IS CHRISTMAS A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY?

I can guess what some of your responses are right now.

I mean it is obvious right?

Well not everyone. Recently, a lot of pundits have been circulating the notion that the concept of Christmas has its inception in Pagan ceremonies hence, the celebration itself should be considered null and void of significance.

Which is why when my younger sister asked me to help her out in a debate relating to this, I plunged into a little research and here is a tip of the iceberg that confronted my ignorant state.

I have decided to leave everything the way it was written to create that sense o debate which in my opinion is the underlying theme of this written work.

 

Before we delve into this debate proper, allow me to elucidate you a little on the concept of Christmas.

The word Christmas is coined form two popular words: “Christ” and “mass”. Every Christian knows Christ as the savior of the world who was sent by God to redeem us from our decadent lives. (And that is absolutely correct)

The word mass as most of us might know is used by the Catholic Church to refer to a church service.

Christianity as we know had its inception in the Catholic Church and before the Protestants and other denominations of the Christendom sprouted, the practice of Christmas had already been established by the Catholic Church.

So Christmas in short means: Christ’s service.

Christmas is that day set aside to honor the birth of the greatest man that ever lived.

Now to the debate in proper.

I am going to base my argument on the basic questions surrounding this debate question.

The first question which is what is Christmas has already been treated in my introduction.

The next question we are going to be considering is: why must we celebrate Christmas?

As obvious as it seems, many people do not actually realize that Christmas is a birthday party. This I think is built on the misunderstanding spurred by various practices borrowed from other religious celebrations which happens to fall on the same day. Practices like sharing presents around a Christmas tree, revering Santa Claus and others which were borrowed from customs of the winter solstice have beclouded both Christians and non-Christians from the real meaning of Christmas because I believe if the true meaning of Christmas is known, there will be no need for this debate.

Christmas which is the day chosen as the birthday of Jesus Christ must be celebrated just like every other birthdays on earth but beyond that, it must be honored and made a holiday because this day is set aside in honor of one whose sacrifice saved the world from annihilation.

When the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse become inevitable hence the importance of the question we just answered.

If Christians and others understand that Christmas revolves around one man and no one else, then they will have a proper knowledge and come to a full understanding that it is a day for Christians to celebrate their lord and savior and also realize that it is indeed a Christian holiday.

Finally, let us take a look at some historical facts:

·        The first recorded Christmas day celebration which took place on the 25^th of December was during the time of the first Christian roman emperor: Constantine

·        Few years after that, Pope Julius 1 declared the 25^th of December as the official birthday of Christ

The question here is, if these great minds who were Christians decided to set aside a day for the greatest man to be celebrated, is the purpose not obvious?

My fellow debater might want to leverage on the fact that the 25^th of December is also set aside for the celebration of other gods. Some examples of which are: Saturnalia, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Yule, Koleda, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and others but the subject of debate here is not if the 25^th of December is a Christian holiday. No, it is if Christmas is a Christian holiday and I dare say from the topic of the debate that my point is made.

So yes, Christmas is a Christian holiday because first as the name implies: CHRIST-MASS and the purpose behind its conception, it revolves around one man: Jesus Christ who as we all know is the one and only pater of Christianity.