I wanted to post this research I did that helped convince my husband a few years back that it was o.k. to celebrate Christmas, despite the objections he was taught by the Watchtower. Hopefully this will help others out there ease their conscience about this particular day. Or, perhaps someone can use the information for one of their jdub family members.
Anyway, enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Peace unto you all, Lilly
What are some objections made for not observing Christmas and does the Bible support them? It is un-biblical to observe Christmas Although the name Christmas is not found in the bible, the birth of Christ which Christmas is based on certainly is found in the bible. And during the birth - the Angels rejoiced! They sang songs and praised to the Son. It does not say that God commanded them to do this rather they took it upon themselves to do it as they recognized that Christ’s birth is the most important one for all time. Upon doing this, God did not reprimand them in any way. Their rejoicing was clearly a celebration of sorts and shows that the birth of Christ had special meaning to them and was not considered just another day. Not only did the Angels rejoice but so did the shepherds in the fields and Mary. And the Angels further declared that the whole earth should rejoice too. Also in light of the fact that the birth of Christ is recorded for us in the bible, we cannot say Christmas , which is the observing, or celebration of this birth is un-biblical as it most certainly has a biblical origin. (Luke 2:8,20) Jesus never commanded us to observe his birth This is true. The Lord himself did not say we had to observe his birth. However is it always wrong to choose to observe a day we find significant in our lives just because we were not told we HAD to observe it? Not necessarily, for even Jesus observed a day which God had not commanded him to observe but was considered an important day for the Jewish people. According to the Apostle John, Jesus was present in the temple area during the "Feast of Dedication" - this day commemorates the victory of Maccabees and re-dedication of the temple and the miracle of the oil that burned for 8 days. Did God command this day to be observed? NO! There is no reference to this being the case in the OT. The NT does not say how much Jesus participated in this Feast but it does say he was there. Now, if Christ would feel any day that his father did not command his followers to observe should not be observed, you would think he could have protested this Feast by not being present at all in the area it would take place. But by his presence it does seem to show he not only allowed this feast but also participated in it. For he apparently recognized that it had special significance to him as well as his Jewish brothers. (John 10:22,23) Absolutely nowhere does the bible restrict days of celebration to the ones that are mentioned in the bible. Of course for Christians we know we are to proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. (Lord's memorial) But the Lord never said that this could be the ONLY day that we could dedicate to him or observe. As long as we observed the Memorial Day we are free to observe any other days we choose to. By saying otherwise you have to add too much into the bible that is not there. Where there is no clear statement against something we cannot then say it must be wrong. Christmas Trees Are Pagan Some people try to link Jeremiah 10:2-4 with the modern day Christmas tree to prove its pagan origins. But is this scripture supporting that view? Lets look at it: Jeremiah 10:2-4 2 This is what the LORD says:
"Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them. 3 For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter. At first glance it does seem to be speaking about a Christmas tree however notice it says they shape it with a chisel? (Verse 3) if we read the next couple of verses we can see that it was not the setting up of a tree for decoration that was the problem here. It was the fact that the pagans had the tree chiseled down into idols and worshiped them; 5 Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good." 6 No one is like you, O LORD;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power. No one today has his/her tree cut into an idol and we certainly do not worship before it December 25 th is the date of a Pagan Festival This may be true but Christians did not pick this date to coincide with the Festival of Saturnalia . They picked it because as Christians we base our beliefs upon Judaism and not pagans systems. And, the date of the Jewish Festival of dedication (lights) was December 25 th . Thus this day was picked to observe the birth of our Christ and remind us that HE is the true “Light of the World”. The lights on the modern day Christmas tree also remind us of this fact. So we see the bible is not as cut and dry on Christmas as we may have thought in the past. Also the Apostle Paul gave council to the early church about observing days that is still applicable to us today and is found in the book of Romans. Paul clearly shows that the observance of days is up to our individual conscience. Paul said let each of us decide what day we hold as sacred and what meaning it has for us. The fact that no mention of any particular day is named as a reference is a clear indication that Paul is leaving it up to the individual to make that determination. And no matter what day it is we choose Paul says that we should be convinced in our own mind about it and observe it "as to the Lord". The days we choose are not restricted in any way other than observing it with Christian behavior. (Romans 14:5-8) Research by Lilly Cruz 2005