Dec 21, 2011
To me Christmas has always meant much, much more than presents, Christmas trees, and Santa Claus. Even as a small child I knew that Christmas time was the celebration of Jesus Christ being born. Of course, there was a time when I was too young to understand quite what it meant for Him to be my Savior, but as I got older and realized how Christmas is even more special than I had ever imagined. The Christmas story in the Bible found in Luke is one that holds a spot in my heart.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior had been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord’…Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’ Luke 2:10-11, 13-15
Now there are other traditions that are observed during this celebration of the coming of the King. A lot of them are just things that people have done for numerous years, so they are not usually questioned, but if you wanted to know why we do some of the things we do during Christmas, here are some explanations.
Why is Christmas celebrated on December 25th?
The date that we celebrate Christmas was most likely a date when ancient Romans celebrated pagan activities and festivals. Song singing, gift giving, and celebrating was done near this date in honor of the end of the harvest season. After Christianity became the official religion for Romans, the date stuck. The actual date is unknown, but based on the happenings and events in the Bible it can be figured that December 25th is not the actual birthday of Jesus Christ.
Why do people put up and decorate trees for Christmas?
In the mid 1800s Prince Albert put up the first Christmas tree. It was a pine tree in the castle. Germans were the first to put tinsel on trees. They had a story of a woman who was poor. Her tree was filled with spiderwebs and Christ the child turned them into silver strands.
Who was Saint Nicholas?
The man who we loosely base Santa Claus on today was a real person. As a child Saint Nicholas was orphaned and left with an inheritance. He was very generous in helping those in need. At seventeen years old he became a bishop. During the Christian persecution Saint Nicholas was thrown in jail for not sacrificing to Roman gods. At the time of Constantine’s conquest, he was released from jail.
