Why do Christians not stand up to the over commercialization of two of their most holy days?

Question

Christmas and Easter have both become so commercialized that the true meaning of both holy days has been lost in the Santa Clauses' and Easter Bunnies? I am not a religious person but out of resepct for Jesus I have taught my son to not be caught up in the gifts and candy but the reason for the holiday. I have honestly never heard the Christians take a stand on this.

Answer 1

My mom was raised by a Presbyterian minister and she was always taught the true meaning of each holiday. We decorate our house with advent calanders and manger scenes, stars and books about the true meaning of Christmas. Despite that, my sister and I always recieved gifts and we understood that those gifts were because it was Jesus' birthday and we were celebrating. We had Santa Claus every year and we had a tree but we knew that we would go to church on Christmas Eve and we would hear the story of the baby born in a manger on that night in Bethlehem. We were even in the Christmas plays every year. Easter was never very commercialized for us because we went to church and, yes, while we still had Easter egg hunts and got Easter baskets, it was more in the fun of Spring than offensive to our beliefs. I think that these holidays are overly commericalized but all we can do is remember the real reasons we have these holidays in the first place. We can teach others about Jesus and why we truly celebrate on these days. As I'm writing this answer I can't help but thinking that maybe the holidays, which are very grown up in a theological sense, were given those little fun things that we all enjoy for the children and to bring out the children in us. As long as we never forget the true meaning to the season, we can celebrate in any way we see fit.

Answer 2

Christmas is the marriage of the pagan holiday celebrated for Helios the sun god. Helios was celebrated on the shortest day of the year which was about the time Christmas is celebrated or the shortest day of the year. Easter is the celebration of the fertility goddess Ester. This is why you find bunnies in vogue at this time of year.

The commercialization of these holidays has to go to the credit of the merchants that use any holiday for an excuse to profit and the people that think they are getting a better deal because of some kind of sale. If you are a Christian you would have difficulty with either of these holidays because of confusion as you have expressed. You would also know that the bible says the devil is the author of confusion.

Answer 3

A genuine christian will not take a stand on christmas because the origins are UNchristian.
You may not want to be reminded of that.
Jesus birthdate is not mentioned in the Bible.
There is no mention of Jesus celebrating his birthday.
The apostles and early christians never had the practice.
It was somewhere into the 4th century before this custom was adopted ....and for selfish reason.
As respects Easter, The Encyclopædia Britannica states:
“There is no trace of the celebration of Easter as a Christian festival in the New Testament or in the writings of the apostolic fathers. Socrates . . . states with perfect truth that neither Christ nor his apostles enjoined the keeping of this or any other festival. ‘The apostles,’ he writes, ‘had no thought of appointing festival days.’
It seems there is nothing to stand up for, but rather something to shun.
Sorry to bust your balloon.

Answer 4

As others have already noted en masse.... they weren't originally christian holidays.
They are the visages of christian events superimposed on the dates of traditional roman holidays so that the empire could be adapted to the new religion without having to change their dates of celebration.... which would discourage them.
Honestly... christmas and easter have absolutely no connection to any real dates when Jesus was born or killed... and so they shouldn't in fact any longer be associated with such events now that we know the truth....
... Not that the birth and death of one Jesus is any more important than the birth and death of any other person in history either... except to the members of his brainwashed personality cult.

Then again, I don't do christmas ... religious or not.
Rather I'd say to the world: Happy Wintereenmas!

[Note: Kudos to anyone who gets the reference.]

Answer 5

You have a good point.

We do what we can in my corner of the world. The best we can do is set an example. Stick with the scriptures and not buy into the commercialization aspect of it.

The one that is most offensive to me is calling the Resurrection of Jesus "Easter". I find it abominable. We call it Resurrection day at our house.

As for Christmas - well Jesus wasn't born on December 25th. There is no Santa, the trees come from a pagan religion. It IS sad that for retailers it is their "cash crop". The word Christ mass is from the Roman Catholic church.

So it is good to know these things and see what it is you are going to celebrate. My family has stopped celebrating Christ mass. People think we are freaks, but you know what? when the holy spirit convicts you of something, you need to act on that conviction.

We love Jesus and are eternally grateful. He was born in such humble circumstances, here we see God incarnate born in a manger. He shed His precious blood on the cross for our sins. He rose the third day and we through Him have victory over death and the grave.

I am glad that you teach your son the reason for the holiday. I would encourage you to read and study the bible together. I hope that you become a follower of Jesus Christ. He is the only Way to eternal life in heaven with God. If you have questions about bible study feel free to email me.

Religion is what got us into this mess to start with -
Christianity rather than being a religion is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Answer 6

I am a Christian and my children know santa clause doesnt exist, but was actually a real person who lived along time ago and the reason we give on Christmas is to celebrate Christs birth and He was brought gifts. As for Easter, again they know the easter bunny isn't real and that we celebrate Christ death and most importantly His rescurection. I give easter baskets and we have a dinner as a celebration. As for Christians we can't expect the world to think and feel as we do. You might not have heard a stand taken on it, but that doesnt mean we dont teach our children and others around us the true meaning of both holidays

Answer 7

We don't encourage the Easter Bunny or Santa in my home either. When you are a Christian-you pick and choose your battles--we can't enforce our spirtituality on others-but if they are seeking and they ask questions, I certainly explain to them our traditions and what I've taught my children about these two very important days in history. I witness to people all the time about my relationship with the Lord, and the holidays really get people asking important questions. I always try to answer in a way that is pleasing to my Father. Even though some people think that we are sheltering our children or depriving them of something--I will continue to teach them the ways of the Lord.

Answer 8

Teaching your children not to be caught up in material things is a good thing. I do believe that most people get caught up out of tradition. If you are a true christian, teaching the real meaning of the holidays should not be necessary because you live every day showing your love and respect for Jesus. The holidays in our house are about family and tradition. Your only young once! Celebrate Jesus and the fun of the holiday that it has become . Not to material more traditional.

Answer 9

Maybe they do not take a stand on it because they do not want to be embarrassed by the fact that both of the holidays you mention were OUR holidays before they were adopted by your Christian forefathers.
Yule was celebrated by Pagans on December 25th as long ago as 3200 B.C.
What you refer to as Easter was our holiday of Ostara. Giving eggs ( the symbol of life) was known to the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. This holiday too dates back to 3000 B.C.
I could give you similar information on the other holidays that we still celebrate. The Christians in order to try to make their religion more palatable to the Pagans decided to use the holidays that were already familar to those who followed the earth religions.
You mention the true meaning of these holidays, both of which are Pagan in nature and meaning.
If the Christians were to, as you put it "take a stand" on this subject I imagine it would do their cause more harm that good.
Lady Trinity~

Answer 10

Easter and Christmas are Pagan holidays that the church tried to cover up long ago. So they aren't Christian holidays.


Btw, to the idiot who said Santa was satanic. He was a kind person who gave toys to kids when toys were expensive. Him being in Christmas is a way of honoring him for all he did for children.