AM I A PAGAN?????

MY JOURNEY: December 13, 2018 I want to celebrate Christmas!

No where is there a mention of Christmas in the Bible and Jesus, Yeshua, was not born on December 25th, 0000.

JOHN 10:22-23
Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.

John 10:22 is the verse that some attribute to Yeshua celebrating Hanukkah.  How I interpret these to verses is: At the time Yeshua entered the temple it was winter, the period of time in which the Feast of Dedication was celebrated. These Feast is associated with Hanukkah thus many equate this to Jesus celebrating Hanukkah.

I find it interesting that a discussion of Hanukkah can be found in the book of Maccabees of which many reject as not necessary to read. Add to this many refer to this celebration as the Festival of Lights. As far as I can discover the first Christmas was not celebrated until the 4th century or so. According to my brief study birthdays were not even celebrated- more attention was given to a person’s death.

Now, it is true there were things associated with paganism that are also part of the Christian celebration. Here is my counter: atheist where cross, Buddhist have attended Christian churches, and Muslims quote the Bible- do we stop attending church or reading the Word because unbelievers participate in a Christ-centered activity? No.  Do we discard symbols of Christian faith because un-Believers wear them? No.

• Am I a pagan because I celebrate Christmas? Am I not honoring YHWH because I give gifts to others? 
• Should I celebrate Hanukkah, even though the full story is not in the Book that many Christians endorse?
• Why do I want to celebrate Christmas?

I celebrate my birthday and on that day people give me gifts. I celebrate other people’s birthdays and on their day those individuals are given gifts.

Unlike on my birthday, I want to go all out for Jesus! Let’s decorate! Are the decorations really paganistic????  Again, a brief search revealed the following concepts:

• THE STAR/ CANDLES- The star to Bethlehem
• GIFTS-  Remember at the time of His birth gifts were brought to Him
•   RIBBON / BOWS- We are tied together
• RED - the Blood
• GREEN -everlasting life
• BELL- proclamatIon
• CANDY CANE- Shephered staff
• WREATH-never ending love (circle of love); generosity, giving and family
• HOLLY- 
• MISTLETOE- actually needs to be attached to the tree in order to live
• TREE- Hope, everlasting life AND IT IS NOT of pagan origin.

I am having difficulty convincing myself that: If I decorate my home with symbols that remind me of my faith in YHWH and give Him all the glory I am offending Elohim. Just like, I cannot convince myself that an atheist is a believer if he wears a cross either!

ROMANS 10:10
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

The problem with Christmas today is not the symbols associated with it but the mindset of the people celebrating it.

 BELIEVERS HAVE TAKEN THE CHRIST OUT OF CHRISTMAS.

Even I think of Christmas as a time of my giving to others as a personal gesture and not symbol of Yeshua’s gift to us.

I went to sleep thinking about Christmas and my beliefs about it, I woke up thinking about the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. We celebrate these holidays, that are not in the Bible, in honor of and appreciation for the blessings we have- a great nation, wonderful families, the ability to produce (the works of our hands). Should we stop celebrating them? If we do some research we can link the symbols of these holidays with some pagan tradition - I write facetiously!

I was listening to a YouTuber who was pro-Christmas point out an observation of a YouTuber who was anti-Christmas (I subscribe to the anti-Christmas YouTuber’s channel) I cannot disagree with the observation. The anti-Christmas person said, (paraphrasing): when we get on our knees to get gifts we are bowing to an idle. Huh? The snarky in me thought: I don’t bow I bend and pick up the gifts. The pro-Christmas guy said: What if there was something under the bed does the bed become an idle because we are on our knees?  (I guess I am not the only snarky one!)

Romans 10:10 speaks of what you believe in your heart.

I don’t know anyone who worships symbols of Christmas or believe the day is a commandment of God. Has it gotten out of hand? YES! Should we do away with it? NO. The same people who spend too much money at Christmas, spend too much money on vacations, back to school and birthdays.

Christmas is not a commandment of God, nor is Hanukkah it is a celebration of the blessings of God and the victories He has given us.

I personally, do not see anything wrong with setting aside a day to give above and beyond what you have been doing. Can it be done without the trees and lights? Of course. But if I can put up a flag for the 4th of July, a picture of turkeys for Thanksgiving and even balloons for a birthday, baby shower, weddings and such, how much more can I do to celebrate the “designated” day of my Saviour’s birth?
                                                                              Written by Marsha L F Randolph



MY JOURNEY reflects the faith filled opinions and property of the author MARSHA L F RANDOLPH. All rights reserved- do not use without permission. All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated. Don’t miss weekly faith based post FOLLOW THIS BLOG and receive notifications when a new article is posted.