It's also an occasion where Christians highlight the birth of Christ and his purpose on that day, even if it wasn't the actual day He was born. It's still an occasion that Christians can use for His glory. I'd say that's better than just ignoring the day altogether, or protesting it as pagan.
Even Paul the Apostle was able (in Acts 17) to talk to those in Athens about Christ by using their extensive idol worship to introduce them to Christ.
There is so much attached to Christmas that is pagan in origin, I have difficulty understanding how “Christians” can have anything to do with it. When I found out where these customs come from, I was appalled and dropped Christmas because I knew it would be offensive to God and his son.
Christ is not honored by those who paint a totally different picture of Christ’s birth than what is stated in the Bible.
1) No one knows the date of Jesus’ birth, so adopting a pagan celebration on a date celebrated by those who honored a false god, is unconscionable! It is offensive to the true God who told his people NOT to touch spiritually “unclean” things.....and it is offensive to his son who never said thing about birthdays because these were not celebrated by God’s people on account of their pagan connection to spiritism.
2) Reading Matthew Ch 2 tells a vastly different story to what Christendom believes it does......
The birth of Christ was not announced to pagan Babylonian astrologers, but to Jewish shepherds who were tending their flocks outdoors at night...something they would not have done in the cold of winter.
The magi (whose name is derived from “magic”) were practicers of what God condemned, so when they saw “his star” their journey to follow that star did not lead them to Jesus but to Herod, who then hatched a plot to have him murdered. Only after Herod had determined to kill the new “king of the Jews” did the star lead them directly to the house (not the stable) where Jesus was no longer a newborn, but a “young child” and living in a “house” with his parents. Herod had all the babies “two years of age and under” put to death after having ascertained the time of the star’s appearance from the astrologers, and the foretold place of his birth in Jewish scripture.
The star that takes pride of place on Christmas trees is really honouring satan’s attempt to have Jesus killed. How offensive is that?
Read up on what Saturnalia meant to the Romans and what contribution pagan Norse trappings were added over time to create “Christmas”. I cannot imagine anything more offensive to Yahweh!...except perhaps Easter, which didn’t even try to be “Christian” because they retained the name of the pagan fertility goddess who was honored at that time of year. Rabbits and eggs were her symbols, and are still the main feature for most people, especially children. Hot cross buns were pagan too....deftly adjusted to fit in with the “cross” of Christ.
The cross was never a symbol of early Christianity. Since the first Christians were all Jewish, no images were ever used in worship. They knew what God had stated in the Ten Commandments.....not to “make images of anything” to be used in worship. (Exodus 20:4-5) This would include statuary and icons that take pride of place in buildings that are supposedly used for the worship of the true God, and which symbols are often used to decorate the homes and bodies of those who think it appropriate to wear a cross as jewellery or as a statement of one’s Christian stance or as a member of the clergy. That is idolatry.
Not all images are condemned in the scriptures, only those used in connection with our worship. Like other things, the cross became an idol in apostate Christendom, hundreds of years after Christ’s death. The “weeds” introduced many things over time.....you can trace all your religious doctrines back to the RCC....which in turn can be traced back to Babylon. Who do you think “Babylon the great “ is, and why we are told to get out of her? (Revelation 18:4-8) Original Babylon was the springboard for all the world’s false religions....it is a global empire created by the god of this world. All worship that does not go to the true God, goes to this ‘wannabe’ god by default.
If you can research these things and not feel the same disgust as we do on finding out where these cherished activities come from, then the heart has been taken over by someone who is not the true God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) According to the scriptures, it is the despised “few” who are on the cramped road to life, but the “many” who are on the wrong road, a super highway to destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; John 15:18-21)
The day will come when God reveals all.....and we will all know then, if we have ‘shaped up’ or whether we will ‘ship out’...