Q: Do you think Adventist Christians should celebrate Christmas? If yes, how? If no, why not?
Jonathan, 25, Indonesia: By celebrating Christmas will reminds us that Jesus was born in this world, and He will come again to take us to the new world (heaven).
Joash, 24, Nairobi: Everything we do as Seventh-day Adventists is grounded on the Holy Bible. That is what we tell the world: the good news, the truth, which they've been denied for so long. Many have misinterpreted the bible, confusing God's people and eventually people perish by lacking the knowledge of the Bible.
Christ's birthday was celebrated because it was appropriate and favored by the prophets. A king is to be born and indeed he was a king and he is. The saints waited for this day, celebrated once but it never came a custom since Christ and his disciples never mentioned it in the New Testament.
We should only celebrate that the king, the messiah or the savior has give his life to die shameful only for us to live. (Not on Christmas time but at the end of every quarter as we do as our custom)
I suggest that we should gather in our churches on Christmas day only to teach people God's truth and the devil's tricks concerning this specific day. No Christmas tree, No Christmas music that is for the glory of trees and idols. Jeremiah 10:1-5
Thulani, 21, Zimbabwe: Christmas now days has become a time for reunion for most Adventist. John 4:22 says "You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” Now if Christ was expressing the manner of worship and its origins then if Christmas is not part of the Jewish tradition then why should we uphold it? I say no
Felix, 22, Kenya: NO! I do not think that we should be involved with anything that is outside the scope that the bible has revealed. It is written in the book of Deut 29:29 that we only live on that which the Lord has revealed. It is not stated that Jesus was born on 25th Dec. and above that, what is normally done on the day is completely against the rules set by our health and temperance. And with those few remarks I hold it that all Adventists who observe the true Seventh-day Sabbath should abhor the 25th Dec celebration. Instead make big the Holy Communion and generally be thankful for all days of the year! Amen?
Loyiso, 27, Eastern Cape-South Africa: Adventist Christians are not should not celebrate Christmas because 25th December is not the original date or true date and its not Bible based so why celebrate it then?
Amanda, 14, New York, USA: I think Christmas should be celebrated but it depends on how you celebrate it. Christmas was meant to be a season where people acknowledge the birth of Christ. Many people today celebrate it by putting up Christmas trees & playing Christmas carols that doesn't even deal with Christ (Ex: Jingle Bells). There are some Christmas carols that talk about the birth of Christ such as "The First Noel" or "O Little Town of Bethlehem".
Even though Christmas came from a pagan background, I think the past does not really matter. I think it is how we celebrate it. Yes, Jesus is the reason for the season; therefore, Jesus should be the critical focus of the season, not the season itself. In other words, we should focus on the reason for the season and not the season itself. Christ not Christmas!
TC, 19: I would like to respond to this question with a different question. Do you think it is right to celebrate Halloween if it is flipped around to have a Christian slant?
Helen, 23, Trinidad: No, no Christian should celebrate Christmas cause Christ was not born on that day which everyone knows so why celebrate it, if he set the example for us to follow why are we not following it, the apostles never kept Christmas or anything like it. Some reasons why Christians don’t celebrate Christmas are that Christmas is a lie, why is it no where mentioned in the Bible? What does Santa Clause, reindeer, decorated trees, mistletoe have to do with the birth of Christ? The date 25th of Dec. came from a festival celebrating the birthday of the sun god Mithras. The Catholic Encyclopedia indicates that the Christmas season came from an ancient midwinter festival that occurred at the time of winter solace. There is a lot more but that’s it for now so don't celebrate Christmas.
Andrey, 25, Iowa: I think it would be very inconsistent to say that it's ok as long as Jesus is the center of attention. Other churches do the same thing with Sabbath. They say it's ok to make it Sunday as long as Jesus is the center of attention. There was no specific command given in the Bible concerning celebrating Jesus' birthday. And the history of Christmas Day as it is has very little to do with Him. The birth of sun god (during the winter solstice) was celebrated at exactly same time and very close manner. I encourage you to do a little research as to the origin of the holiday before you answer the above question.
Tafuma, 25, Zimbabwe: No. 1. The origins of Christmas are wrong and we should not build on the wrong foundation. With God the end does not justify the means (2Sa 6:6). And when they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen stumbled. 2Sam 6:7 and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. 2. We must not condone lies under the veil of "season to give". 3. Adventists as far as I understand and know stand on, "The bible says in BOOK, Chapter: Verse" and there is no express command to observe Christmas even if it were the birthday of Christ
Luke, 17, Essex England: There's nothing wrong with Christmas; it may have originally been a pagan festival that has been adapted for Christian purposes. However that's not the point, it is a celebration of Jesus' birth and helps remind us that not only are he God's son but he is God's son who came down to earth as a sacrifice for us to save us from sin.
Grant, 25, Australia: I think that we should celebrate Christmas. Though the 25th of Dec was not the date that Jesus was born this is the time that some people in the world think of him. This is a perfect opportunity for us to witness to others. Yes the Date may have been a Roman Pagan Festival but we must remember that the holiday itself identifies what it is about "CHRIST"mas celebrating That " God so loved the world he gave his only Son", for you and for me
What the Romans did with this date has nothing today I feel, for a start they didn't acknowledge Jesus. Yes it is easy to get stuck into the commercial ness of Christmas as the world has made it but as Christians we should use it as a time to witness.
Teka-Ann, 25, California: It depends on what we are celebrating Xmas as - birth of Christ? NO! Family time together and a time of extra giving and outreach? YES! For me, Xmas has always been my favorite time of year because that’s when all my family is together no matter where in the world they live. It’s a very convenient time since everyone has time off work and school. I’ve never celebrated Xmas as Jesus' birth, but have always enjoyed the season. So, it really depends on what you are celebrating.
April, 15, United States: I think it is ok to celebrate Christmas as long as you are remembering Jesus and what he did for us
Rowena, 27, AB, Canada: There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas as long as you're doing it to glorify God. Christmas is to remind us God's greatest gift and that is Jesus, HIS only son for us to have the chance of having eternal life. It's the greatest gift of redemption. But it shouldn’t only just be Christmas that we have to celebrate and be thankful for that special gift but we have to live it too in our daily spiritual walk with the Lord.
Tinoda, 27: Yeah really they should. I don’t think God can send a human being to hell because of celebrating Christmas. I think that will be reducing God to our level. Its Christmas time!! Yes we know it’s not the exact date but hey at least the whole world is saying "Jesus was born". This then should be an opportunity especially to the Seventh-day Adventist youth to come up with modern attractive methods of getting people to know and understand about the love and the soon coming of Jesus.
Ingrid, 16, Kenya: I think that often, we base our religion on should do's and should don'ts...and sometimes that can be bad...it's not about what to DO and not to DO. I think that it's what we believe to be the truth in our hearts. Everyone has a different idea on everything. What you think it right or wrong inside, along with what you have received in an answer from God is the best advice you can ever get. :)
Uchechukwu O, 20, Abia State, Nigeria: When we talk about Christmas, other Christians believe that it's actually when Jesus Christ was born. But as Adventists, we rely on the Bible for direction, believing that whatever is in the Bible is the will of God for us. I have never seen any where in the Bible where it is written that Jesus was born on Christmas and we should celebrate his birth every December. This celebration as I have learnt has some pagan background and these days it has been painted so that people will think that it's all about Jesus. As Adventist Christian, I believe that Jesus was born on earth and that he came and died for my sins, but there wasn't anywhere (in the Bible) it was mentioned that we should celebrate the birth of Jesus at any particular season of the year. So I think Adventists should not celebrate Christmas.
Ronald, 23, Karachi, Pakistan: Well no harm in celebrating Christmas as long as Jesus is the centre of the celebrations.
Aiza, 15, Comval Philippines: Yes. Having a Christmas party and attending mesa de gallo
Jared, 23, Kampala, Uganda: Adventist should not celebrate Christmas since is not necessary in spiritual growth and it makes us concentrate on the human beat of Christianity and forget God beat of Christianity. I feel if God saw that it was important for Adventists to celebrate Christmas, He would have mentioned it in the Bible. Anyone who know where it is mentioned that Christ celebrated His birthday? Why can’t we focus on keeping what the Lord has asked us to keep and be faithful to Him?
Jacquelyn, 22, Virginia, United States: After studying the history of Christmas and learning that everything about Christmas originate from pagan religions, my family and I made the personal decision to no longer celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense. The Bible is clear that as children of God, we are not to do as the pagans do. The sayings that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" is a lie. The birth of Christ was not near December 25th, anyway; many historians believe that He was born more in September/October. December 25th was the time with ancient Rome celebrated Saturnalis, a drunken festival, and later it was modified slightly into a time to celebrate the 'birth' of the sun god Mithras. Jesus, His disciples, and the early church NEVER celebrated a day in honor of His birth.
It was over three hundred years after Christ's ascension that the Catholic Church began to gain power in Europe and decided to compromise the foundation on which Christianity stands (Christ and the Word of God) to include the pagan holiday of Saturnalis into Christianity and renaming it Christmas ("Christ Mass"). Yet Christmas still was a drunken festival, a time of immoral activities. In fact, in the 1600s when the forerunners of the Puritans gained power in England, they outlawed Christmas! Christmas was not even commonly celebrated in the United States until the middle of the 1800s, and it was a time that allowed immodest behavior not allowed during any other time of the year. (Mistletoe allowed unmarried youth to become intimate during the Victoria Era where physical contact between unmarried men and women was taboo.) In fact, churches in the USA had nothing to do with Christmas for many years but finally gave in to pressure from their congregations to do something religious on this secular holiday... thus churches began telling the Nativity story and holding holiday services. What else was happening at that time? 1844... the Lord gave a young woman named Ellen G. White prophetic visions and people began to turn from false doctrines to embrace the Truths in His Word.
It is my belief that Christmas is a terrible holiday, instituted not by God but by Satan in an effort to undermine our footing on the Rock of Christ. And I, for one, will never worship and adore a dead tree fashioned with nails so it will not topple over and decorated with gold and silver. (Jeremiah 10:2-5) Many well-meaning individuals say that that passage is referring to idols, not Christmas trees, but what do you do with a Christmas tree? You worship it: you decorate it, admire it, and even sing to it! As the famous carol goes: "O Christmas tree. O Christmas tree. How lovely are thy branches..." That is making an idol out of the tree.
What my family and I do during the holidays is spend time studying the Word of God. We reflect upon the life and ministry of our Lord, and we try to show His spirit by giving to others. We will have a family meal at home identical to our Thanksgiving meal, give thanks unto the Lord for His Son and His blessings, and sing songs of praise to Him.
Le'Noi, 27, Jamaica: It's not a matter of should or shouldn't, but one of HOW! We should not sweep the celebration of Jesus' birth to one minute corner of the calendar as the rest of the world does. We are a peculiar people -- or, at least, we're supposed to be. I think it's sad that, for instance, we Adventists only turn to certain songs in our hymnal, ahem, when the world 'dictates' that it's appropriate to do so... Why are we such sellouts?
Thandisizwe, 26, Gauteng, South Africa: We most certainly should celebrate the day our Savior was born. Of course when it is celebrated becomes the issue. Non Adventists have chosen to celebrate it on the 25th of December. The core issue for me is that "He was born". This is an irrefutable fact, we can choose to bury our heads deep in the sand or we can use this time when the world is more open to hearing the good news of Jesus, to tell them who the God we serve is and why we serve him the way that we do. What a marvelous opportunity presents itself for us to witness about our Saviors love. How dare we let it pass...?
Tinoda, 27: Yeah really they should. I don’t think God can send a human being to hell because of celebrating Christmas. I think that will be reducing God to our level. Its Xmas time!! Yes we know it’s not the exact date but hey at least the whole world is saying "Jesus was born". This then should be an opportunity especially to the SDA youth to come up with modern attractive methods of getting people to know and understand about the love and the soon coming of Jesus.
Admire, 24, Harare, Zimbabwe: Do you think Adventist Christian's should celebrate Christmas? NO. Reason- There is no instruction whatsoever given to us in the scriptures to us to celebrate Christmas, Easter, and other related festivals. Of important to note is that such festivals are human institutions, and what is required of us is to observe what we where instructed to.
DelMario, 19, MS, United States: I think that Adventist Christians can celebrate Christmas. How they celebrate it makes a difference. Money spent on gifts is not the meaning of it all. Jesus is the reason for the season.
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