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| Christmas is a celebration of Jesus - today and forever. |
Christians Reclaim Christmas As A Holy Day?"
Did you know that there was a time when Christmas was cancelled? Yes, there really was a Scrooge. In the mid-1600s, when Oliver Cromwell took over England, he officially cancelled Christmas.
In 1789, when the first congress was in session under our new Constitution, it was in session on December 25, 1789. Finally, in 1870 Christmas was declared a federal holiday.
There seems to be something magical about the Christmas season. People who seem to never think of anyone else will drop a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket. Just the mention of the word Christmas to a child seems to make their eyes light up brighter than the lights on the tree. People of all religious beliefs make a point to spend more time with family during this season, whether they actually celebrate the birth of Jesus or not.
Businesses often give bonuses, other gifts or just a couple of extra days off to their employees. Christmas just seems to bring everyone together for one particular season more than any other time of the year.
So, why do we celebrate Christmas in December and why would the shepherds be herding sheep in the middle of winter? We can blame that on the Pope. Pope Julius I chose December 25 as the day to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but it was actually called the Feast of the Nativity.
As a child, I always heard that the animals actually spoke at midnight on Christmas Eve. I can remember being in such of a dilemma wanting to sit up until midnight just to see and at the same time realizing that I wouldn't get any presents if I didn't go to bed early. I never really understood why my going to bed early made any difference, but I was never disappointed.
Whether Jesus was actually born in a stable or in a cave doesn't really matter, we Christians celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus. The Bible teaches us to celebrate the birth of Jesus all throughout the year, but doesn't give us any instructions on a particular one day special celebration, but I don't think Jesus would mind if we all got together and had a birthday party for him.
Just try to imagine a man and a woman traveling for miles and miles just to try and find a place for their baby to be born and everywhere they went no one had any room for them. Joseph was totally confused any way because he really didn't understand the whole thing and Mary knew that in just a little while she would give birth to the savior of the world. When Jesus was finally born, what do you think were the first words Mary spoke to him? Do you think she cried?
The Bible doesn't speak much of the pre-teen years of Jesus, but just knowing a mother's instinct, she probably had a special birthday party on his birthday. That's what Christians do. They have a special birthday party on the day that has been set aside as the birthday of Jesus. They didn't invent it, just celebrate it.
My response to the headline would be - I didn't know that we Christians ever lost it as a holy day. Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, today and forever.
Sometimes I still wonder if the animals really speak at midnight on Christmas Eve and this year I just may find out for sure, since I don't have to go to bed early anymore.
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