So I was just thinking the other day about how sad it is that we can't even include Christ at Christmas. At school, everybody wants to include all the holidays...Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,etc. And I think that's great! Let's all learn from each other and celebrate together. But the thing that gets me is that if we even mention Christ in conjunction with Christmas, people get all upset. What?! In going to school, we are supposed to learn and be tolerant and accepting. Where does that apply when talking about Christ? Christmas as it is today originated through the Christians celebrating Christ's birth. Yes, we know Christ really wasn't born in December and that the Christians adopted the date in conjunction with a pagan festival. But Christmas as it is has been celebrated for thousands of years to remember Christ. Even if you want to look at Christmas as a historical, traditional celebration you have to include Christ. What is so wrong with saying, "Christians celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ who they believe to be their Savior." If I can learn about Hanukkah and why the Jews celebrate it, why can't others learn about Christmas and why I celebrate it? Taking Christ out of it is in very essence intolerance and prejudice against Christians. When we become intolerant to others' beliefs, it makes it easier for hatred and misunderstanding to grow. In order for us to all live together in peace, we should learn about each others' beliefs and respect each other for those beliefs and not try to change their religious celebrations because it might offend someone! If people don't want to celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday, don't! That's fine! But don't try to take Christ out of it for me. What's all this talk about us forcing our religion on them? They're forcing their beliefs on us by taking Christ out of one our most important celebrations. If people want to include all religions in the holidays, let's include ALL the religions, including Christianity! I wish that we could all just be tolerant of each other and not single out other religions because somebody might be offended. Well, I'm offended that people can't have some respect, especially when they're always talking about accepting everyone!
I know Christ to be my Savior, that He was born in a lowly stable to free the world from death and sin. It's only through Him that we can repent (overcome our mistakes) to return to live with God, our Eternal Father in Heaven. And it's only through Him that we can be resurrected, to live again with our families forever. This knowledge is the center of my life and Christmas is a wonderful time when I can feel connected with fellow Christians, whether they're of my faith or not, to celebrate the birth of the man we know to be the Son of God. Want to celebrate a different holiday at Christmas? That's great! Go ahead and celebrate! I'll let others celebrate their holidays if they just let me celebrate mine! And don't try to take Christ out of CHRISTmas!
Merry Christmas!
*Good Song: "Little Drummer Boy" - Josh Groban
*Good Movie: Star Trek
