT pagan holiday.

Answer 3

It's tradition, for better or for worse. And Christmas itself is not a pagan holiday but a Catholic one, but it has incorperated many pagan elements into it. But these elements have largely lost their meaning in modern times, and frankly, are mostly harmless, except that they often distract from Christ.

About the only thing I really like about the holiday Christmas is that everywhere you go, you hear Christmas music, a good amount of which lifts up God and Christ. In public places where Christ isn't normally exalted, you hear music praising His name. It also provides opportunity to talk about Christ to others. You see nativity scenes (and yes, I know they aren't 100% scripturally accurate), and Christ becomes more visible to the public than any other time of year.

For better or for worse, Christmas is here to stay, at least for now. So we Christians might as well make the most of it, and use it as just one more opportunity to exalt Jesus the Christ.

Answer 4

Okay I get what you are saying ~ you are technically right, there is no mention of Christmas in the bible or the giving of presents to one another. But do you think God is mad about that? That we celebrate a day that His son was born and get together and eat in His name ( well I do )? I don't think that's in vain. Did you know that it also says in the bible that we will gather 3 times a year in His name??
In the Old Testament? When I read that I thought to myself "Wow ~ yep, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter! Centuries have flown by and His words still ring true. God I love God.

Answer 5

For the first 300 years after Jesus, there was no Christmas. Then the church invented it in an attempt to lure people away from their pagan holidays. Retailers liked it so much, they stole it away from the church.

In the 17th and 18th centuries in the USA, there were laws prohibiting the celebration of Christmas, but of course that was before the big retailers got here. ;-)
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Answer 6

You are right it originated as a pagan holiday, and there is no reference to it in the Bible. There is no way of knowing exactly what day Jesus was born, and if he wanted us to observe the day as a holy day, he would have told us.

It was adopted into christianity by the Catholic church and it is observed as a tradition rather than a command of God.

As I christian, I stopped celebrating this unholy day.

Answer 7

Even though the Bible does not "teach" us about Christmas, we celebrate and remember the birth of Christ when he came into the world to save us from our sins. The giving of gifts reminds us when the Wise men gave their gifts to the baby Jesus. We remember the event and what it means to the world.

Answer 8

Paul wrote that celebrating days or not was a personal choice...

5 Some people consider one day to be more holy than another. Others think all days are the same. Each person should be absolutely sure in his own mind. 6 Those who think one day is special do it to honor the Lord. Those who eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They give thanks to God. Those who don’t eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They also give thanks to God.

Col 2:16 So don’t let anyone judge you because of what you eat or drink. Don’t let anyone judge you about holy days. I’m talking about special feasts and New Moons and Sabbath days.

Gal 4:8 At one time you didn’t know God. You were slaves to gods that are really not gods at all. 9 But now you know God. Even better, God knows you. So why are you turning back to those weak and worthless beliefs? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again?

10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid for you. I am afraid that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

The last may be more in line with your question, but many of the Jewish Christians continued to celebrate Passover, Yom Kippur, Chanakuh, ... These were elements of Jewish CULTURE and RELIGION. They were based on truth and celebrated from the beginning the true God while many of the things brought in by the catholic church were based on pagan rituals, none are truly significant to Christians.

Americans celebrate Independence Day, but some "Christians" refuse on quasi-Biblical grounds.

Think about your question in light of this passage:

1 Corinthians 9:19 I am free. I don’t belong to anyone. But I make myself a slave to everyone. I do it to win as many as I can to Christ. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew. That was to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one who was under the law, even though I myself am not under the law. That was to win those under the law. 21 To those who don’t have the law I became like one who doesn’t have the law. I am not free from God’s law. I am under Christ’s law. Now I can win those who don’t have the law. 22 To those who are weak I became weak. That was to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that in all possible ways I might save some. 23 I do all of that because of the good news. And I want to share in its blessings.
24 In a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. You know that, don’t you? So run in a way that will get you the prize.

The "Christmas season" finds many people outside the Lord's church thinking about Jesus. It gives true Christians many opportunities to spread the "Good News" about Jesus and can be the starting place that can lead many people to begin a fruitful relationship with Jesus. The spirit of Paul's statement it that we should take every opportunity to teach the truth of Jesus Christ. Yes, the festivities began in a pagan world, but they can open doors to spread God's truth.

Answer 9

the basis of your question may be wrong - most Christian's celebrate Christmas but not "Celebrate" as in Rosh Hashana (sic?) type celebrating.
also, the bible doesn't dictate what to do as much as what not to do...

Answer 10

because stores need to sell cr@p