Cultivating a Christ-Centered Christmas
Jessalyn Hutto
Many Christians are increasingly concerned with the state of Christmas in our country. Phrases like “Keep Christ in Christmas!” have become anthems of our Christian community as even the word “Christmas” fades into obscurity, replaced by the more politically correct word “Holiday.”
Yet we must concede that Christmas is not a Biblically mandated holiday and it is not the only holiday that has ever been celebrated during the winter season. It is not even the first holiday to be celebrated during cold winter months! Most of us are aware that Christmas (the celebration of Christ’s birth) was first instituted by the Catholic church on December 25th in an effort to capitalize on the existing pagan celebrations taking place during that time of the year. By doing this they not only ensured that “The Feast of the Nativity,” as it was originally called, would be easily embraced, but that it would soon eclipse pagan worship festivals as Christianity continued to grow. Many puritans (and even like minded Christians to this day) actually rejected the “Christmas” holiday due to its affiliation with such pagan festivals and the influence that those pagan cultures continued to have on the holiday...
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