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Christianity Today, December (Web-only), 2007 |

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Let the Pagans Have the Holiday

First, let's take back Easter.

Rodney Clapp | posted 12/11/2007 07:47AM

This article was originally published in the December 13, 1993 issue of Christianity Today.

It is time to recognize that a new tradition has been added to Christmas. As surely as trees and lights and reindeer, ...

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Ephrem Hagos

Posted: December 19, 2007 1:53 AM

WHAT AN UNHOLY CHOICE: CHRISTMAS OR EASTER FOR FIRST PLACE AS HOLIDAY! However much one searches the Scriptures, there is no promise whatsoever of the real and abiding presence of Jesus Christ in either of them. Guided by the teachings of Jesus (largely in short supply today) and the witness of the Apostles, the time of the observance of the resurrection among early Jewish Christians was necessarily determined by the date of the Passover festival, i.e., the Good Friday. According to the ISB Encyclopedia, Gentile (Pagan) Christians, however, came and moved the celebration of the Resurrection to Sunday irrespective of the mismatch with "being raised to life on the third day" --a red herring device used by our Lord to make more secure His order to His disciples not to tell anyone that His Messiahship will be publicly revealed on the the very day of the Passover. And so it was! If we only knew how much we, Christians, are missing! How much more can God help us?

John B

Posted: December 13, 2007 3:02 PM

It all comes down to Facts my friends...we can stomp our feet and claim all kinds of crazy stuff...bu the TRUTH will always be the TRUTH....and that is: On the 24th of December the world will still celebrate the birth of our LORD JESUS...who loves ALL not just the chosen ones...as we are told by other fake religions...that single out and discriminate....We are ALL children of GOD is what TRUE ROMAN CATHOLICS believe....and all can join...so take a chance this CHRISTMAS and go to a CATHOLIC church and join us....you will be pleasantly surprised.....with LOVE and JOY! TRUTH: although many around the world claim not to believe in CHRIST.....funny how our calendar runs on the BIRTH of CHRIST ---- 2008 years of his BIRTH ( BC - stands for Birth of Christ) OUR LORD and ONLY OUR LORD is the ruler......humble yourself to HIM - HE ADORES YOU!

Andreas

Posted: December 13, 2007 11:43 AM

What a pointless article. Thank you Thordasi for bringing up your points. My roommate is Pagan, and he's probably the most moral person I know--much more so than me lol! Furthermore, if you really want to get at the heart of it, paganism, broadly defined, is any community-ideology-system that does not have Abrahamic roots (non Christians, Jews, and Muslims). Therefore, India is the largest pagan society, and I'm not a scholar of India by any means, but I don't think many Indians celebrate Christmas!

Paul	Posted: December 13, 2007 10:55 AM

I really believe that God could care less if we celebrated Christmas, Easter, or whatever holiday. For those who complain about Christmas being commercialized--what else was there to expect given that we live in a capitalist society whose main focus is making profits off the commodification of objects? I think this is what God is more concerned about--the commodification of all of social life. Indeed, what angered Jesus the most but the money-changers in the Temple? But holidays? These are all human-constructed expressions that really only affect us, not God.

Gimlet

Posted: December 12, 2007 8:27 AM


With regard to Easter - should we celebrate the Passover as Yeshua did or the Easter that Emporor Constantine codified in the 4th century. For me the answer is obvious. I just wish there were more people to celebrate with. If you agree, let me know at www.constantinesgourd.blogspot.com

Joanna Nylund

Posted: December 12, 2007 5:22 AM

Finally! Thanks for a refreshing article. I can't see the point in berating people for not properly celebrating something that doesn't really mean anything to them. Personally, I still say no to Santa and his little helpers in my home, but I'm tired of feeling I "should" get worked up about people somehow desecrating Christmas by over-commercializing it, or making it about Santa and stuff rather than our Savior's birth. What would Jesus do? Fret less about it, is my guess.

TOM W

Posted: December 11, 2007 6:05 PM


HEY, EASTER BELONGS TO THE EASTER BUNNY AND MULTI-COLORED EGGS AND EASTER EGG HUNTS, WHICH EVENTUALLY RESULTS IN ANOTHER BIG DISAPPOINTMENT FOR KIDS, WHEN THEY LEARN THERE IS NO EASTER BUNNY, AS WELL AS NO TOOTH FAIRY, AND NO SANTA CLAUS. THEN WE TELL THEM TO BELIEVE IN JESUS WHO LIVES IN THE SKY. NO WONDER THEY DON'T BELIEVE US. THEY'VE BEEN CONDITIONED NOT TO--AND WE DID THE CONDITIONING.

Thordasi

Posted: December 11, 2007 4:21 PM


Actually, Samhain, aka Halloween, is usually viewed as the "most significant" Pagan holiday. And when we celebrate the winter solstice, we call it Yule, not Christmas. The author sounds very confused and is obviously not very educated about Paganism.

Ted Voth Jr

Posted: December 11, 2007 3:10 PM

The Church tried to coopt the pagan Celt's Samhain, 'Night of the Dead', with 'All Saints'', but it's reverted to the Night of the Dead. The Church tried to coopt the Roman Saturnalia, where everyone got drunk and unruly and slept with everyone else's wife and insulted the boss-- sounds like an office party-- with Christ's Mass, and it's back to Saturnalia. Nothing new under the sun. The world is the world is the world. 'Secular' is the Latin for 'worldly'. Come on, people, you can't ask the world to worship God. Anyway, Jesus was probably born in Spring, at Lambing Time; He'd do that...

Merry Christmas

Posted: December 11, 2007 2:39 PM

There are still a few who celebrate, really celebrate, the being-with-us of God. Immanuel: God who is with us! Remember, for Jesus to go to the cross it needed, first, for God to be with us in the flesh. Some celebrate this God-being-with-us joyfully and with vigor! Which is the right thing. It is Christmas,that celebrates God who came to be with his people and who still is with us through the risen and ascended Christ, Christ who is still with us to the end of the age. Before Jesus was executed and after he rose from the dead he is and was with us. Come Lord Jesus! Celebrate with your people your coming in the flesh for that too is central to our faith and worthy of great joy. Merry Christmas everyone.

Jason Moye

Posted: December 11, 2007 1:04 PM


I have been researching Christmas and there is nothing Christian about it. Should we even be celebrating it at all?

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