Why Churches Should Continue to Have Services Christmas Day

To be quite honest, I'm not much a celebrator of holidays and this includes Christmas. So naturally, I wouldn't really post much about holidays, but I feel that this year, it would be warranted as Christmas Day lands on a Sunday. I have seen some churches debate over whether or not to have services on that Sunday and have heard people talking about how they think church should be cancelled to celebrate Christmas. But I want to encourage churches to continue with their services and this is why:


1. The Origin of Christmas
This may be abrasive to some people (a lot actually), but the idea of Christmas is a Catholic holiday and doesn't have a Christian origin. It is widely believed amoung many theologians that Jesus was really born sometime in either late fall or early spring. That is up to debate as to which one but truth is, we don't know what day he was born on. But the point is, Jesus was not born on December 25th. So why do we celebrate it on this date? It goes back to ancient Rome. The Romans had a holiday called Saturnalia. The purpose of this holiday was to have a week of lawlessness. All courts and law enforcement closed down and people were allowed to do what they wanted with no punishment by law. On the 25th (the last day of the holiday), the Romans would arrest the person who, during that week, was selected as lawgiver that was against the Roman government. After arresting this person, they would execute him.


During the week of this holiday, there would be rituals involving sex, drug use, drinking, human sacrifice, rape, dancing naked, everything you would picture in a pagan ritual. When Christianity started to take over in Rome, those who participated in Saturnalia wouldn't convert unless they could keep a part of their previous belief. This happened a lot throughout history (including the Vikings and the Irish) when the Catholic missionaries would try to convert pagans. The pagans would convert, but the Catholics would allow them to keep a part of their pagan beliefs and tie it into the Christian beliefs. In this case, they kept Saturnalia. As time passed, eventually Christianity adopted the date of the holiday and made it Christmas. So why would we cancel church, a time to worship Christ, over a holiday with a pagan origin?


2. Faith Based on the Bible
One point I want to bring up shortly is that our Christian faith is based on the forgiveness of our LORD and on the Bible. We do not base our faith around holidays and do not compromise with the worldly idea of holidays. To cancel a church service is telling God that our pleasure of having the "day off" and having the day to ourselves and our families is more important than fellowshipping with fellow Christians and preaching his word. We should not sacrifice this opportunity to open the doors of the church. I have a strong conviction about this. I also believe that it is each individual's choice on whether he/she will attend the church service on Christmas and that is a personal choice. But I also believe that those who are committed and want to attend the service should be allowed to be continuing with a service. That may be the only time some people will ever step foot in a church.


3. Being an Example
I feel this point coincides with my last point. We are commanded to be separate and set apart from this world and to be a godly example in Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 7:1, and Galatians 2:20. When we take advice from unsaved on spiritual matters or follow their lead, it is saying that as Christians, we are no different. When we continue to open our churches on Christmas day when everyone else is staying home, it says that we are different, it says that we are dedicated, and moreover, it says that we have an awesome God that is worth skipping Christmas morning tradition to serve God and show him that we love him.


As I conclude, I do want to express that I am not against Christmas. Even though I'm not much of a celebrator doesn't mean that I'm 100% against it. Within the Christian circle, we have used this date to look upon our LORD and remember His coming and sacrifice for us and His love for us. It's a day that can redirect our attention to our saviour. But we do need to remember that it is still just a holiday and is not the basis for our faith and is certainly not the source of our salvation or happiness. I encourage each church to keep your doors open on Christmas day. I encourage you to not follow the rest of the world. Finally, I encourage you to show God that you love him by placing him above a national holiday.