Is it O.K. NOT to celebrate Christmas if you are a Christian?

Question

I am NOT Jehovah's Witness or any other religious sect, but am basically Baptist, yet, I have been finding it hard to find reason to celebrate Christmas when the Bible (as far as I can tell) does not specify for us to celebrate the birth of Christ by giving gifts. Am I wrong? Please, don't be a jerk in your response, I am just curious if there are passages that dictate Christians have to give gifts, etc. I know the three wise men did, but can you give me specifics?

Answer 1

No your not
There is no verse in the Bible that supports this.
It is a choice thing and others should respect it

Answer 2

Gifts are just a bonus to the Christmas season. The real celebration (for Christians) is supposed to be the birth of Christ (even though it didn't actually happen at this time of year.) Therefore it would make more sense to give gifts or sacrifices to Him. So, if you are not into the whole gift giving to your family but still want to celebrate as a Christian I would suggest giving to a shelter, a children's toy drive, a coats for kids drive, or a food drive. That would give you the true feeling of "Christmas" without all the craziness of gift giving in your own family.
Question for you though...if you do not buy gifts for your family do you also refuse gifts they get for you?

Answer 3

You have asked a very good question, and yes, you are right - nowhere in the bible does it confirm we need to celebrate christmas. This is because christmas was an occassion that was introduced into the "christian" calender long after the bible was actually written. Constantine the King of the Ottoman empire introduced it - and encouraged it and he was a politician. He did it to 'unite' the people in his empire. I am a Jehovah's Witness, and we do not celebrate christmas - for the fact that christians were not commanded to observe the birth date of Jesus. Incidentally December 25 is not his birthday. That date is worked out because it falls close to the shortest day and refers to rebirth of the sun - days start getting longer after this date, towards summer. Jesus however did command his disciples to observe the memorial of his death, which we commemorate every year. Reminding ourselves that Jesus died for us so we can live forever in Paradise on Earth (John3v16).

Answer 4

I agree with the historical view of what William R. gave,he's correct.As a Bible Thumper,i do not practice or do christmas because it is pagan and further more,Christ NEVER gave a command to remember His birth,but rather to remember His death,burial and resurrection.Christ Himself said this DO IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME,we are not to focus on His birth(yes,it is important,there would be no Cross unless Christ was born)but on His substitutionary life on the Cross.If True Christians would do their research and find out about the history behind christmas,they would soon find out it's a pagan holiday,along with most holidays that are celebrated in this country.Even tho i dont agree with jehovah's witness's,they have enough common moral sense to know that christmas is a pagan holiday,too bad so many christians in this country want to go along with the world,the flesh and the devil and participate in a pagan holiday! If Christ wanted us to remember His birthday and celebrate it,He would have given us a clear command in His Word,and A DATE of His birth,but none is given.

Answer 5

It's absolutely fine! Join the club! And I'm not a JW either! You are entirely correct to say the Bible does not specify Christians celebrate Christ's birth, but it DOES have a lot to say about being generous and giving gifts. We are to emulate our Heavenly Father who gave the most precious gift he had to save us. His generosity is mind-blowing. Anyone who appreciates what God has freely bestowed on them cannot help but wish to devote all that they have, and all that they are, to God's service and the furtherance of the Kingdom.

The Old Testament is full of the gifts God's people brought to the temple (to make it and to offer things to God in worship and to meet the physical needs of the priests). God commanded them to look after the poor, the widows and orphans (which entailed giving without counting the cost). Christians are no different. 2 Corinthians ch. 8 & 9.

Answer 6

The wise men's gifts were brought because the custom is to do so where Royalty is concerned. There are no instructions to celebrate christmas. Christmas is a christian invention and there is a lot more to this story than I have told you. I only answer what is asked, I don't volunteer.

Answer 7

Amen! Does Christmas have anything to do with Christianity?
Do the research. The whole point is to celebrate Jesus birth. If so, how do we know when his birthdate was. If his birthdate was in December, it was pretty cold right? So, why were the sheperds out in the fields with their sheep. To answer your question, the Bible doesn't specify to celebrate, so why isn't it wrong to celebrate? Just a thought.

Answer 8

No there is NO biblical mandate to celebrate Christmas or even the birth of Jesus.

Christians certainly understand the significance of the birth of Jesus as an unprecedented miracle that actually brought God to us to save us from our sins.

The Romans replaced a pagan holiday with Christmas but the pagan aspects of the holiday persisted into the present commercialization of the holiday.

Many Christians choose to opt-out of Christmas because of how it is celebrated but many more others use the holiday as an access point to introduce others to their faith.

How ever you chose, YOU should chose, and for your own reasons.

Hope that helps.

Answer 9

Christ was born on Passover (the end of March to the beginning of April), He also died on Passover. To find who's birthday is Dec 25 you must go way back into history, about 2000 years before the birth of Christ. All the way back to the Flood! When Noah and his 3 sons and their wives left the Ark, all but one was a believer in the One God, that one was Ham. He had a son, and named him Nimrod. Nimrod founded Babylon, and built the city's of Babylon, and the Tower of Babel. He had a queen, Semiramis (the queen of heaven spoken of in Jer.), long after Nimrods untimely death, Semiramis got pregnant, and told the people that a sun beam played upon her belly and she became pregnant, in due course of time she gave birth to a son, his name was Tammuz, and he was born on Dec 25! The entire pagan world, at that time, celebrated that birth, they would(even in the time of Christ) go out and cut a ceder tree, bring it home and sit it up so that it would not fall, then decorate it with silver and gold, and give presents to one another. In the 1200's the catholic church took all of the pagan 'holy days', their 'holy places' and their god's and gave them 'christian' names and the entire 'christian' world followed along, upon the pain of death if they did not.

Answer 10

Yes.

Incidentally, Jehovah's Witnesses are Christians; they teach that Christ was and is Divine and of the same nature as God.

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that no salvation occurs without Christ, that accepting Christ's sacrifice is a requirement for true worship, that every prayer must acknowledge Christ, that Christ is the King of God's Kingdom, that Christ is the head of the Christian congregation, that Christ is immortal and above every creature, even that Christ was the 'master worker' in creating the universe!

Jehovah's Witnesses love and respect and honor Christ. They do NOT celebrate so-called "Christmas" because "Christmas" does NOT celebrate Christ; "Christmas" celebrates the pagan Saturnalia. Jesus was not even born in December. Nearly all so-called Christmas customs dishonor Christ.

(Jeremiah 10:2-5) This is what Jehovah has said: "Do not learn the way of the nations at all... 3 For the customs of the peoples are just an exhalation, because it is a mere tree out of the forest that one has cut down, the work of the hands of the craftsman with the billhook. 4 With silver and with gold one makes it pretty. With nails and with hammers they fasten them down, that none may reel. ...the doing of any good is not with them."

http://watchtower.org/e/19981215/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20001215/
http://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/19981215/
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm


By contrast, it's tragic that the one holiday Christ actually *DID* ask Christians to commemorate is entirely ignored by almost all of Christendom. It is, of course, the Memorial of Christ's death, sometimes called "the Last Supper" or "the Lord's Evening Meal".

(1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NWT) The Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup.. Keep doing this... in remembrance of me.”

(1 Cor 11:24, 25, NEB) "Do this as a memorial of me.”


Christ Jesus himself personally celebrated and explained the significance of that Last Supper to his followers (see Matthew 26:26-29). Christians who commemorate the Last Supper have done so on the same Jewish calendar date as Jesus did, Nisan 14, which generally falls between late March and mid-April. Interestingly, Christians in the centuries immediately after Christ's impalement were sometimes called "Quartodecimans" which literally mean "Fourteen-ers", because the early Christians were well-known for this true holy day.

How would Jesus feel to learn that the holiday he commanded was widely ignored, while his so-called followers chose to celebrate a pagan false god and their own traditions of men? We don't need to wonder.

(Matthew 15:6-9) You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/index.htm?article=article_08.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/

Answer 11

In any case the Magi or three wise men gave gifts to Jesus, not to one another, in accord with what was then customary, when visiting notable people. After all, Matthew’s gospel shows their interest in Jesus was as the future king of the Jews.