Well, the Big Day is almost here, and things are likely to be a bit quiet here at TC until after Christmas. (Unless some of my fellow contributors decide to pull themselves away from the eggnog for a Christmas Eve post, that is.) So let me take the opportunity to wish you all a blessed Christmas from the TC crew!
I hope that you’ll take a break from blog-reading over the next few days to reflect on the original story of Christmas. Whether you’ve heard that story a million times or have never gotten around to reading it, it’s worth pondering. Because that familiar tale actually happened thousands of years ago, we can today know the joy and freedom of the incomparable Christ.
So take a few minutes, in between family get-togethers and gift-opening and church choir practice and last-minute shopping, to remember that story. And give thanks to God for the grace he offers us through Jesus Christ.
And because I can’t end on too cheery of a note, here’s a word of Christmas Caution from Ben Franklin:
How many observe Christ’s Birth-day! How few, his Precepts! O! ‘tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments.
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December 22, 2007 at 00:24
My family and i do not use christmas trees during the holiday because chrismas trees were believed to be started by pagans. However, I still don’t really understand the real istoy behind the christmas tree as well as the origin of christmas.
December 22, 2007 at 16:20
To All the Contributors & Commenters at TC:
May you have a blessed Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year.
December 22, 2007 at 17:48
Thanks, Anna! Merry Christmas to you too!
December 22, 2007 at 22:11
TC has become one of the best Christmas gifts I have ever received!
Have a wonderful Christmas!
December 23, 2007 at 06:39
The “pagan roots” of Christmas trees is really not as clear cut as it seems (no pun intended).
It is true that pagans used trees in ceremonies around the time of Christmas hundreds of years ago. But our tradition of using a tree for Christmas is more likely a result of a tradition established by Martin Luther.
As I see it…a tree is neutral in of itself. It is created by God. When I place it in my house I decide what symbol it represents. Almost nobody alive in our culture is going to see a Christmas tree and think “Pagan!” No…they are going to think “Christmas!” which is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ our Messiah.
There were pagan temples before the Jews built God’s temple on earth. There were pagan religious buildings before we started meeting in established church buildings. There was ungodly contemporary music before Christians began making contemporary music about God, the Christian faith, praise, and worship.
That hasn’t stopped any of those things…and I don’t think we should allow what pagans did hundreds upon hundreds of years ago to stop us from celebrating the Christian traditions we have for celebrating the birth of Christ. Including the Christmas tree.
With that said… Merry Christmas! God bless you all!
December 23, 2007 at 22:44
Merry Christmas TC and it’s readers!
December 24, 2007 at 14:14
As believers, we are dismayed that “Merry Christmas” has been white-washed by the politically-corrected “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”. And there are those who will say “Merry Christmas” without intending any direct connection to Christ. I did a search on the occurrence of the word “merry” in the Bible and there is not one! So,I have started what I’m calling a “Christmas Revolution” by sharing and spreading a new greeting that will clearly identify those who know that Jesus is the reason for the season…
“JOYOUS CHRISTMAS!”
“He was proclaimed to the nations, believed in by the world, and taken up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16
December 24, 2007 at 17:51
My professor, who is a Christian, told us that the tree was used because Christ was crucified on a tree, and it is an evergreen tree because His love is everlasting. The glass ornaments are there because if one falls off the tree (out of Christ), they will shatter.
I don’t know if it’s true but I like it =]
Merry Christmas to all!!
God bless!
December 25, 2007 at 09:24
merry christmas from germany!
December 25, 2007 at 16:07
Merry Christmas from Canada! May you have a Christ-filled day!