CAN you imagine a year without Christmas? Or December 25 without gifts? Why, even soldiers in battle have stopped fighting on Christmas Day and exchanged gifts! Millions of people believe that Christmas is God’s gift to us. But is it?
It is reported that more than three out of every four persons worldwide would answer no. That includes you if you are a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Jew, an agnostic, or an atheist—and then neither do you believe that Christ is God’s Son, and Christmas supposedly celebrates Christ’s birth, thus the Christ’s mass. Yet—Christian or non-Christian—everyone’s future is tied to belief in him.
God’s Real Gift to Mankind
More than one billion people claim to acknowledge Jesus Christ as mankind’s Savior. The Bible agrees: Jesus was a perfect man. He lived a sinless life, remaining free of any condition that could justify his death. So he had the right to live forever and father a perfect human race of his own.
But he did not claim that right. Instead, he died as “a ransom in exchange for many” of existing mankind, bequeathing human perfection and endless life to them. Therefore, Jesus is God’s gift to mankind.—Matthew 20:28; 1 Peter 2:21, 22; Hebrews 2:9, 10.
Your acceptance of this gift can bring you lasting benefits. The Bible says that “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) So faith in Christ matters; your future life depends on it. No wonder that about a quarter of mankind celebrates his birth at Christmas. And yet, was he really born on Christmas Day?
When Was Jesus Born?
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, “there were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks.” (Luke 2:8-11) But in that region of Palestine the temperature at night averages 45° F. (7° C.) in December. There are chilly rains on some days. Those shepherds would not have been out of doors with their flocks at night. Their custom was to bring them into enclosed shelters.
Also, Jesus’ parents had gone to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus had ordered an empire-wide registration, “and all people went traveling . . . each one to his own city.” (Luke 2:1, 3) Would the Roman ruler have chosen a cold, rainy month for requiring his often rebellious subjects to make long, arduous journeys? Hardly!
Then, when was Jesus born? There is strong evidence that the date was early in October. The prophet Daniel had foretold that Messiah (Christ) would appear at the start of a seven-year “week” and would be “cut off” in the middle of it, or after 3 1/2 years, when he would die a sacrificial death. (Daniel 9:24-27) Jesus was “about thirty years old” when he began his ministry as the Christ. So he was about 33 1/2 when he died about the beginning of April, on Passover Day. (Luke 3:21-23; Matthew 26:2) He would have been 34 about six months later, in October. Evidently he was not born in December!
Does It Honor Christ?
But why quibble about the date as long as Christ is honored and the spirit of Christmas is observed? After all, the festival is sacred for devout worshipers. It is a time for carols and hymns, a time for gifts and family gatherings. It is a nostalgic time, a time to be remembered. Yet, that may be the problem.
Often the memories are of personal pleasures that do not pertain to Christ. Gifts do not always express the joy of giving but, rather, the pleasure of receiving. Then there is the excessive revelry and the growing commercialization of the occasion. This is the spirit that makes Christmas popular, but it does not honor Christ.
Therefore the question arises: Is Christmas even Christian?
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