The Real Meaning of Christmas

The Real Meaning Of Christmas

It's that time of year again. December has come and with it all the joys of Christmas. But what is the real meaning of Christmas? Is it the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, turkey dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room, and shouts of "Merry Christmas" to those who pass us in the streets? Is this really Christmas?

For many people, Christmas is a time of sorrow. They don't have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmastime when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons. Turkey dinners may be only a wish and not a reality for some.

Yet, Christmas can be a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. You see, Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Christ child. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event. They knew this was no ordinary baby. The prophets had told of His coming hundreds of years before. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special child.

Luke 2:4-19 (NIV) says:

"So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Why did He come? Why did God send His son to this sometimes cruel and hard world? He sent Jesus to us so that one day, He would grow up to become a very important part of history. His story (history) is one of truth, love, and hope. It brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins.

Jesus was born so one day the price could be paid for the things we have done that are wrong. The Bible says that all have sinned. We are all born with a sin nature. We do things that do not please God. Through the sins of Adam and Eve, we have all inherited that sin nature. We need to have that removed. The only way is through Jesus. Jesus came so He could die on the cross for ALL of our sins. If we believe that Jesus died for our sins, we can ask Him to come into our hearts and forgive us. Then, we are clean and made whole. We can know that heaven is a place where we can go to when this life is over.

"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness." 1 John 1:9(NLT)

We can truly be happy at Christmas! No matter what may be happening, we can know that we are His children. We then become sons and daughters of God. Heaven will be our home one day.

Look at Christmas in a new way this year. This is the year to invite Jesus into your heart. You will then have a "Merry Christmas." The joy and peace you will receive will last all year as you look to God for all your needs to be met.

Jesus Is The Reason For The Season! Rejoice!

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46 Comments

26 days ago

Raed Noor

Never would the Messiah disdain to be a servant of Allah, nor would the angels near [to Him]. And whoever disdains His worship and is arrogant - He will gather them to Himself all together.

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330 days ago

Cynthia Gilbert

Jehovah’s Witnesses, do not participate in many holiday celebrations, such as: Christmas, which is, according to McClintock and Strong’s Cyclopoedia, “ … not of divine appointment, nor is it of New Testament origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the New Testament, or, indeed, from any other source.”

An interesting side point about the Christmas holiday is that shepherds were in the fields at night at the time of Jesus’ birth. The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . Passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.” (New York 1962) Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.

Also, note what The Encyclopedia Americana informs us: “The reason for establishing December 25 as Christmas is somewhat obscure, but it is usually held that the day was chosen to correspond to pagan* festivals that took place around the time of the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, to celebrate the ‘rebirth of the sun’ …The Roman Saturnalia (a festival dedicated to Saturn, the god of agriculture and to the renewed power of the sun), also took place at this time, and some Christmas customs are thought to be rooted in this ancient pagan* celebration.” (1977), Vol. 6, p.666.

You may wonder, is there any objection to sharing in celebrations that may have unchristian roots as long as it is not done

for religious reasons? Ephesians 5:10,11 says, “Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord; and quit sharing with

them in the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness, but rather, even be reproving them.” Also note 2 Corinthians

6:14-18, “What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness?”

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361 days ago

Mona Octavri

“Give Thanks To Our Lord Jesus Christ “

...Give thanks in all circumstances…. for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you….

(Colossians 3:17)

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361 days ago

Mona Octavri

"We Are Grateful for God’s Love"

...Give thanks to the Lord...for he is good...his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34).

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362 days ago

Gary

Yes, Jesus needs to be the reason for the season praised and glorified by all Christians without all the heathen (pagan) rituals such as the Christmas Tree (Jeremiah 10:1-4), Santa Claus, Yule Log, etc. Christians need to always seek the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts but, it is still the truth. So please make sure you are celebrating Christmas for the right reason, the birth of our Lord and Savior JESUS CHRIST !! Regard the day unto the LORD. (Romans 14:6)

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362 days ago

ElleniK

Thank you Martha for this devotion, Christmas the celebration of the gift of God the birth of Jesus God's only son our savior. He came to this world to pay the price of our sin. by believing in him we can have eternal life. Thank you father for the great gift and the light who light up our darkness. Isaiah 9) the people walking in darkness have seen great light. On those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Eternity. If God wouldn't send his son, if Jesus wouldn't died for our sin, we would die in our sins and we would go to hell forever the place nobody should go. Thank you Almighty God for your great love and mercy, thank you Jesus my savior who set me free from the power of darkness and sins. Bless this Christmas time for each one of us. Help us to focus on the meaning of Christmas. Light up our hearts. Also reveal your self to thiose who are in darkness they can see your great light, peace and joy the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Bless be your name forever amen.

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362 days ago

Betty Mitchell

Yes what child is this our savior Jesus Christ is bon as a baby in a manger doing the month of Dec 25-2016 Alleluia how about that you saint of the most high child of God our savior Jesus who love us so much who chosen to be bon in the world for us so we can have eternal life with him one day amen. From: sister Betty Mitchell, 12-15-2016 may our good Lord God savior Jesus blessed you and smile on you amen.

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365 days ago

? 5Kley.BeauPhineas

yo what be the meaning da christmas G

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365 days ago

? 5Kley.BeauPhineas

yo was up G

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367 days ago

Louie DImacali

thanks you for this article please allow me use some of the content of this post thank you so much

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370 days ago

Luke Henry

This is the reason for Christmas God bless you all

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371 days ago

Chloe Wright

Is Jesus real

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2 replies

371 days ago

david brick

Yes Chloe, Jesus IS real! Thank God that He is real because this world, this life, can be a pretty hard and hopeless place sometimes. I know in my life that Jesus has given me purpose for now, and confidence for the future. The more I read and study the Bible, the more I am certain it is true and reliable. God bless you this Christmas season!

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364 days ago

lee

yes

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376 days ago

sherri jones

I am truly thankful for the best GIFT ever. Jesus came to this world for me and so I could have a life with my Father. He came so that I would live again. I can never leave out the valuable reason for this season. Jesus is it! He's everything to me and I thank God for allowing Jesus to pay the ransom for my sins. He brought God's word to life so I'd know how to live in this dark world. He also teach me more than I knew before. I praise God for sending His only Son for me so I could also become a daughter of His. Who would have known something so tiny as a baby would grow up one day into a powerful teacher and our SAVIOUR. I understand fully about gifts brought unto Jesus and the praise but, people tend to take what happened and put gift paper and a bow on the meaning. It's not about carnal gifts, it's about spiritual gifts. The meaning has been left out of so many homes today so, all some want to think about is tradition. It's really disturbing. I hope that one day everybody wakes up and realize that if Jesus wasn't born.. We would not have life nor be reconciled back to God. Because of God allowing this beautiful baby coming here to save us.. We can be saved.

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718 days ago

TreyMcNabb

Some of us are single, disabled, and hurting from unanswered prayers of longing for love. Some of us are in living situations that we did not choose unable to make changes that could benefit our health and well-being due to financial reasons or the unyielding habits of "loved ones." I am having a miserable Christmas. However, I am still thankful for the meal I will get, the presents I am giving including some portraits taken of me a few years ago that I thought I had lost, and especially for Jesus coming into this world and my life.

God bless and hope your Christmas is better than mine,

Trey

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1 reply

714 days ago

Moderator

Thanks for commenting, Trey. Happy Holidays!

CBNMary

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719 days ago

Benjamin Okumu

This is quite enriching spiritually and helps to shade light on the true meaning of celebrating Christmas. The point here is not the date when Jesus was born but the fact that He was born and the reason as to why He was born and that is to shade light on a dark world.

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1 reply

715 days ago

Moderator

Very well put, Benjamin!

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720 days ago

Dibya Ranjan Dandia

Why Christian people worship hole night on 24 the december what is reason behind it

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3 replies

718 days ago

Manish Patel

Dear I m not a Christain and don't know more about Christianity but this might be the fact the ALMIGHTY LORD is going to take birth so they are welcoming him and also praying for mother Mary for the pain she took.

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1 reply

715 days ago

Moderator

Thank you for your input, Manish!

CBNMary

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715 days ago

Moderator

As Christians, we worship and praise God for sending our Savior, Jesus Christ, to the world. We love worshipping God all year round. Thanks for reaching out to us. Blessings!

CBNMary

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720 days ago

samaraweera3

where can i find Jesus was born in December 25th or December , in Bible or any

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3 replies

719 days ago

Asami Takahashi

Actually there is no date in the said birth of jesus in the bible christians just believe it was december because of the brightest star

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1 reply

715 days ago

Moderator

Thanks for posting, Asami!

CBNMary

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362 days ago

bettymi86375594

Hi Samara Weera Bible Luke 2 chapter 1- 33 verbs. speak about our savior Jesus birth amen.

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720 days ago

K. Mueller

This has shown me the true meaning of Christmas forever!

Sidney, age 8

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1 reply

720 days ago

Moderator

Awesome! We're excited to hear this good news. Merry Christmas!

CBNMary

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721 days ago

Keisha Thomas

Thank you this told me a lot about Christmas and I read it to my baby

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725 days ago

Vincent M Cornelius II

So what exactly is Christmas? What's with Santa, the tree, the lights, the gifts, etc.?

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732 days ago

RevBirriel

It is true that everything sounds so beautiful and warm, but let us get historically educated on the true origin of what it is celebrated as Christmas. I guarantee you it will change the way you look at this celebration.

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735 days ago

Lamonsjl

Thank you for such a well written, well explained article about Christmas. It is so important for us to keep the true meaning of Jesus' birth in focus and reinforce it to all. God bless you all!

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1 reply

734 days ago

Moderator

We're glad you enjoyed the article. Jesus is the reason for the season! Bless you, Lamonsjl!

CBNMary

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735 days ago

pastor raghu

Praise God fof such a wonderful thoughts about Christmas . please pry here in my church all members are from different religion bt now they are strong in faith most of they are from very poor background .. After coming to Jesus they not celebrate any festivals of their religion. . BT they celebrate Christmas and they call their relatives and friends who don't know about Jesus and give them some snacks like cake, banana along with a new testament. And share the Gospel. . please pray for the people .. And for their needs to celebrate Christmas. . thank you

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1 reply

734 days ago

Moderator

We're praying, Pastor Raghu.

CBNMary

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738 days ago

mjbfsc

thank you martha for our share. i love christmas. i love everything about it. Jesus as i know him shines all the time. christmas is only once a year and every thing shines. so let it be. at least what christmas represents is to those who dont believe it is a constant reminder, that it is not going away and neither is Jesus. keep the faith / peace & love

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740 days ago

InMaine

Our church family has been gathering donations of gifts for a local economic ministry (thrift store). I would like to surprise them on the Sunday before Christmas (when we're supposed to be doing a pageant) with a slide show of themselves gathering all their gifts and having fellowship together. Can you help me with an introduction to this slide show? I'm trying to think of a way to say that what they're about to see is God's love in action. His gift of His Son, given to us so that we might give to others.....just need a more eloquent, more biblically based way to introduce the photo presentation. Thanks!

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