Christmas is an annual and sacred Christian holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.
While many people celebrate Christmas to honour Jesus' birth, it's also celebrated as a cultural holiday across the globe on December 25th.
Some of the things which jump to our minds at Christmas time are Christmas trees, presents, Father Christmas, chocolate, decorations, cake, Christmas films, songs and carols.
Traditional family gatherings, together in one place, also come to mind while enjoying a huge Christmas dinner which takes hours to plan and produce and a much shorter time to demolish...
Why the 25th December
It's strange that there seems no real evidence in the Bible that informs us to celebrate the birth of Jesus; probably the most momentous world event ever!
When Christianity first took hold of the world in about the 4th century, particularly in Rome, Christians saw the need to clean-up pagan celebrations,
one of which was celebrated on the 25th December. The Roman Church at that time converted Sol Invictus (Unconquered Sun) to a Christian holiday,
the "Feast of the Nativity", in order to commemorate Jesus' birth. This provided a Christian positive alternative to a pagan celebration,
making December 25th a single moment in time for all the people of the world to celebrate the arrival of their Saviour.
Why celebrate Christmas
The world celebrates this event because the angel who appeared to the shepherds the night of Jesus' birth said,
"I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. (See Luke 2:8-14).
Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ (or the Messiah), the Lord".
We celebrate Christmas because the birth of Jesus Christ is "Good News" and good news is meant to be celebrated.
In fact, the angel told us that the news of Jesus' birth would cause "great joy" and would be "for all the people"; this joyful celebration would be universal.
People around our globe would be glad for this occasion.
Three titles of Jesus
The angel said, "A Saviour has been born to you; he is the Christ (or Messiah, the chosen one) the Lord."
The three titles of Jesus announced by the angel are important.
1. Jesus is the Saviour who delivers us from sin because he gave his life for you and me (John 3 v16-18).
2. He is the Christ (or Messiah, the chosen one) who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 5:17).
3. He is the divine Lord who has entered our world:
the Almighty has taken on human flesh; God and man have been fused together in an indivisible and eternal bond; God is truly with us (see Matthew 1:23)
We celebrate Christmas because it was at the birth of Jesus that the rescuer of all mankind came to save us from the hopeless situation we were in.
God did not stay in heaven; He came down to where we are.
Celebrate the real reason for the season...Jesus.
