What Is The True Meaning Of Christmas?

     I recently watched A Charlie Brown Christmas with my kids, and I was really shocked by it. It’s been quite awhile since I saw it. Moreover, it’s been quite awhile since I saw anyone on television contemplate the real meaning of Christmas like Charlie Brown was doing in that cartoon. I think it says a lot about how far our culture has fallen away from Christianity. At the time Charles Shultz wrote that story, nearly fifty years ago, our culture was still asking that question in public. Today, it seems that hardly anyone, if anyone, even cares! Looking around this Christmas season, I rarely see any semblance of Christianity, barely even a Nativity set to be found; but rather most of what I see are various cartoon characters dressed up like Santa Claus on people’s front lawns. What has happened to Christmas?!

     When you think of Christmas, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? What is the biggest single thing that you associate with Christmas? If the first thing that popped into your head was Santa and you consider yourself a Christian, let me challenge you to please get back to what’s important. Christmas is about Christ and no one else. Even if you include the more secular seasonal icons, like Santa Claus, in your celebration, please don’t make them the focal point of Christmas.

     Now as a quick disclaimer, this is not intended to be a commentary on how I think Santa is completely evil and bad for our kids. I think that each individual can decide whether the fantasy of Santa is an allowable thing based on what one’s conscience says about it. I really don’t see much of a difference between Santa and Disney, or any other character of the childhood fantasy world. I think the same discernment used to decide whether certain Disney or other characters are appropriate should be used also for Santa. However because Santa is a character reserved for the holiday that celebrates our Savior coming into the world, how we expose our kids to Santa should be given much more serious thought. Therefore, as should become very evident, this is a commentary on how reverent we should be towards our Savior through this holiday, and whether Christmas is in fact a holiday about Christ or Claus.

     I think it’s good to first look at how Santa Claus has become such a prominent part of our Christmas celebration. Most people probably know that Santa Claus is a Dutch and German version of Saint Nicholas, who was actually a 3rd and 4th Century Greek Christian. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra, and is largely famous for putting gold coins in the stockings of three young women in need of a dowry so they could get married.

     Nicholas lived in an area that is now part of Turkey, and was far different from the Dutch-Germanic version that we know today as Santa Claus. First of all, the faith of Nicholas was so strong that he was sent to prison for it because the Roman Emperor Diocletian was persecuting anyone, especially Christians, who failed to worship him as god. Prison is a rough enough place on its own, but just some cursory research on the prison conditions of ancient Rome will show they were nothing like the prisons of today (which are luxury hotels compared to those of the past).

     Furthermore, Nicholas was so passionate about standing for Jesus Christ that at the famous Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., he smacked the heretic Arius in the face during a debate for claiming that Jesus was a created being. Nicholas, as did most of the Nicean Council, felt it was essential to recognize that Jesus Christ, though a human being, was also an eternal member of the Trinity along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. That’s a debate left for another day, but know that it is because Christ is 100% God and 100% man that He is a suitable sacrifice for human beings. If He was a created human being, He couldn’t atone for our sins because He would have been born into sin and thus would have needed a savior Himself.

     Nicholas was really nothing like the Santa Claus of today. He possibly never saw snow, probably never wore a big fluffy red suit, was likely not very fat, and certainly didn’t have flying reindeer. So how and why do we have the Santa Claus image of today? The answer lies in the blending of Christianity and pagan Germanic religions. Most Christianized cultures blended certain aspects of their prior pagan culture with their new faith. Actually, the true date of Christ’s birth is highly unlikely to be anywhere even close to December 25th, but rather was picked for that date to coincide with the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. So if the birth date of our Savior was merged with paganism, certainly the legends of Saint Nicholas aren’t above that either.

     The early Dutch and Germans celebrated a Santa Claus that was also very different from the one we have today. That Santa is often shown as being much skinnier, walked around as a robed monk with a staff, and had a sneaky side kick named Zwarte Piet, which is Dutch for Black Pete. According to legend, this dubious precursor to Santa’s helpers had the job of sneaking through chimneys to bring bad children a bundle of sticks or something rotten like that instead of sweets. Some legends even have Black Pete whipping the naughty boys and girls, and even dragging the worst of them off to eternal torment in Hell. Not exactly the loveable Santa Claus of today, but likely an often used parental weapon to keep their kids in line.

     As a side note, there is a very interesting story behind the other Germanic name we attribute to Santa Claus, Kris Kringle. After the protestant reformation, Martin Luther saw a grave danger in allowing children to be so infatuated with Saint Nicholas around Christmas, much like they are today with Santa Claus. To bring attention back towards Christ, Luther invented a way to compete by getting the kids to fantasize that the infant Jesus would travel the world bringing gifts to children as representing the gift of salvation. The name of the infant carrying gifts is Christkindl, which in English means Christ child. The concept still exists in Germanic cultures today, but in America it morphed into Santa’s alias, Kris Kringle.

     Eventually we arrive at the version that we have today, which is really a blend of the legends regarding Saint Nicholas and Black Pete in one person. Today’s Saint Nick is a heavy set man, who used to smoke a pipe before that became politically incorrect, wears a funny suit, sneaks into people’s homes on Christmas Eve to give presents (and as parents often warn, sometimes coal to the bad kids), and steals cookies, all after landing on their rooftops with his flying reindeer. Even in the best light, does Santa Claus, especially with his twisted legendary past, really have anything to do with Jesus Christ coming into our world, much less honor Him?

     Even the gift giving part is totally based on whether kids are naughty or nice. Jesus came into this world to give us what we do not deserve, eternal life. We can do nothing good enough to earn God’s gift of salvation, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8, 9 (NKJV). More incredibly, we do not deserve it at all, because, “There is none righteous, no, not one … There is none who seeks after God.” Romans 3:10b, 11b (NKJV). Nevertheless, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8b (NKJV). That is what Christmas is all about!

     Please don’t casually dismiss my point as being over the top. Think this out, because there really is a God, who really did come into this world 2,000 years ago to save us from the due penalty of our sin. If we are going to celebrate that event at Christmas, shouldn’t we figure out whether the way we celebrate it is either honoring or offending to God? Let’s take a serious look at what the true meaning of Christmas is.

     Many years ago, in the beginning of mankind’s history, God placed the first two human beings in absolute paradise, free from all forms of disease and pain. God only gave them one rule to follow:

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 2:16, 17 (NKJV). It was really a test to see whether man would follow God, or the evil desires of his heart. Unfortunately for us, Eve was far too enticed by Satan’s bait when he said, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5 (NKJV) (bolded emphasis added). She wanted to be like God, and our forefather Adam very willingly followed her into rebellion. See Genesis 3:6b; 1 Timothy 2:14. After this, mankind was cast out of God’s paradise and into a world cursed with death.

     From that moment, mankind has been waiting for the Savior to come and reconcile us to God. Right after Adam and Eve’s fall, God described the Savior to Satan saying, “He shall bruise your head, [a]nd you shall bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15b (NKJV). This promise was so important, because at the very moment that Adam and Eve broke God’s law, God would have been perfectly fair and in the right if He chose to execute His justice on the spot, killing both of them and putting an immediate end to the human race. God warned Adam and Eve that they would die for their disobedience, and God has warned us through the Apostle Paul, “For the wages of sin is death.” Romans 6:23a (NKJV).

     However, in God’s awesome mercy and grace, He allowed Adam and Eve to live, but in a fallen world filled with sin and constantly subject to death. They did in fact die, precisely as God promised, just not in immediate response to their sin. God has graciously given us the same opportunity to repent from our sinful ways. The Apostle Peter explained why God chooses to hold off on executing his justice on mankind like this, “The Lord is … longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV).

     Just as Adam and Eve were separated from God because of their sin, we too are separated from Him. The Bible makes very clear that we are all sinners, “There is none who does good, no, not one.” Romans 3:12b (NKJV). The only difference between us and our ancestors from Eden is that we not only have transgressed God’s law ourselves, unlike Adam and Eve, we were born into the curse of sin. The Bible records that God told Noah, “the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.” Genesis 8:21b (NKJV). We begin life with the same sinful spirit of rebellion that consumed our ancestors Adam and Eve, and because of that sin, we can never regain the favor of God on our own. That is the reason why the first Christmas was so spectacular. The One whom God promised He would send, way back in the Garden of Eden, finally came!

     For thousands of years, the Jewish nation was waiting for the promised Messiah, the Savior who would reconcile God and man. The Prophet Isaiah said that a miraculous sign would be given indicating that the child was the Messiah, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV). The name Immanuel means God with us, and that is exactly what Jesus was, God in our form and among us.

     The Prophet Micah foretold that the Messiah, One who had no beginning, would be born in Bethlehem, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, [t]hough you are little among the thousands of Judah,
 [y]et out of you shall come forth to Me [t]he One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, [f]rom everlasting.” Micah 5:2 (NKJV) (bolded emphasis added). Interestingly, Micah was very specific in his prediction. There were two towns named Bethlehem in the 1st Century, but the one that was called Ephrathah in ancient times was where Jesus was born. The other was in the northern part of Israel, much closer to Nazareth.

     More than 700 Years after Isaiah’s prophecy, God sent an angel to assure a poor Jewish carpenter named Joseph who was betrothed to a similarly poor Jewish girl named Mary, that although Mary claimed to be a virgin yet was clearly pregnant, everything was okay, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:20b, 21 (NKJV). The Scriptures make clear though, even from the Old Testament, that this Redeemer would not only save Israel, but also people from throughout the entire world. Isaiah records God the Father speaking to God the Son about the plan for salvation saying, “I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, [t]hat You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6b (NKJV).

     Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, some 80 miles north of Bethlehem. So that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and fulfill prophesy, just prior to the birth of Christ, Cesar Augustus unknowingly took part in God’s plan when he ordered that a census be taken of the entire Roman Empire, likely to assess taxes. Each head of household had to travel to their ancestral home town to be registered in the census. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David, who was born approximately 1,000 years earlier in Bethlehem. Thus, they were required by the edict to register there, in the same Bethlehem that was previously called Ephrathah. Exactly as the Prophet Micah foretold 700 years earlier!

     If traveling 80 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, through a mountainous terrain and on the edge of giving birth was not enough, the Gospel of Luke tells us, “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7 (NKJV). Do you realize what a manger is? Most of us probably think of it as a quaint little wooden structure filled with soft hay. Did you know that a manger is actually where animals living in a barn eat out of?

     The manger that held the infant Jesus was likely a sloppy, damp, foul smelling thing under the hay covering it, and yet it held the King of the universe, the Savior of mankind! The Apostle John told us exactly who Jesus was when he wrote, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John 1:1—3 (NKJV) (bolded emphasis added). When John came face to face with the risen Christ during the vision he received that became the Book of Revelation, John was so awe struck by Christ’s appearance that he declared, “I fell at His feet as dead.” Revelation 1:17b (NKJV).

     But when God came into this world as a human being, not only did He condescend from His true nature, He was born into absolute humility. The Prophet Isaiah described exactly this when he wrote:

He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Isaiah 53:2b, 3a (NKJV).

     In continuation with the lack of pomp and circumstance, our Savior’s arrival was announced only to shepherds, one of the lowliest professions of the time, living in nearby fields. However, although the circumstances and surroundings of Christ’s birth were quite modest, the announcement the shepherds heard was quite the opposite:

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”     

     And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
          “Glory to God in the highest,
          And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Luke 2:9:14 (NKJV). Can you imagine the awesome sight of the entire sky being filled with angels announcing the birth of the Savior and King?

     The incredible and history changing announcement of Christ’s birth was captured in a Christmas carol written in the early 1700’s by the famous hymnist Charles Wesley and evangelist George Whitefield:

     Hark! The herald angels sing,

     “Glory to the newborn King,
     Peace on earth and mercy mild,

     God and sinners reconciled.”

     Joyful, all ye nations, rise,

     Join the triumph of the skies;

     With the angelic host proclaim,

     “Christ is born in Bethlehem.”

    
     Hark! The herald angels sing,

     “Glory to the newborn King!”

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Charles Wesley, modified by George Whitefield (public domain).

     Santa Claus cannot, nor ever will, reconcile us to God. All of us have transgressed God’s law, and every single person ever created will either have to pay the penalty themselves for doing so, or we can have our sins forgiven and placed on Jesus at the cross by repenting and trusting in the Savior who voluntarily gave Himself to us on the very first Christmas. The Apostle Paul explained, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1, 2 (NKJV).

     It is only through repentance and faith in Christ alone that we can be reconciled to God. Nothing we do can overcome all the wrong each of us has committed. Paul went on to explain:

having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

 Romans 5:9b—11 (NKJV).

     This is what Christmas is really about! God, reconciling mankind to Himself, despite the fact that the only thing we deserve from God is the penalty that comes with violating His holy and just law. I’m not saying that in order to be a Christian you must abandon all references to Santa Claus. In fact, my kids enjoy Santa Claus as much as other characters of childhood fantasy. What I am saying is please make sure you are putting the emphasis of Christmas on Christ, through whom we have been given the greatest gift of all, eternal salvation! Most importantly, make sure you are reconciled to God by repenting from your sin and trusting in the Savior alone. If you hear His voice, please don’t delay, do as Jesus commanded, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15b (NKJV).