We are actually going to celebrate Hanukkah this year. I am not sure how much we are going to do with Christmas. Christmas was a pagan holiday around the winter solstice. I think Constantine created the Christian version of the holiday so that we could have something to celebrate rather than the solstice. Unfortunately there are many pagan things about the holiday, including the Christmas tree. In this case, being the shortest day of light during the year, they would bring in trees (evergreen) to their homes and basically worship nature, requesting that the spring come again. It was a specific chance for them to worship the dieties that ruled over the seasons. We have adopted many of those traditions without really knowing why we do what we do. Sure there are many things about Christmas that are good. We focus on the time that Messiah was born into the world, and we have a renewed sense of our hope in Him. If you count it back, interestingly enough, Messiah was probably born sometime around September. Quite possibly during the Jewish feast of Tabernacles. Note that John 1 says that he came and tabernacled with us (interesting choice of words in that light).
I dont have a problem with Christmas per se, but the way we allow pagan rituals to invade Christianity does give me a bit to worry about. Easter is even worse than Christmas in this regard. We should be unabashed in our pursuit of the Messiah. We have coupled our celebrations with that of unbelievers so that we can all have a reason to celebrate. When we do that, we often lose the ability to show the world what we really stand for, because often enough we forget ourselves.
Hanukkah is known as the feast of dedication. It is actually a celebration that Jesus celebrated (John 10). It is a celebration of the re-dedication of the temple. The temple had been desecrated by Antiochus IV. A Jewish family called the Maccabees led a rebellion against Antiochus IV and won. They re-dedicated the temple in an eight day celebration. For us and our congregation, it is a time of reflection and re-dedication.
In general, Christmas for our family is not something that I care to celebrate much. It tends to become a time where we feel obligated to give someone something in order that we can get something ourselves. Often times, we have to make a list of things we might want, just to satisfy someone else. I honestly dont expect anything from anyone, and would frankly prefer if the money that would be spent on me would go to a missions organization or to feed the needy or help the widows or orphans.
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I've often wondered about this. As you said, someone made Christmas be on 12/25 because it was already a pagan holiday for Winter solstice, so it would be easier to convert. I wonder if it is not good for us to celebrate it on this date then, because of where it came from, or if it is fine, since we are celebrating Jesus' birth, not Winter solstice.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I wonder what people's thoughts would be if I decided to fast while the sun shined during Ramadan.