The secular parts, granted...
The writer being a Single Mom, tells me all I want to know.
Oh full it
Oh full of it
You try so hard for vanity
Christmas is a time of remembrance, sharing, reconcilliations, celebrating Jesus birthday.
It can be a time of renewal as well.
Has it become over commercialized?
Dunno but, I celebrate The Saviors birth on some arbritrary day because it should be done so predictably and with at least some reverance.
We civivilzed peoples are too sophisticated to understand the lambing season
So what if we ripped off the Pagan’s? Did we? Maybe we swiped from the Hebrews?
Heck, their Hannukah never seems to fall on some predictable time table and interrupts some other days. Like this year it was on Thanksgiving Day.
Not really a problem for me. I’m not some religious snob.,
No, this year I figured it was a great time to combine the holidays and give thanks to a God who shouldn’t be bothered by a bunch of petty, ingrates who can only summon the barest of acknowldgement for his greatness and our gratuity only a couple days a year.
Back to Christmas....
If we weren’t arguing about Christmas on say “Christmas” and the numerous meanings it has for us or ought to, when would we otherwise consume ourselves with his awesomeness?
Easter? So I celebrate the death of The Savior, find meaning in the tri ity and it’s explanation by way of an egg and still ponder “Jesus was a Jew? Why do we eat ham on this day?”
Why of all nights is thus night any different from the others?
So we might remember, be called closer to our God and perhaps some renewal of our faith as we thank God, who sent his only begotten son, that we might not perish
If you don’t mind my bringing two verses together for the analogy.
Merry Christmas!
This was completely unnecessary shock value. Celebrate, don’t celebrate. Who cares about your self-absorbed opinion? That goes for both the author of this idiotic article and InHisService.
I believe that if you don't like what I say or what I believe, Tough. Deal with it. But we can't upset the PC world now, can we?
Amazing isn't it? -that even the annual celebration of the birth of Christ brings joy to even atheists who deny and refuse to believe in Him.
>> I just want to get people thinking.
Because we weren’t beforehand?
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Keep Christ in Christmas, FRiends.
The author may have pretended, but I don't. And many Christians don't. Not because we are not aware about the history of Christmas celebration and its components (tree, gifts, etc.), but because we actually give a different meaning from the ones in original pagan traditions. Our own meaning.
If some Christians, or nonChristians want to stop celebrate it, it's up to them. They probably need to watch this again and again: True meaning of Christmas : 
I really don’t care what this woman does or doesn’t do.
The traditional celebration that my family has done is what I will do this year. I am fully aware that the birth of Jesus did not take place in December. As a cultural life affirming event I think Christmas celebrations are a good thing. The lights, the foods, the hymns, the family gathering those are all things that I treasure and have passed along to my family…. along with the real story of the Nazarene’s burt, life, death, and resurrection.
I find no reason to lambast others because of what they do for this time of year
Keeping Christ at the center and being the reason for the season anchors the christian to enjoy all the other side aspects of christmas. As for me I find all the obligatory gift buying a real drag but I don’t begrudge others of it if they choose all the trappings and such.
I didn’t realize you wrote this when I posted the Yes, Virginia editorial.
Now that I realize it I must say you sound very unhappy.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with Christmas being in part a, how should I say it?, recasting of pagan holidays. That to me is fascinating and wonderful.
Christmas is the one time of year when we are all urged to think of others, to strive to make our loved ones and even strangers happy.
I think that very much is a Christian message.
And for all the nonsense of retail advertising, I don’t know that so many people succumb to that.
Don’t you think it is a good thing that we have a time in our culture where we celebrate family, the innocence of children, and yes God almighty?
If you don’t want to do the gift giving thing, find a performance of the Messiah and go see it; sing carols; do toys for tots; work in a soup kitchen.
Christmas is about the glory of God, celebrate that in the way you think is best, but please don’t buy into what the atheists say about it. My goodness, I’d take Macy’s over that crew 8 days a week.
God rest you merry, gentlewoman.
At our church's Christmas party last December.
I see Christmas as having two purposes, both of which have value, if not equal value.
The first, of course, is the religious value, which can be approached in many ways, and is often discussed.
But the second is neglected. It is a very human value. Christmas is about at the darkest time of the year, and this has profound effects on people. Before Christmas to after the new year.
People are sad, and slow, and their routines have been disrupted. They often feel lonely and depressed. So it is a fine time of the year to bring out Christmas cheer, and the spirit of Christmas.
It stands apart from the religious nature of Christmas, though certainly has no conflict with it. It is the gift of helping people feel better.
What’s not to like?
I don’t worry about all that stuff - I just keep telling people about the Messiah of a Israel regardless of the holiday it happens to be at the time.
No flak, just two thoughts. First, this is a “meat sacrificed to idols” issue: if your celebrating Christmas as a Christian holy day impedes your relationship with Christ, then don’t do it, because the relationship is more important than the holiday. Second, there is nothing wrong with taking something pagan and making it Christian: Christ died on the cross to redeem the world, so that it can be reclaimed from the devil, and anything that the devil has taken should be taken back by Christ, for Christ, with Christ, through Christ, who works through His Body, the church.
Perhaps if the author celebrated a blessed Advent first, then they would better understand Christmas.
Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas, is about purification of mind and soul, in preparation to receive the Christ Child.
We contemplate patience. We practice charity. And contrary to popular culture, we slow ourselves to prepare to celebrate the sublime mystery of Jesus, God made man.
Christmas Day, until Epiphany, is the Christmas season.
nor do I have any doubts about the deity of Jesus Christ.
***Ok, that got me to listen. There are some very beautiful traditional christian hymns like “silent night” that speak clearly to the celebration of the birth of Christ. It’s good enough for me. I don’t need the rest, and try not to let any pagan rituals bother me. Christmas lights were beautiful to me when I was an atheist, and they’re beautiful to me as a christian.
As for me, this is what Christmas is all about:
It’s a sad wonder to see people define things for themselves by notions of what other people’s attitudes are.
To me when it comes cultural Christianity I rate Christmas Carols number 1. They are available to almost everyone, are beautiful, moving, and imbued through and through with the message. The tunes and words almost everyone knows and singing them is wonderful. My favorite is O Little Town of Bethlehem but almost all of them are timeless and thus they pass the true test of art.