Posted on 12/11/2007 4:59:39 PM PST by ellenbrewster
Dear Ellen, Christmas is disgusting. It’s all pagan worship. Even most Christians don’t realize that all their decorations and traditions come from ancient Babylon. Our family doesn’t cave in to all this stuff and I tell friends at church they shouldn’t either. Signed, Ms. Christian Grinch
Dear Ms. Grinch, By saying “all this stuff,” I assume we’re talking Christmas trees, mistletoe, hasty pudding, Yule logs, etc.? I grant that Christmas choices are a matter of personal conscience. I had a similar e-mail conversation with another Christian killjoy last month so I retrieve and relate to you my comments to him.
You are correct in information but somewhat rude in application. Many Christmas traditions and dates do harken back to pagan ritual, but rather than wax obnoxious about these pagan roots, think redemption. The Judaic/Christian experience has long been skilled at squeezing good out of evil and lovely out of ugly.
(Excerpt) Read more at ellenbrewster.com ...
Exactly..all the Christmas lights I have outside my house reflect to me and my family that Jesus is the Light of the World, not to draw attention to ourselves.
The Lord knows your heart. :)
Amen, keep the lights (Light) burning bright!
Yes I have always thought of Christmas trees as symbols of eternal life.
The wreathe is also a symbol of God, the Eternal, without beginning and without end.
There are many very meaningful symbols of Christmas and it is especially rewarding to teach these to our children. Just because we are Christian doesn’t mean we live in a world stripped of beauty and joy. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) And so we fully enjoy the majesty of the music, the sights and scents and tastes of this joyful season commemorating the Savior’s birth, always keeping Him in the center of our celebration and devotion.
I know where I want to spend Christmas this year, your house!
There is lots of symbolism in the Christmas. In the essay, “Teach the Children” there are at least these:
fir tree: symbol of man’s everlasting hope, needles pointing heavenward
stars: sign of Lord’s promises
candle: Christ is the light of the world
wreath: eternal nature of love
red bulbs: drops of blood shed for us
holly leaf: crown of thorns worn for us
gifts: symbol of the Father’s gift of his Only Begotten Son
candy cane: shepherd’s crook to seek out straying sheep as our brother’s keeper
angels: heralds of Savior’s birth
bells: calling lost sheep to return to shepherd’s fold
I am usually a lavish Christmas celebrant but this year is a little different. We have a giant tree in the living room, wreaths, decorations all around, lights outside, the creche front and center, but this year a good friend of ours has elected to go home to his Father before Christmas. He has suffered from ALS for three or four years and he has decided not to fight any longer. This coming Saturday we will attend the family as this good, holy man has his breathing tube withdrawn so nature can take its course.
We will keep this vigil with him and his family and comfort them. It would be easy to get uptight about all this but there is a strangely comforting peace that has descended upon us all. And most wonderful of all, we are seeing Christmas for what it has always meant to be: children seeking their Father in Heaven, children supporting each other. This will be a special Christmas for us, as my husband and I discussed. Suddenly gifts aren’t important, parties aren’t important, shopping isn’t important. They will happen but they aren’t a priority. Suddenly everything distills into a kind of quiet waiting for a brother to ascend to His Father, finally free of his physical burdens. He is in his early sixties, has a spirit that you can’t imagine with its radiance and faith, and he is going to celebrate Christmas with the Christ. We will stay here and help his family in the aftermath and await a reunion in a future time.
“Yes I have always thought of Christmas trees as symbols of eternal life.”
Looks like the observant atheists are also into Christmas trees
as well!
Atheists to erect holiday display
daily local news (chester county, pa.) ^ | 11/28/2007 | staff
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1931994/posts
I’m not very experienced at posting, but this is a fuller version of my earlier post:
TEACH THE CHILDREN
This is how it happened...I just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed, when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door to the front room and to my surprise, Santa himself stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.
He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out. “What are you doing?” I started to ask. The words choked up in my throat, and I saw he had tears in his eyes. His usual jolly manner was gone. Gone was the eager, boisterous soul we all know.
He then answered me with a simple statement.
“TEACH THE CHILDREN!”
I was puzzled; what did he mean? He anticipated my question, and with one quick movement brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood bewildered, Santa said, “Teach the children! Teach them the old meaning of Christmas. The meaning that now-a-days Christmas has forgotten.”
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a FIR TREE and placed it before the mantle. “Teach the children that the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man’s thoughts turning toward heaven.”
He again reached into his bag and pulled out a brilliant STAR. “Teach the children that the star was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise.”
He then reached into his bag and pulled out a CANDLE. “Teach the children that the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness.”
Once again he reached into his bag and removed a WREATH and placed it on the tree. “Teach the children that the wreath symbolizes the real nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection.”
He then pulled from his bag an ornament of himself.
“Teach the children that I, St. Nick, ( Santa Claus ) symbolize the generosity and good will we feel during the month of December.”
He then brought out a HOLLY LEAF. “Teach the children that the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly represents the blood shed by Him.”
Next he pulled from his bag a GIFT and said, “Teach the children that God so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON...” “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.
“Teach the children that the wise men bowed before the Holy BABE and presented HIM with gold, frankincense and myrrh. We should always give gifts in the same spirit of the wise men.”
Santa then reached in his bag and pulled out a CANDY CANE and hung it on the tree. “Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherds’ crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother’s keeper.”
He reached in again and pulled out an ANGEL. “Teach the children that it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior’s birth. The angels sang ‘Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men.”
Suddenly I heard a soft twinkling sound, and from his bag he pulled out a BELL. “Teach the children that as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.”
Santa looked back and was pleased. He looked back at me and I saw that the twinkle was back in his eyes. He said,
“Remember, teach the children the true meaning of Christmas and do not put me in the center, for I am but a humble servant of the One that is, and I bow down to worship HIM, our LORD, our GOD.”
Forgot to add that there are several versions of this essay and another one includes this paragraph:
“Teach the children red is the first color of Christmas. It was first used by faithful people to remind them of the blood which was shed for all people by the Savior. Christ gave his life and shed his blood that every man might have God’s gift to all—ternal life. Red is deep, intense, vivid—it is the greatest color of all. It is the symbol of the gift of God.”
Everyone should make up a gift bag of the items you noted and give them to the children in his life. Visuals leave a lasting impression and enable even the smallest among us to remember. Readers, do you have any other Christmas treasures to help imprint Biblical truths on our hearts?
Excellent idea. You are so right that visuals make the difference. I can’t look at a red ornament without thinking of the drop of blood now.
It is interesting to me where some who think they are ‘holier’ than other Christians simply because they don’t “fall into” the trappings of Christmas, are the same people who continue to eat horribly and not exercise. After all our bodies are the temple of God so why not take care of it? Legalism is nothing but self-centeredness (spiritual arrogance) not Godliness.
Good point about legalism, it does rob us of joy, life and love for others. And it blinds us to our own hidden sins that you mentioned.
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