Bob: The Christmas holiday is slowly creeping into my soul, but there is one nagging question that I have dismissed as unimportant, but I would still feel good to have an answer. December 25...It is officially Christmas Day, but I'm not sure how to take this day. Is it an actual date or an observed date? It would be great to believe that it is an actual day, but calendars throughout time have changed, and lunar cycles change, so I'm left with a sense that the day doesn't matter as much as the season and the events that are celebrated. I feel like I need more information about this question, so I can put it to bed forever.
Short Video of the History of Christmas
Matt: I think what we run into with Christmas (and many other dates/holidays) are a combination of celebrations - syncretism religiously, genius-marketing culturally. It seems to me that Christian holidays arouse a lot of ire (of course, as a pastor I MIGHT be more sensitive), and I think it is because we forget to highlight the focus. Very few people/scholars will dispute that Jesus of Nazareth existed, but an equal few actually live their lives feeling the weight of his (supposed) resurrection. Meaning: the Bible doesn't really get into Christmas the way we do, but if we are confident of the resurrection (and then, the atonement and so forth) then we celebrate the fact that God got personally involved. Then we are left - as individuals, families, churches - to choose what we celebrate and how; the focus being that God chose to get involved (Ryan A. quote), and then the rest being fun, old traditions.
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