The Reason for the Season

I remember one Christmas many years ago we had my mom’s side of the family over to our house to celebrate the holiday. My grandfather on my mom’s side was one of the Godliest men I have ever known. As we did at every gathering, before dinner we stood as a family, hands joined together, and we bowed our heads as my grandfather lead us in prayer. I was maybe 10 at the time, but I still remember my grandfather praying these words:

“Jesus we are grateful that we get to celebrate Your birth today, even though we know that today is probably not the actual day You were born on.”

And when he said that I was like “…wait what?! Jesus’ actual birthday isn’t actually December 25th?” It was so mind-blowing to me that someone just arbitrarily chose December 25th as the day we would celebrate Jesus’ birth and everyone else just goes along with it, even though we don’t really even know when His birthday is.

I thought about that today as I turned on Christmas music, put on my festive flannel and began decorating our Christmas tree. We celebrate Jesus’ birthday on this random day in December, and it’s probably not even His actual date of birth. Why is it important that we set aside time to celebrate the birth of Jesus at all? How has His birthday become the theme surrounding hundreds of cheesy Hallmark movies and Justin Bieber songs? What really is the point of all of this?

Think about your Christmas traditions. What comes to mind for you? For me its baking cookies with my grandmother, an elaborately decorated tree, and grilling steak for dinner. Of course, watching Elf, and the Grinch, and doing the white elephant gift exchange with family. But oftentimes these traditions become what I think of when I think about Christmas. Those traditions are the first thing that I associate with the holiday season, and the birth of Jesus is second or third.

I think it is important to remind myself why we celebrate Christmas, and why we recognize Jesus’ birthday… even if He probably wasn’t actually born on December 25th. If I was Jesus, and my father had tasked me to go to Earth and redeem His creation, I would probably want to roll in on a white pegasus, or at least descend down to Earth on a puffy white cloud. Something really cool, ‘cause after all… I would be there to save humanity. Jesus’ birth was not like that at all. He showed up as a baby, He was so helpless, small and weak. That isn’t the triumphant entry you would expect for the Savior of God’s people.

But that’s Jesus. He came to Earth in the form of an infant, born in a barn, to bring hope and salvation to humanity. And as fun as it is to make lists, drink hot cocoa, and sing Christmas carols, remembering the humble birth of the Savior is why Christmas is so important. Reflect on that today and thank God for sending His son in the form of a baby so that you and I can have eternal life through His redemption of our souls.

“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” – Matthew 1:23