CHRISTMAS

I wondered about something lately...
And so I did what I always do when I wonder about something: I research, ask other people's opinions, put all my gathered information together, think about it...  and I have come to my conclusion!

Christmas: Christ's mass

Why do people who do not confess to believe in Jesus Christ celebrate Christmas, what does Christmas mean to them, and does the secular commercialism and political correctness of Christmas deminish what the holiday means to Christians?

Why "Christmas" is not just "Christian":The truth is, Christmas is a big jumble of both Christian and secular traditions including Germanic Pagan Solstice festivals , The Roman celebration of the birth of Saturn, and other winter festivals.  December 25th is the tradtitional date of the birth of Jesus Christ (not his actual birthdate), and has been since about AD 221, but was not celebrated as Jesus's birthday until 354.  Though set aside as the day to remember and celebrate Christ's birth, Christmas, from the beginning, incoorperated the pagan traditions and was a public festival.

Commercialism: My brother made me sad one day when he said, "Christmas doesn't mean that much to me because it's not about Christ anymore."  I think a lot of Christians feel that way- they feel robbed.  They feel that Christmas is theirs, and it has turned into such a commercial holiday that Christ is no longer the center or the meaning... the secular world has taken their holiday and attached its own meaning to it.  However, I believe that the commercialism of the season does NOT deminish what Christmas means to me because I don't allow it to.  I, along with millions of other Christians, set aside the Christmas season to remember, reflect on, and celebrate my belief that Jesus is the good news, the fulfillment of God's word, and that through a relationship with Him I know God.  Anyways, most Christians are guilty of celebrating their Christian holiday using secular traditions (gift giving, Santa Claus, evergreen trees...) and the secular world has every right to their winter festivities without including Christ in the mix.  I think that Christmas can only be Christian when Christians set it aside and make it that way.

Political Correctness:  This does bother me to a certain extent.  I don't like it when people purposely try to take "Christ" away from MY "Christmas"- (they can take Christ away from their Christmas, but not mine).  And NO, I'm not talking about "Xmas" seeing as how in Greek (the new Testament language), "X" is the first letter of "Christ", so "Xmas" is actually a Christian abbreviation for "CHRISTmas".  But I'm not about to tip-toe around the subject of Christ, cautious about what I say, because for me, He is what Chistmas is all about.  You can tell me, "Happy Holidays", that's fine, I won't be offended if that's what it is to you- a nameless holiday...  But I'm gunna turn around and say "MERRY FREAKIN' CHRISTMAS" and I hope YOU won't be offended, either :-).

You know how I LOVE A Charlie Brown Christmas! :-)