Christmas traditions

Test everything. Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22).

The Christmas season has many traditions associated with it.  Trees and mistletoe.  Music and lights.  Santa and gifts. 

Unfortunately, many of these traditions have nothing to do with Jesus.  Christmas has almost become a secular holiday instead of a religious one.  There’s a lot of talk about honoring the 'spirit of the season', but what is that spirit, exactly?  Is it love?  Is it peace?  Is it generosity?  Or is it something more?

Paul tells us to test everything. Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil.  So let us test our holiday traditions and see if they are truly good.

Few Christmas traditions are more iconic than the Christmas Tree.  They are so much a part of the December scenery that some people do things to make their tree stand out from all the rest.  Trees decorated by theme, like all the ornaments being the same color and design.  Artificial trees are available in metallic silver, blue, and black.  You can even purchase an upside down tree—although I’m not sure how you would get garland to stay in place. 

For most people, the Christmas Tree showcases what they prize most in life.  Some ornaments honor major events like marriage or the birth of a child.  Some ornaments have been passed down from one generation to the next, making the tree a bridge to the past.  Some decorations reflect interests or hobbies.  Study a Christmas Tree and it can offer a glimpse into the soul of its owner.

But what does the Christmas Tree have to do with Jesus?  Evergreens do not grow in Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  Jews prized trees for shade, fruit, and wood—but they never cut one down for decorating the house.  It was the druids of Europe who attached religious significance to trees and mistletoe. 

Over the centuries, Christians have attached a godly message to the Christmas Tree.  After all, Jesus died on a tree—the tree of the cross.  In one of his sermons Peter said, we are witnesses of everything [Jesus] did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him from the dead on the third day (Acts 10:39-40).  Putting up a tree at Christmas reminds us why Jesus came to earth—He came to die for our sins. 

The fact that the tree is evergreen has significance, too.  Other trees seem to die during winter, but evergreens always have the color of life.  So it is with Jesus; He rose from the dead on the third day, never to die again.  He lives forever, and He promises eternal life for those who are grafted into Him by faith.  The evergreen reminds us that Jesus lives, and we will live with Him forever.

The Christmas Tree has a good message to give, and yet that message can be stripped away.  A tree of metal does not represent eternal life; it reflects our love of cold, hard money.  Even more important are the decorations.  If a tree showcases the things most important to you, then where is Jesus on the tree?  Do you have an angel at the top, like the angel who spoke to the shepherds?  Do you have a star at the top, like the star that led the magi to Bethlehem?  Do you have a manger scene under the tree, reminding everyone that God’s gift of His Son is the greatest gift of all?  A Christmas Tree is only good if it points our attention towards Christ—otherwise, it’s just a waste of floor space.

Another holiday tradition involves sending Christmas Cards.  Businesses send cards to show that they care about their customers.  Some families use Christmas Cards to stay in touch with distant friends and relatives.  Others attach cards to Christmas presents so you know who gave the gift. 

Of course, Mary did not send out birth announcements when Jesus was born.  The wise men did not bring greeting cards with their gifts.  But consider what the shepherds did; after they spent time with Jesus, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child (Luke 2:17).  The shepherds acted like living Christmas Cards, telling everyone they knew about God’s gift of a Savior. 

Christmas Cards are a great opportunity to share what we’ve seen and heard about Jesus—that He is God’s Son in a human body, come to bring us forgiveness and offer heavenly peace.  He is the light that dispels the darkness, the strength of the weak, the victor over Satan.  God wants you to spread the Good News of great joy, which is for all people!  At Christmas time, a well-written card can help you share the same wonderful news that the shepherds did. 

Sadly, most Christmas Cards fall short of the mark.  They don’t include Bible verses.  They don’t mention Jesus.  Such cards are worthless, a waste of the time and money it takes to send them.  Don’t settle for buying cards that are merely pretty or sentimental; keep looking until you find ones that proclaim Jesus as God’s gift to us!

For a lot of people—especially children—the best part of Christmas involves unwrapping presents.  We probably put more effort into gift selection than any other part of the holiday season.  We wrestle with finding the perfect gift, and scrounging up enough money to buy everything on our list.  Sometimes the day before Christmas becomes a mad dash to finish shopping and get everything wrapped.  And it can be crushing to see a gift opened and quickly set aside; giving a bad gift implies that we do not know our friend or relative as well as we should.

Most of the Christmas specials on TV suggest that Christmas is about love and generosity.  You show love by opening your wallet, whether it be to purchase a bunch of presents or donate to a charity.  It’s gotten so that most retailers depend on Christmas shopping in order to show a profit for the year.  And each January, millions of Americans see the impact of excess spending when they open their fat credit card statements.

What does gift giving have to do with Jesus?  Quite a bit, actually.  It all started with the debt we’ve incurred.  As sinners, we’ve wasted the time and goods that God has given us.  We waste time whining about things we don’t have.  We waste time on pleasures that distract us from God, family, and work.  We waste money on things that thrill us for a little while, then end up in a closet collecting dust.  We waste food by cooking too much and throwing leftovers away.  God gave us time and goods to use responsibly; everything we waste runs up a debt to God that we can never repay.  So the Lord sent Jesus to pay off our debt for us.  God’s Christmas gift is relief from debt—with our sins forgiven by Christ, we won’t be thrown into the debtor’s prison called hell. 

Jesus was the first Christmas gift, but He is not the only one mentioned in Holy Scripture.  Sometime later, wise men from the East arrived in Jerusalem, bringing gifts to honor the new-born King—gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  On the first Christmas, God gave us the gift of His Son; in response, the wise men showed their gratitude by giving the Lord their gift of time to go worship, and their gift of money to support God’s earthly family. 

We can and should learn from this.  The best Christmas gift is Jesus, period.  Wishing for church to get done so you can get home and tear open presents, shows that your priorities are wrong.  And consider the wise men—they did not give gifts to each other, they gave their gifts to God.  On Black Friday weekend this year, the average shopper spent over $398 on Christmas presents.  How many of them, do you suppose, will be giving God’s Church $398 this Christmas season? We should not be spending so much on gifts that the Church is shortchanged, or we end up wasting money by paying interest on a credit card bill.

At Christmas, you can’t talk about presents without conjuring up the image of Santa Claus.  The Santa myth started with a Christian man named Saint Nicholas who gave small gifts to needy children.  But Santa has morphed into the official spokesman for Christmas shopping; he has become a friend of children, a marketing tool for retailers, and a club for parents to use when the kids start misbehaving—“you better not shout, you better not cry.  Be good, for goodness’ sake.” 

What is truly disturbing about Santa is that, for many people, he has replaced Christ.  Think about it.  “He sees you when you’re sleeping, he knows when you’re awake, he knows when you’ve been bad or good.”  Doesn’t that sound like Jesus?  Santa comes to your home and leaves presents—but Scripture says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17).  Doesn’t Santa steal credit from God? 

I’ve seen ornaments that try to make Santa acceptable to Christians—they show him kneeling in prayer at Jesus’ manger.  But I’m not swayed by such a cheap attempt to have it both ways.  Jesus said, no one can serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).  In Isaiah chapter 42 God said, I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.  The first commandment says, you shall have no other gods in place of me.  We should not be teaching children to write letters to Santa, we should be teaching them to pray to Jesus.

Paul said, test everything. Hold on to the good.  Avoid every kind of evil.  Christmas Trees can be good if you remember that they represent Jesus, His atoning death, and His offer of eternal life.  Christmas Cards can be good if they are used to share the shepherd’s story of a Savior born to bring us peace.  Christmas Presents can be good if we remember that all gifts come from God, and our own gift-giving shows Him proper gratitude.  But as for Santa? Test everything. Don’t let any Christmas tradition pull your focus away from the Babe of Bethlehem.