Many Christians every year wonder how they should approach Christmas. Should we tell our kids about Christmas?
- Should we watch non-Christian Christmas movies?
- Should we have a tree because pagans used to use it during their worship services?
Yes it’s true that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th and that what we celebrate today as “Christmas” used to be a pagan holiday. The question really is, why do YOU celebrate it?
Last time I checked, God created the evergreen tree…not pagans. Also, we cannot lose who the true Saint Nicholas was compared to the more fluffy version that Coca-Cola has given us. Here is an interesting article from Christianity Today.
Some stories, such as fables and parables, are not empirically true, but they are true in that they point to realities about God’s world and the human condition. Some stories are empirically true and also communicate this kind of truth. The Nativity story is a perfect example of the latter. The Santa Claus myth is a great example of the former. Santa Claus embodies Christian values such as kindness, generosity, forgiveness—every child soon realizes that even if they have not been perfect all year, Santa comes through. Santa brings gifts to children both deserving and undeserving. While Santa is not a Christ figure—that must be clear—the Santa myth is not the problem. The problem is that we have let advertisers hijack Santa, turning Christmas into a retail event. READ MORE
Regardless of the history of December 25th, my family will gather together and open up gifts under the lights that are hung on our family evergreen Christmas tree. The reason is to celebrate the gift of eternal life that we have because the light of the world once hung on a tree. What we need to focus on is more WHY we do what we do more than WHAT should we be doing.
Pastors Tito & Alisha Sotolongo
P.S.
Just in case you want more JESUS vs SANTA info to think about, consider sharing this video with your kids.
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