Should Christians celebrate Christmas?
The debate about whether or not Christians should celebrate Christmas has been raging for centuries. Though Christmas is a Christian celebration, some Christians do not observe the occasion, explaining that it is not Biblical.
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Some Christian bodies such as the Church of Christ, Jehovah witnesses, Seventh Day Adventist among others, do not partake in the age old celebration.
While some Christians believe that the Christmas pageant sums up the concept of God and the coming of Christ the Saviour in humankind, others believe the traditions surrounding Christmas holidays have origins of paganism and therefore, have a different view about the celebration of Christmas.
Ungodly festival
In an interview with Evangelist Moses Tetteh of the Church of Christ, he explained that the celebration of “Christmas” is not Biblical.
He said December 25 had never been the birthday of Christ as it had never been recorded in the Bible or in history.
According to Mr Tetteh, Christmas came from the celebration of the “sun god” by the Romans which was marked on December 25.
He also said the Romans, at that time, were so powerful that they succeeded in luring other Christian bodies into the celebration. Hence, it’s growth in our generation.
“Celebration of Christmas is totally adulterous, all Biblical proofs go against the celebration of Christmas and also the activities that goes on during the celebration is not Christian – because worldly people and many people from other religious bodies also celebrate this event.”
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Mr Kwame Asomaning, a public servant and a member of the Jehovah witness, also argued that Christians celebrate Christmas to ostensibly mark the birth of the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ.
He said this celebration is uncalled for simply because it is unBiblical.
He explained that if one considers that the date for the celebration, December 25, falls in winter in the temperate region where the child Jesus was born some 2,000 years ago, then it is clear the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth, especially the fact that on the night he was born, shepherds were on the field with their flock of sheep does not support the choice of date for the celebration.
Mr Asomaning further explained that the idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus is a latter-day thought which has no basis in the Bible, explaining that December 25 used to be a day on which pagans celebrated a festival that honoured the ancient Roman god of agriculture.
“Christmas has no Biblical antecedent, hence its celebration is not necessary, more especially when over-commercialisation has turned it into an orgy of drinking and over-indulgence,” he explained.
Christmas celebrant
On the other hand, Pastor Micheal Offei Afari, the Head pastor of the Kairos Temple of the International Central Gospel Church, said the subject matter of Christmas is very important, especially for Christians.
He said Christmas comes from two words “Christ” and “Mass” put together. Christ means the anointed one, while Mass means service.
Hence, the meaning of Christmas is service unto the anointed one.
This originally, he explained, referred to the Catholic Mass that was celebrated at midnight on December 24, thus Christmas originated from the Catholic set up.
According to Pastor Afari, Christ was not necessarily born in December because there is no Biblical proof.
He also confirmed that the date was not correct because the shepherds could not have taken their flocks out to eat around that winter period and so perhaps, Christ was born around September-October there about.
“Christmas is a Christian celebration carved to celebrate who Christ is to us. It is a day set aside to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and to celebrate it accordingly.
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“Although the exact day was not stated in the Bible, there is nothing wrong setting a day or month aside purposely to celebrate the birth of Christ,” he noted.