Do you celebrate Christmas?

[MawMaw]

Yes, I do. No Santa though.
My grandbabies all know where their gifts come from.
We celebrate this time of year in honor of
the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

[FlamingZword]

Originally Posted by Ferd

yep.

if people keep saying silly things about being lost if you celebrate Christmas, I am going to go home and sing Oh Christmas Tree too!

ha ha ha this is funny;
I teach against celebrating Christmas, without saying anyone is lost if they do, yet I get told I am lost because I wear a wedding ring.
now who is the bigger pagan?

ha ha ha

should I go home and sing about the 5 golden rings?

[Godzchild]

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

I am not a Catholic thus I don't.

So that makes the many UPC-Apostolics *Catholics* who do celebrate Christmas?

[shag]

Personally, I'm not comfortable in pleasing our Lord thru setting up a tree as the centerpiece of our living room, adorning it with all kinds of attractive things, and then putting our Messiah's name on it. Just don't feel good about it.
Each to their own tho...

[chad87]

We celebrate Christmas in the traditional way. I definitely see the other viewpoint, though.

[MissBrattified]

Yes, and I was raised in a home where Christmas was forbidden. I know all of the history of it, and it was one of those things I couldn't WAIT to celebrate with my own family someday. I completely reject the reasoning behind Christians not celebrating Christmas.

I absolutely love the Christmas season. I love the family time, the decorations, the food, the gift-giving and receiving, the shopping, the charity, the generosity that it sparks in many people, and the traditions. It's always over too soon for me. There are aspects of it that I don't like, but I think anything can be taken too far or used negatively.

We've never told our children the myths about Santa Claus (at least, not in the sense of making the story part of our celebration), and they've always known their parents, friends and families were the gift-givers. However, I do understand that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc., are sort of extended "games" that some parents play with small children and I don't condemn parents who do that with their kids. I don't know any children who grew into adulthood still believing that those characters were actually real, nor do I know any who resented the parents being "liars." It's a fun game that children eventually grow out of. We're more pragmatic parents, so I never liked the idea of our kids not knowing that gifts come from us. I believe it's helped them become more generous themselves, and appreciate things more instead of just expecting every wish to come true under the tree.

We've shared the story of the generous German priest who was later sainted, St. Nicholas, who is probably the basis for the Santa Claus legend. We also share the biblical "Christmas story" and relate it to the idea of giving gifts and being thankful and generous, but our kids know that December 25 is not Jesus' actual birthday. We have traditions, such as making gingerbread men every year, opening stockings on Christmas Eve, etc., and it's a very enjoyable time for our family.

[Antipas]

Christmas is a delightful time of year in which we partake in many different traditions.

[navygoat1998]

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

Yes, and I was raised in a home where Christmas was forbidden. I know all of the history of it, and it was one of those things I couldn't WAIT to celebrate with my own family someday. I completely reject the reasoning behind Christians not celebrating Christmas.

I absolutely love the Christmas season. I love the family time, the decorations, the food, the gift-giving and receiving, the shopping, the charity, the generosity that it sparks in many people, and the traditions. It's always over too soon for me. There are aspects of it that I don't like, but I think anything can be taken too far or used negatively.

We've never told our children the myths about Santa Claus (at least, not in the sense of making the story part of our celebration), and they've always known their parents, friends and families were the gift-givers. However, I do understand that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc., are sort of extended "games" that some parents play with small children and I don't condemn parents who do that with their kids. I don't know any children who grew into adulthood still believing that those characters were actually real, nor do I know any who resented the parents being "liars." It's a fun game that children eventually grow out of. We're more pragmatic parents, so I never liked the idea of our kids not knowing that gifts come from us. I believe it's helped them become more generous themselves, and appreciate things more instead of just expecting every wish to come true under the tree.

We've shared the story of the generous German priest who was later sainted, St. Nicholas, who is probably the basis for the Santa Claus legend. We also share the biblical "Christmas story" and relate it to the idea of giving gifts and being thankful and generous, but our kids know that December 25 is not Jesus' actual birthday. We have traditions, such as making gingerbread men every year, opening stockings on Christmas Eve, etc., and it's a very enjoyable time for our family.

[houston]

Miss B backslid into pagan idolatry. Sad.

[Real Realism]

Originally Posted by MissBrattified

Yes, and I was raised in a home where Christmas was forbidden. I know all of the history of it, and it was one of those things I couldn't WAIT to celebrate with my own family someday. I completely reject the reasoning behind Christians not celebrating Christmas.

I absolutely love the Christmas season. I love the family time, the decorations, the food, the gift-giving and receiving, the shopping, the charity, the generosity that it sparks in many people, and the traditions. It's always over too soon for me. There are aspects of it that I don't like, but I think anything can be taken too far or used negatively.

We've never told our children the myths about Santa Claus (at least, not in the sense of making the story part of our celebration), and they've always known their parents, friends and families were the gift-givers. However, I do understand that Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc., are sort of extended "games" that some parents play with small children and I don't condemn parents who do that with their kids. I don't know any children who grew into adulthood still believing that those characters were actually real, nor do I know any who resented the parents being "liars." It's a fun game that children eventually grow out of. We're more pragmatic parents, so I never liked the idea of our kids not knowing that gifts come from us. I believe it's helped them become more generous themselves, and appreciate things more instead of just expecting every wish to come true under the tree.

We've shared the story of the generous German priest who was later sainted, St. Nicholas, who is probably the basis for the Santa Claus legend. We also share the biblical "Christmas story" and relate it to the idea of giving gifts and being thankful and generous, but our kids know that December 25 is not Jesus' actual birthday. We have traditions, such as making gingerbread men every year, opening stockings on Christmas Eve, etc., and it's a very enjoyable time for our family.

Your experience mirrors my own. I grew up in a family that stopped celebrating Christmas when I was about 11 years old. When I came of age, I told my parents I would be celebrating the holiday. It was during that same Christmas season that my grandmother - the matriarch of my father's family - passed away.

When I told my parents that I would be celebrating Christmas, they followed suit. I believe that the timing of my decision, along with my grandmother's passing, made my parents regret distancing themselves from our family by not celebrating the season. In addition to it being a joyous remembrance of God's plan for humanity, and manifesting himself in the flesh so he could live life on this earth, suffer, and die to redeem us from our sins - it is also a beautiful time of family togetherness, love, comfort, and strength. I do not regret making the decision to celebrate Christmas, and I look forward to the day when my children are old enough to begin grasping the concept of its significance. (Not sure if we'll do Santa with them or not, but if we do, it will likely be in conjunction with the historical basis for the St. Nicholas legend. Call me a Catholic all you want.)