Why Do We Celebrate Christmas On The 25th Of December
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned....
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9
“All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey. I’ve been for a walk, on a winter’s day.”
Some of you remember that line from The Mamas and the Papas song. It describes how it feels right now - grey, cold, dark, dingy....winter. As each day becomes shorter, and darker, and colder, we can feel the impending sludge of winter coming down upon us. Depressed yet??
Why do we celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December?
It began hundreds of years ago with a decision by the Roman Emperor Constantine and Pope Julius I. No one actually knows the date of Jesus’ birth. Unlike Easter, which is tied to the dating of the Jewish festival of Passover, the best we can do with Christmas is look at clues. The shepherds were in the fields and people were traveling, so it probably occurred sometime in the spring or fall. So why do we celebrate it on December 25?
Around December 25 the days start to become longer. It is sometimes called the Winter Solstice or Equinox. So we celebrate the birth of the Son on the day we see the sun coming back to life. “The people living in darkness have seen a great light” and we need a great light about this time of year. So we celebrate that our Lord comes into the darkest times of our lives to give birth to hope, light, joy and our salvation. When things seem broken, Christmas says God is with us.
So celebrate Christmas by bringing joy to the struggle, and hope to the depression. Put up the lights, arrange the celebrations, sing the songs, give the gifts, come to worship God, and spread the joy to the world. Reach out with the grace of God to a world that seems headed for destruction and offer God’s salvation. Christmas is God breaking into our dreary lives and saying, “sunny days are still ahead.”
May God bless you with Christ at Christmas,
Pastor Tom