Is Christmas Derived from Secular Observances, and if So, Should We Celebrate It?

Act of Worship

Approaching the Christmastide season, it is common to hear arguments on various sides for or against the celebration of Christmas including those related to the actual date of Christmas itself. Many of the American traditions have little to do with the birth of Christ such as Christmas trees, the exaggeration of St. Nicholas that we find in Santa Clause, and even the giving of material gifts. I believe that these external elements are not wrong or right in and of themselves; yet, we must be careful with them and have likely lost the sense of Christmastide in American culture. Additionally, I believe a large reason for that is the negation of the Advent season: bypassing Advent may only contribute to the materialistic attitudes we possess. Those opposed to religion often claim that Christmas (and other Christian observances for the same matter) is derived from pagan rituals alone and even fall in the way of atheists who claim this as a sufficient reason to abandon the celebration. One such argument suggests even the timing of December 25 to be evidence that Christians celebrate falsely. Indeed, the same arguments are made against all Christian celebrations, which should cause Christians to consider the foundational reasons for observances. Here I will argue for the celebration of Christmas as a vital observance in Christian life and conclude by extending the philosophy to all Christian observances.