Children's Supplementary Lesson

Subject: "Celebrating Christmas"

I. Lesson 2 - The Person and Life of the Lord Jesus Christ (click on weblinks below to download file)

The Details of the Birth of the Lord Jesus Christ – actual lesson

Remembering Christmas (Watchman Nee) – additional reference material (Chinese Version)

II.  Celebrating Christmas

A. The birth of Jesus Christ is one of the most important happenings in the whole universe. However, remembering it by CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS has not been commanded by God nor has it ever been mentioned in the Bible as among the things a Christian should do.

B. No precise date of the Lord's birth is recorded in the Bible. This indicates that God never intended for us to celebrate His birthday.  It definitely could not have been December 25 because the cold weather of the night from December to February is very piercing, and it was not the custom of the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October.  Besides, Mary gave birth to Jesus while they were traveling to Bethlehem for the tax census.  It could not have been in winter because it was considered not fit for a pregnant woman to travel during winter.

C. Christmas was not celebrated by the early believers until about 350 A.D. when the Roman emperor Constantine, in an effort to appease the nominal converts who were unwilling to give up their heathen feasts, adopted December 25, the date used by several heathen religions to honor various gods, as the birthday of Christ.

D. Concerning the Christmas tree, in pre-Christian times, the Scandinavians worshipped trees.  In Egypt, the date palm was brought indoors as a religious symbol. In Rome, the fir tree was decorated with toys in honor of Saturn's birthday.  Also, candles (now light bulbs) were fastened to trees to indicate the return of the sun to the earth after winter.  The Druids honored Odin by tying gilded apples and other offerings on tree branches.  These are exactly the things we find hanging on the Christmas tree.  They are all heathen practices carried over by people in their celebration of Christmas today.  The Bible clearly condemned this heathen practice of putting Christmas trees at home (Jer. 10: 1-4a). We should not have anything to do with it.

E. The belief that Santa Claus enters the house through the chimney comes from an old Norse legend. They believed the goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the house.  This is a purely pagan superstition.  To participate in Christmas celebrations in whatever form is an abomination to the Lord.