Why do Christians celebrate Christmas?

Question

I am wondering why Christians celebrate Christmas.

I only ask this question because of an email that I received earlier today from a christian.

**You people have no right to celebrate the birth of Jesus. You people make a mockery of this day be celebrating it. It should be illegal for you athiest people to celebrate the birth of my savior and lord. What right due you have to celebrate the birthday of someone you hate. It sickens me that you try and take the meaning out of this day.**

Answer 1

We know that it is not the actual birthdate of Christ... but it is a symbolic day of honoring Jesus' coming into the world...
.

Answer 2

Wow, this question has been asked like six hundred times before..the earlier Church wanted a day to celebrate the birth of Christ. They also wanted a way to help convert people. They took advantage of the pagan holiday celebrating another God's birth (I think Mithrais, but I'm too lazy to look it up). So they merged the two holidays into one. Rather, they co-opted the older festival into a Christian one. No Christian with any intellectual bent actually thinks Jesus was born on December 25th, but since we don't know what day the actual birth was, December 25th is as good as any other. For example, imagine someone who is an orphan, who has no knowledge of their own birthday. They can arbitrarily pick a day, and make that the celebration day, because, really, what difference does it make?

Answer 3

photogrl,
Sorry you got such a nasty letter.
The truth is that Christ was actually born in early to mid September based on records of the Roman Empire. We know this because that is about the time which Caesar wanted the world to be taxed and was the reason why Jesus' parents went to Bethlehem. (by some strange coincidence, this would make Jesus a virgo wouldn't it?)
As for why we celebrate his birth, I would think that it would be pretty evident as God, Himself took on mortal flesh to dwell among us for the expressed purpose of yielding up his blood to pay the price of sin which we, ourselves could not pay.
As for why it is celebrated in December, is because at the time the decision was made, no one really knew when Christ's actual birthday was, and since there were a lot of other holidays being celebrated around that time of year, it was a logical choice. For more on these other rites, see Riegan's post earlier. I don't often agree with her positions, but she has interesting views, and on occasion, I am floored when we have the same position.
In closing, however, it is my opinion that you have just as much right to celebrate the birth of the Lord as anyone else.

Answer 4

I take it that you are an atheist... which is your choice and is no one elses business.

Way back when the Christian religion was spreading their "religious" values, they wanted to make sure that heretics and Pagans attended their religious celebrations. Many of the Pagan holidays were "borrowed and made into Christian holiday.

Winter Solstice, Yule... is celebrated around December 21st and in the Pagan holidays this is when the SUN god is reborn, or birth of the sun. It became "Christian" when they changed the "u" for an "o".

Easter is another one of these borrowed Christian holidays!

One question that I always wonder about Atheists is how do you explain how a flower or tree ever "just came into being"?

Other than that have a nice day, if you choose.

Answer 5

We took a pagan holiday and use it to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Works out well for everyone, in my opinion.

Answer 6

It is the day in which we celebrate the birth of Christ -- now of course Christ was not actually born on this day and was probably born sometime in the spring -- this is when the church decided to celebrate it -- to be in line with the winter soltice or some other pagan holiday in doing this they were able to combine traditions and get more people to switch to christianity!

Answer 7

Jesus's coming into the world is definitely something to celebrate. If you mean why do we celebrate it on Dec. 25/Jan. 7, I don't know how those dates were selected, but we all know chances are very slim that either one was actually the date of Jesus's birth.

EDIT: Are you sure the person who emailed you is really a Christian? I can't imagine writing anything like that.

Answer 8

While known now that it is not the actual birth date of Christ, it has been associated with his advent to the world for so long, that it simply continues to be the time of year that Christ's birth is celebrated.

Answer 9

as the band Emerald Rose puts it in "Santa Claus is Pagan Too":

Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he`ll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa`s Pagan too!

Hes got that Buddha belly and his top`s the Holly King
You dressed him in that British coat, the cap`s a Nordic thing
You took the horns right off his head and stuck them on his deer
But he still flies high like Jupiter with a belly-full of beer!

Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he`ll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa`s Pagan too!

Now history says Christ was likely not a Capricorn
But if you want to share the Yule, we don`t care when he's born
Come join the celebration of the Sun King`s bright rebirth
And if you practice what you preach, we`ll all have peace on Earth!

Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he`ll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa`s Pagan too!

Now Santa`s way more jolly than most Christians might require
And if he weren`t so busy he'd be dancing `round the fire
Yeah, you can call it Christmas `cause you got us way out-gunned
But just you wait till Beltane, then we`ll see who`s having fun!

Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he`ll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa`s Pagan too!


copyright 1998 Larry Morris (Emerald Rose)

Answer 10

Jesus birth on Christmas was proven in a book by Lee Strobel, so that's good enough for me.