Has Christmas became all about presents and Santa Claus instead of Jesus to chil

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   paulburchettposted 11 years ago

   Has Christmas became all about presents and Santa Claus instead of Jesus to children today?
   
   How can we as Christians make sure they know the real meaning of Christmas?

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   MickSposted 11 years ago

   You can make sure that they know the real meaning of Christmas by telling them that the festival at the midwinter solstice is far, far older than Christianity.
   That no one knows if there was such a person, and if so, in the early days of Christianity his birthday was remembered in March sometime.  It was only changed to the midwinter festival in about the 3rd, or was it 6th c, when Christianity was failing so it was brought in line with Pagan Sun King festivals.

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Just because they were held at the same time of year doesn't make the true meaning of the 'Holiday' of Christmas have anything to so with those pagan holidays. Christmas and the pagan holidays have completely different  meanings.

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      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It was a concious decision by the church fathers to move the celebration to coincide with the Pagan festivals in an attempt to get more recruits.  All Christian festivals are rooted in pagan festivals.

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      Sarah Christinaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This was the Catholic church, and just because they date is pagan rooted, doesn't mean it can't be celebrated by Christians to symbolically honor the birth of Jesus. Actually, it's been proven Jesus existed, multiple cultures have records of him.

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   samsons1posted 11 years ago

   So sad to say, but the media would have all believe your question is answered, yes, even though the idea of a Real Christmas will always remain in the hearts and lives of TRUE believers that choose to accept the true meaning of what Christmas is all about and practice the joy and adventure that only believers can experience.  All others can not comprehend this because the spirit of Christmas is not present in their hearts and lives.  If it were, then this country and the world would not be experiencing all the hatred, greed, arrogance, mis-direction and groping in darkness evident on all news casts...

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      Brad Streetsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Christmas was made to be a celebration of Christ, or maybe it was not. Too many opinions. Let's make this simple. Does everyone else receive gifts on YOUR birthday? No, so it is quite easily determined to be a holiday of greed these days, not Christ.

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   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   I'm afraid so. Except for the parents who are determined to teach their true meaning of Christmas. Most children are taught it is a selfish holiday where you receive gifts. And retailers have jumped all over this and have made Christmas the most commercialized Holiday in the United States. My question is if you are not celebrating Jesus Christ's birth, then what are you celebrating. Yes, you have bought into the commercialization of a holiday that was meant for thanks to Jesus into getting presents for ones self. Yes, it has become such a selfish holiday and the kids will carry with them what you have taught the the rest of their lives. Santa Claus is the biggest lie ever told to children.
   
   @Mick s...... Do we still celebrate Halloween the way the Celtics did thousands of years ago with the festival of Samhaim? No. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

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      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, we do celebrate the 5 days of Samhain the way the Celts did with the ancient custom of trick or treating and the bonfire on 05/11, which is much older than Guido Fawkes nand was celebrated before his execution.

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      JThomp42posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You have no idea what you are talking about. Look it up. It wa s celebrated on Oct. 31th, then considered the day before New Year.

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      MickSposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The Celts had a 360 day year, 31/10 is Samhain, summers end, it marked the end of the Celtic year, there then followed 5 days out of the calender, the new year was celebrated on the 05/11 with bonfires, Celtic days ran evening to evening.

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   PlanksandNailsposted 11 years ago

   They don't know because they have not their homework. Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. There is no Biblical evidence of Christians celebrating Christmas, nor is their justification for worshipping Jesus with pagan tradition and customs. Furthermore, Jesus Christ was not born on December 25th.
   
   We can find the true meaning of Christmas though its history and apply what the standard of Scripture upholds as righteous worship to God. Many believe that they have justification because they are "honouring" Christ on this day. There is no Scripture that justifies worship to God anyway we want to.
   
   You can not "Christianize" Christmas just like you cannot "Christanize" yoga.
   
   If you want to remember Jesus Christ then have communion. It is not by erecting a phallic symbol, making it all nice and glittery, and then putting presents underneath it. You can't take something pagan and redeem it as holy.
   
   What a Buddha idol represents will not change because you want it to mean something else. The meaning of Christmas and the Christmas tree does not change either.
   
   Putting Jesus Christ and Christmas together is an oxymoron.
   
   Christians will fight the evidence because of peer pressure and their emotional reasoning, but feelings don't change the facts.

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   paulburchettposted 11 years ago

   Thanks to all who have answered! Great answers!

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   Freeway Flyerposted 11 years ago

   Holidays evolve, Always have, always will. So just as Christians redefined a pagan, winter solstice festival in order to give it a Christian meaning, Christmas has been increasingly co-opted by the American religion of materialism. So in my mind, it is a bit silly to attempt to define the "real meaning" of any holiday. People can give it whatever meaning they wish.
   
   http://freewayflyer.hubpages.com/hub/Me … f-Holidays

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   Sarah Christinaposted 11 years ago

   Yes, unfortunately, for many children it's become more about the presents than anything else. As Christians, I think all we can do is try as much as possible to counteract the media's attempt to completely commercialize this holiday and remind them what it's truly about, as a believer. Taking them to church a lot and getting them involved in church services and activities helps, I think, so that their mind is on Christ's birth. I know a family that decided not to lie to their children about Santa Clause, for example, so their kids don't focus on getting gifts from him--they know who they are actually getting their gifts from, their parents! This in turn makes them focus on Jesus as opposed to Santa, which I believe has confused the issue for many kids and detracts from Jesus Christ.
   
   Note: While it is true that the actual date of Christmas is pagan based (no one knows the exact date when Jesus was actually born), we have the Catholics to thank for that. However, since there does need to be a day where we remember and honor the birth of Jesus, who was sent to be our Savior, there is nothing wrong with Christians celebrating Christmas on that day, to honor their belief in Jesus and God. The pagans still celebrate their holiday too, and I'm pretty sure it didn't originally include Santa and super commercialism, etc, originally either. A holiday is whatever you choose to make it, and has whatever meaning you want to apply or choose to focus on.

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      paulburchettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Great answer! I may have chosen the best answer too soon.

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      Sarah Christinaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks!

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