Is Christmas a holy day for Christians?

It's that time of the year again. Mistletoe. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Jack frost nipping at your nose. Yuletide carols being sung by a choir. And folks dressed up like eskimos.

Ok. Perhaps Nat "King" Cole is not the best authority on what Christmas should represent (I never did understand how we got from the Incarnation to eskimos anyway...). Even Christians who believe Christmas to be a "holy day" understand that much. The question which remains to be answered, however, is whether or not Christmas ought to function as a "holy day" for the church.

Don't get me wrong. I'm as festive as the next guy out there. On New Year's I'm the one who eats all the collar greens so that I'll be wealthy in the coming year. On St. Patrick's day I'm all about a pint of guinness (and if you have a problem with that, check out Ps. 104:15). On the fourth, I don't feel right if there is not a gigantic, fireworks display. The issue of whether or not Christmas is a Christian holy day is not about festivity.

It is evident that there is no recorded mention in the New Testament of the early church setting aside a day to celebrate only part of the Lord's work (i.e. the incarnation). The regulatory principle in Scripture teaches us that we should consider the Lord and all his works (cf. Ps. 105:2). At its best, Christmas only aims to remind Christians of the glorious condescension of the eternal Son of God who humbled himself by leaving the wonders of heaven and coming to the woes of earth (and not his death or resurrection). At its worst, Christmas is the most carnal of days, where greedy masses sit on their haunches outside stores, waiting until they open to pounce on the latest hard-to-grab toy like a pack of ravenous beasts. However, neither Christmas' less-than-holistic approach to worship nor its worldly abuses necessitates a complete prohibition of it by Christians. The simple reason for this: Christmas should not be viewed as a holy day. To observe it as a holy day is one thing, to observe it as a leisurely holiday is another thing altogether.

Before proceeding, allow me to clarify. 1) There is only one holy day recorded in Scripture and that is the Sabbath. It is a part of the giving of the moral law at Sinai (cf. Ex. 20:8). It is a creation ordinance (cf. Gen.2:2-3). It does not pass away with the old covenant. It is a perpetutal institution (cf. Ex. 31:16).

The Sabbath is the only holy day for Christians which means Christmas is not. The question then arises, "Can Christmas detract from the one, Christian holy day?" The answer: "It can." However, just as Christmas can detract from the Sabbath, so can New Year's, or the Fourth of July, or President's day for that matter. God knew in his creative design that men would establish their own special days that they observe. God created culture (cf. Gen. 1:28). Culture is not evil. It is the malpractices of the culture that are evil. To use an analogy, just as alcohol itself is not evil (or if this offends your parochial sensibilities, food), but the abuse of it is: drunknness (or gluttony). What am I saying? I am saying that to observe the day of Christmas is not sinful. Some Christians will choose to observe Christmas and some will not. That is fine. I will caution those who do observe by warning them not to use their freedom as a cloak for vice (cf. 1 Peter 2:16). To those who do not observe it, I will say be careful of passing judgment on your brother because both of you will stand before God's judgment seat (cf. Rom. 14:10)

Where does that leave us? I think the best way to summarize all I have said is found in the words of apostle Paul, mentioned earlier:


"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God..." (Rom. 14:5-10)


As for me, I will observe Christmas to the Lord. Pray for me that I do not get caught up in the materialism or functionally begin to focus more on this holiday than I do the Lord's day. And I will pray for you as I drink my egg nog (with a little rum too)! Soli deo gloria.