What strikes me most vividly is that Christmas is simply not Biblical. I'm sure you can agree that all the glitz and shopping and symbols inherent in Christmas are not spelled out in the Bible. But exactly what does the Bible tell us about the birth of Christ and how does that historical fact effect our lives. He was born of a virgin and was worshiped by many people.

   And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. . . . .Luke 2:8

   . . ., his name was called JESUS. . . Luke 2:21

    The shepherds went away praising and glorifying God for what they had heard and seen. Wise men came from the East bearing gifts and following a star to worship the new King of the Jews. The Wise men who visited Jesus were said to be Zorastrian.

   The Bible is silent about how to remember or commemorate that event. It truly was not only an important event but also a spectacular occurrence in the history of Mankind. Many prophets prophesied about Him hundreds of years previous as the savior that would save Israel and the world.

    I have found nothing in the Bible to indicate the date or season of the creation of Adam, or birth of Moses, or Solomon or John the Baptist. Although not equal to Jesus, they were significant men of their times and I surmise that how, where, and when they started life is not nearly as important as how, where, and when they ended their life.

Ecc 7:8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning . . .

    We are told what Adam and Eve did to cause the fall of all mankind and that later they grew old and died. There is no cause for celebration there, except that we don't even consider his [birth]sic creation something to celebrate. After 6000 plus years the day would be all but lost anyway unless God chose to make it known to us. We can, however, celebrate and thank God for life every day by prayer, fasting, giving, and doing His will. Moses was taken by God after his death and buried in a secret location. It wasn't a time for celebration nor was anyone told to set aside a special time of year to remember Moses.

   These are just a couple important men of the Bible. There are a whole cadre of great men and women that the Bible reveals their character and lives but nowhere does it say to hold sacred a person's birthday, not even Jesus Christ, our Savior.

God gave Moses specific celebrations and atonement ceremonies in The Old Testament. The time of year, the month, the day and the length of time spent worshiping or celebrating were spelled out precisely and they were told why to do all those things.

   The Passover was to remember the passing over of the firstborn by the angel of death in Egypt and the feast of the unleavened bread. That was for a remembrance to the Israelites of how they were delivered by God.

   They had other rites and rituals they were told to do by the Lord. They were for atonement for sin (which is temporary), which is a precursor to the Lamb of God that came to remove our sins from us. There were many others with an accompanying reason. That came directly from God, the Great I AM. Repeatedly, God says not to learn the ways of the heathen whom He drove out of the land they would possess. Apparently, someone learned all too well the heathen rituals and celebrations. Pagans or heathens have celebrated Christmas, by other names for centuries. From Satan's standpoint when he gets a good thing going he likes to keep it going and take God's worshipers away from Him.

   Again I've not read anywhere in the four Gospels where God said to celebrate the birth of the King of the Jews with any festivities. We should celebrate His Baptism or maybe His transformation on the mountain with Moses and Elijah in attendance. Those are two times when God spoke to all that were present, "this is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him", He said. Yet, there was no date given for either of those events so we can't celebrate them. Also, and this is probably the biggest reason, there is no feast or activity in the pagan world that could be replaced by that occasion.

    Only two birthday celebrations are recorded in the entire Bible and they were both those of ungodly kings, and both resulted in an execution. In Genesis 40:16-22 it was on Pharoah's birthday when he asked Joseph to interpret his dream and afterwards he hanged the baker. And in Matthew 14:6-10 or in Mark 6:21-27, as the daughter of Herodias danced for King Herod, he liked her so much he granted her wish for John the Baptist to be killed. Jesus called Him the greatest among men, Matthew 11:11.

    The prophets of Baal stood 450 to 1 against Elijah, the prophet of God. All day long the prophets of Baal called upon Baal to accept their sacrifice and show Himself. Since the idol was made of wood and stone it did nothing. Elijah taunted them, "Call louder, He can't hear you." Then Elijah put his sacrifice upon the stack of wood and then three times doused it with water. He called upon the Living God of Israel and WHAM! It was consumed, sacrifice, wood, water and all. God surely showed who is the real God of heaven and earth on that day. Now, that would be a day to celebrate.

    I hear what the Bible says to me and I also hear what it doesn't say to me. It was important for me to learn from the Bible that Jesus complied with every letter of the law to the smallest detail. God would not have it any other way. He did not forget the date of His birth. Here's the question you have to answer. If you think the birthday of Jesus is important and God seems to think otherwise, who's right?

JER 12:1 You are always righteous, O LORD

    Near the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus His disciples were told, as He broke bread and drank wine with them, "Do this in remembrance of me." I would take that as a command, which many Christians do and regularly partake of bread and wine (or juice) to reflect on the sacrifice Christ did for us.

    God speaks to us through the Bible. He is very clear on everything that He wants us to understand and to heed. When God wants us to know something and follow certain courses of action, He is never vague about how or when or where to take action. He was very specific in the Gospel of Matthew to give Jesus' lineage back to days of Abraham. He was very specific with Moses. He told the Israelites what He wanted and what He didn't want them to do. When they did wrong He had very good reason to be angry and thrust his might against them. He may have a very good reason to be angry with the typical [Christian] who indulges in a heavy involvement in Christmas.

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