CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
As early as the fourth century after Christ, Christians have observed Christ’s birth on December 25th. While the date of December 25th had more to do with replacing the pagan celebrations of the Romans than celebrating the actual date of Jesus’ birth, this date became more and more entrenched as time passed. By the beginning of the second millennium, December 25th was celebrated world-wide as the birthday of the Christ-child. In the sixteenth century, some Protestants rejected this celebration of the birth of Jesus and attributed the practice to pagans. In the seventeenth century, there were Protestants who outlawed the December 25th observance. The story of Christmas comes primarily from the gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. The meaning of Christmas comes from the first chapter of the book of John–the message- -the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us, revealed God to us, was rejected by us, yet offers us an eternal relationship with God as…
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