“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Not everyone agrees with the sentiment of that song. Perhaps the sentiment itself is to blame. Nostalgic Christmas Americana sometimes treats the trappings of “the holiday spirit” like a pill that, if taken twice daily, will cause you radiate Christmas cheer. We all know that life doesn’t work that way. Holidays are complicated by the memory of deceased loved ones, financial problems, strained relationships, and other unhappy influences, and ignoring those things for the sake of the spirit of the season dooms one’s expectations to fall short. On the other hand, there is biblical precedent for seasons of celebration. There is good biblical reason to put extra effort into remembering an important truth, especially one that can be celebrated with good food, decorations, friends & family, while resting from work. What follows are some thoughts about the biblical appropriateness of celebrating the Christmas season.
First, God has designed the world according to seasons. This truth is so obvious it is almost self-evident. The stars were created to mark the passing of time, and the Lord specifically assigns the seasons to them when He announces their purpose in Genesis 1:14. We know by experience the earth gets its seasons from its position relative to the sun; Genesis 8:22 tells us that God intends this pattern to continue as long as this world stands. “While the earth remaineth” there will be a December in which northern hemispherians can expect cooler, cold, or downright freezing weather. When God established the nation of Israel, He created a seasonal imbalance. The first half of their year was more highly populated with celebration, rest, and remembrance than the latter half. Further, the miraculous event that we celebrate at Christmas, the birth of Christ, could not have happened anytime. Rather, as Galatians 4:4 says, “when the fullness of the time was come God sent forth His Son.” Seasonal celebration makes sense because the Lord Himself works through the rhythm of earthly seasons.
Second, there is a pattern of God’s instituting not only a ceremony, but also an associated culture. Passover, the feast of tabernacles, and Purim (the holiday that Esther and Mordecai prescribed) were far more to the Jewish people than merely a day set aside to acknowledge God’s work. The Lord gave instructions concerning the type of bread—leavened or not; the length of the feast; the number of sabbath days; the sacrifices to be offered; the theme of the celebration; the location of the celebration (Jerusalem or booths made of branches and fronds). It is common to object that, since Christ fulfilled the law, these signs and symbols have passed away. An answer is that they have not so much passed away as clearly seen in Christ. The observation of Lord’s Supper, for example, contains several symbols that point backwards to Christ’s work. That believers are not under the constraints of the law means that there is no prescribed Christian national culture the way there was with Israel. So, then, we are free to use the righteous or redeemed aspects of our culture to celebrate different aspects of the gospel. This includes Christmas.
Third, we have a responsibility to preserve and commemorate God’s work in tangible ways. At least twice in Scripture, a ceremony was memorialized for the purpose of teaching the future generations about the Lord’s miraculous, saving work. When God first outlined the instructions for Passover—lamb without blemish, blood on the door posts, the feast eaten under the sign of the blood—he reminded the people that the signs were given for the sake of their children’s faith. “When your children shall say to you, ‘What mean ye by this service?’ Then shall ye say It is the sacrifice of the LORD’S passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses’” (Exodus 12:26-27). Traditions in celebrations automatically provide opportunities to teach salvific truths. One quick application of this principle to Christmas means that traditions should not be dominated by entertainment icons that will steal children’s hearts and confuse them about the object of celebration. Believers should keep the inflatable Frosty or Olaf snowmen, or the Christmas Story leg lamp trinkets to a minimum, lest their inferior stories dominate the true account of Christ.
A possible objection to the last application may be that Christmas trees, lights, and garland are not overtly Christian either. While traditional holiday symbols do not necessarily carry Christian significance, they are well established in our culture. Their strength is that they are old. A fourth principle about traditions to consider is that God values permanent things over temporary things. The Lord Himself is from everlasting, and He does not change. Further, He repeatedly instructs His people to remember the ancient lessons. God boasts of His deeds from ancient times (for example, in Isa. 37:26; 51:9), and instructs His people to walk in well-trodden truths (Jer. 18:15). When God proclaimed Himself to Moses and the Israelites, His history with His people was already 400 years old, reaching back to the time of Abraham. Israel’s sin was in choosing “new gods” (Deut. 32:17; Jdg. 5:8) over the Ancient of Days. This of course does not mean that an old tradition is automatically good or helpful. Remember, however, that our western culture has been shaped by Christianity for over one thousand years. A consequence of centuries of Christian influence is that we may safely incorporate established traditions in a way that Christians who live in countries shaped by pagan religious influence cannot. While it is possible that somewhere in the dusty past pagans may have venerated decorated trees, any pagan influence has been so thoroughly replaced by the tradition of using it to remember Christ’s birth that its true origins are a matter of historical debate. Using the well-established cultural traditions of Christmas is a good reminder that the arc of history is long, and that God is the Lord of the ancient times as well as each new generation.
Ultimately, the degree to which Christians observe cultural Christmas traditions is a matter of liberty in Christ. It is possible to invent new traditions or modify existing ones. It is also possible to remember the birth of our Savior without any of the expected trappings. However, rightly understood and practiced cultural traditions do not necessary stand at opposition to remembering Christ. Instead, they provide additional opportunity for celebration, commemoration, and rejoicing as we set time aside this Christmas season to remember the night Light broke into the world.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
Every Tuesday, SFL publishes relevant Bible-based content. Check back next Tuesday to read the next SFL article.
More SFL...
John 8 records a moment in Jesus' ministry full of tension. Obvious sin. Obvious manipulation of the facts as well. How the Lord responded, though, surprised everyone present that day. Pastor Johnson explains.
Comments