Susan Fulton
(27
Dec 2004)
"celebrating Christmas"
I still celebrate Christmas the way I was brought
up to celebrate it.
I do not believe that Jesus was born on
that particular day, but I still
enjoy the Christmas music that is played at that time.
It is special music.
I still enjoy buying presents, and putting them under
a tree,(real or
artificial) makes no difference to me, and hanging up
all of the lights
and decorations, (it may be pagan in origin) but I think
that they are
pretty. I still like to send cards to my friends, and
to receive them as
well.
I have studied Jewish traditions and feast days, but
I was not born
into a Jewish family, so I do not feel like I should
celebrate these
days. I think that having the knowledge of what they
mean is
enough. Jesus told the Samaritan woman that someday people
will worship God in spirit and truth. Not in a particular
place, or
in a particular way.
I think that the celebration of Christmas is a good way
for
Christians to spread the gospel to an unbelieving world.
The
atheists want to stamp out Christmas, and it's traditions
for
that very reason. The gospel can be told to people at
that time,
because the story of the birth of Jesus is everywhere
you turn.
Anytime Jesus is glorified, it is good. Whether it is
through a
pagan tradition, or through the church itself. Christmas
may be
the only time some people ever hear the story of Christ.