Are we still celebrating the real essence of Christmas?

Hello Mashn! Thank you for your response. As I said, although Christmas is about giving, celebrating it with family and friends; the celebration should not end there but must transcend to something more i.e. to thank God for the gift of His Son Jesus. I appreciate your honesty by saying that you feel guilty after reading my message. At least the message went through to you. God bless you Mashnn and have a blessed Christmas ahead! ^_^

I think that we are forgetting the true meaning of Christmas, as before it's all about the thought that counted the gathering with love ones, sharing the special moment to remember the birth of Christ by uniting the family. However now days it's not the same as before, all i see around me is people giving each other gifts, when Christmas comes to mind people automatically think of gifts as before it was all about Christmas. The meaning of Christmas is slowly fading away.

Hello Marilda! Thanks for responding! Yes that is really a sad reality. But you know what? We can always, make a difference. It does not mean that the whole world is doing it, it is automatically correct but let us keep in mind the true meaning of Christmas.

Can you prove people were celebrating Yule before christians decided to celebrate the Christmas on December 25th ? I`m sure you have some evidence to support that.

http://www.northofthemoon.com/2008/12/old-yule-3-yule-feast.html Romans Norse Greeks It is a celebration of the Solstice on December 20-23 it rolls right on through to the 25th.

Prove it dj .I`m sure there are written documents before the Christmas celebration.

I appreciate your participation in this discussion maidangela. However I have 3 points to answer from your response. First, the anticipation of the coming of spring which is celebrated in the winter solstice is definitely NOT CHRISTMAS because it is not called Christmas then therefore that particular date is meaningless. When Christ was born that day became meaningful already thus the word Christmas came along. Second, the nativity story is NOT just made up to fit anybody's prediction of some sort. It is biblical and gospel writers are primary sources of information that that particular event indeed happened during the Roman Census. Third, this message is not judging other people the way they celebrate Christmas and definitely this is not to put forth religious practice as a form of arrogance. In this case, you are misinterpreting the point that I was trying to stress. I am just stating my observation of people of today on how they look at Christmas. I am merely trying to express my dismay on some people's way of looking at the celebration. And finally, I was just expressing my WISH, my desire that people's thinking about the celebrations would transcend from being secular to more spiritual. Nothing more nothing less.

A traditional celebration is a celebration whatever you wish to call it. So when the Christians adopted 25th December as the birthday of Jesus for their purposes they called it Christmas even though it was was in fact the traditional birthday of the god Mithra a very popular god with the Roman army. Of course the nativity story was made up probably by Luke. Luke was a companion of Paul so probably knew that Jesus came from Nazareth but the prediction was that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. So to get Mary and Joseph there he had to invent a census. There is no Roman record of this census and in any case the purpose of the Roman census was to raise taxes and recruit soldiers. Particularly from newcomers to the area who were not on the previous list. Of course you do the census where they live and work not where they came from so this census thing is just a story. As I read it you were critical of people who celebrated Christmas by giving presents, having a celebration meal and decorating their homes with no reference to the story of the nativity as the origin of the celebration. What I am saying is that the story of the nativity is not the origin of the celebration so your criticism is totally unjustified

I really hate to debate this to someone who is seemingly agnostic, skeptic or worse atheist. Anyway, just as I said the birth of Christ celebrated to the 25th of December is NOT adopted from the birthday of any pagan gods. Besides Mithra is not a popular god of the pagan Rome. Mithraism is not a distinct religion in itself but merely one of the beliefs of the religion called zoroastrianism. That is not roman religion but persian. It originated in persia and by the way persia today is known as IRAN. Iran is in Asia while Rome is in Italy - in Europe. Zoroastrianism was invented by ZOroaster OR ZARATHUSTRA, the persian religious poet who wrote his beliefs and doctrines in writing called Gathas. This religion is a small sect/denomination that is concentrated in Persia and middle east and therefore NOT very dominant in Rome. Pagan Rome's dominant religion is derived from Greek paganism on which their head god is Zeus while in Rome its Jupiter. You know all these stuff so I don't need to elaborate on these. Another thing, I really do not understand as to where did you get the idea that the nativity story is JUST MADE up by someone. I do not really know your belief in life but it would seem that you are either an agnostic or an atheist. Well, I respect your belief, but I just can't sit here and relax while you infest my discussion board with your mess calling me an arrogant while I cannot find any idea or concept I have written that made me an arrogant. Would it be more arrogant for people to claim that God, I mean the true and living God, is just invented to be able to make a fuss in the world? That I think is the greatest arrogance that I have ever known. For the record, I am not criticizing these people on their way of celebrating Christmas, I was just merely saying my observation and just expressed my wish that their celebration would transcend into something spiritual as well. Of course, I would not force people like you who seems not to believe in anything to do what I wish..That is why it is called a wish as it may or may not come to a realization right? Finally, I do not really know if you were born on the first century for you to be able to say that the nativity story is not the ORIGIN of the celebration because it is just a simple logic. It is called Christmas because of Christ who was born on Christmas day therefore He is the reason for the celebration and should be the main focal point of the celebration. So therefore, if you call it "MY CRITICISM" , then it is justified because that is the reality as stressed in the Holy Scriptures. However, if you do not believe in the Bible and in the historians so bear with it!

Hello matersfish! I respect your candidness and your honesty. But I hope you don't get me wrong. I am not trying to impose to anybody how to celebrate Christmas, I was merely expressing my observation and my wish that people's way of celebration would transcend. Moreover, I am not trying to revert everything back to 400 or 2000 years back as I said, I was just trying to express my desire and wish. Nothing more nothing less. So there you go, celebrate the season the way you see it fit as nobody is trying to make you do something which you do not like okay?^_^

Hello taura2p!^_^ So you were also able to observe that aye? Anyway, this is perhaps the sad reality that we have to face. However, we who know the true meaning of it should keep it that way. We have to remember as well that because everyone is doing it, it is already right. Even if only a few are doing it, we should still stick to what is right. Just as I emphasized in my responses, it is not really bad to celebrate Christmas with friends and family by giving material things and the like but it should transcend to something that is spiritual by thanking God our Father for the gift of His only son our Lord Jesus Christ! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year Taura2p! ^_^ God bless you!

untrue he was born in January and they put Christmas in December to try to get people to fallow them. christens are trying to make people believe that it is the only right religion when in fact all religions are right and wrong. they all have similarities and the best way is to study as many as you can and choose what you want to believe.

Hello slittle. I think I will have to disagree with you that Christmas was taken from a pagan Holiday. First, pagans do not know who Jesus is that is why they are called pagans. Therefore they do not have any Christmas celebrations. Second, the nativity of Christ falls during the Roman Census. During this time people would travel and visit the palace of Herod. The date, why was it not written in the Bible? It is because during that time, the date is no longer needed as people during that time knew already the date of the Census. Now, since they are using a Roman Calendar therefore it will inadvertently fall on the 25th of December. Nonetheless, the claim that Christmas came from a pagan practice is pathetic. People who would like to force this issue are those who are opposing the Catholic Church and that's for sure.

i agree with ladybugr2d2 the religions of the world are all wrong and right and we need to understand them all by understanding the religion that people fall under.

Hello joyfulone! I am really happy upon reading your response. It is indeed a good thing to read that there are still people who are keen in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas. I am just sad to realise that most of the people nowadays are not looking into the real essence of Christmas, hence, commercializing it and letting people think that material things are important in this very holy season. I will indeed have a wonderful evening, hope you will likewise have. ^_^ God bless!

Hello barehugs! Thank you for your response. Are you an Atheist or an Agnostic? Although I respect your opinion on this particular matter. I would respectfully oppose your statement that Christmas began from a Christian Scam. Firstly, Christianity was, is and will never be a scam. You know why? It is because its foundation is no other than Christ the Lord Himself. Secondly, I must agree with you at some point that because of commercialization, people tend to focus more on money, the material things that they can buy and forgetting the real essence of this celebration and the very reason why we are celebrating Christmas. As I said, it is not really that bad to spend for gifts and all but the celebration must not end in the buying of gifts and spending of money but must go beyond it.