Should You Celebrate Christmas?

My father-in-law past out these fliers at church on Sunday. So I thought that I would put this in my post. Very good and something you might want to send to other people of denominations.

"Many changes are taking place among brethren. One change growing increasingly popular is the formal observance of religious holidays, specifically Christmas. Preachers are preaching Christmas sermons and congregations are singing Christmas songs in the assembly and during what they call special occasions for "Seasonal Music." Drama has entered the scene with some using special costumes, performances, and even coral productions. These type observances of holidays in the context of the church as a religious activity is a relatively recent innovation among churches of Christ. Are these practices simply an expression of being non-traditional, or do they pose a danger? At the very heart of this change and all other changes is the question of Biblical authority. We must have God's implicit or explicit approval from His word for what we do in religion (1 Cor. 4:6, Col. 3:17). Does God desire for us to celebrate His birth? The only way to know is to look to the Bible. He has not in any passage so indicated, and the Bible contains all religious truth (2Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3). Neither Jesus nor any inspired writer ever even hinted for His birth to be celebrated. We have as much authority to set aside a day and celebrate any event in His life: such as His transfiguration, His trip to Jerusalem at 12, Etc. The Lord did indicate we are to commemorate His death every Sunday (1 Cor. 11:23ff, Ac. 20:7). Man emphasizes the birth of Jesus, the Bible emphasizes His death. A Christian should, before participating in any activity, measure the activity by God's words, not by what one feels, or how spiritual one thinks an activity may be. To participate in any activity simply because it is not traditional is folly.
What about partaking of Christmas as a national holiday? There are 2 extremes: one says nativity scenes and caroling songs celebrating His birth are good spiritual activities. The other extreme says Christmas has religious origins (which are not scriptural) and therefore any activity (Christmas trees, lights, gifts) is wrong. In (Ex. 34:26) God's people were told not to boil a goat in its mother' s milk. Why? It was discovered that this practice then was the way to approach a heathen god. This practice today is not associated with the worship of heathen gods. The principle today is how a practice relates to current cultural connotations, not its ancient origins. What does the practice mean to society now? Lighting a tree, giving gifts, eating turkey, are not necessarily associated with a religious observance. Thousands of non-religious Americans do this without assigning a religious significance to them. (There is nothing to prevent our enjoying this season in this manner. We can do all this without celebrating Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. (Gospel Journal, Dec. 2000, 26) We should avoid using symbols that associate the holiday with unauthorized religious activity (nativity scenes, Etc.) but Christians are free to observe it as a festive national holiday. To observe it religiously identifies us with religious groups that worship God in vain (Mt. 15:9). If it is observed by any brother as a religious holy day, then such is implicitly forbidden. There is no Biblical authority to observe Christmas or any other day as the birthday of Jesus. The apostles and the early church did not teach others to, nor did they, observe Christmas as being the birthday of Jesus. If Christmas in any way pertained to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) or to making the man of God perfect (2 Tim. 3:16-17) it would have been revealed in the Bible. But such is not in the Bible. Instead, Paul warns us against observing religious holy days that are not authorized by the Bible (Gal. 4:10-11). Thus Christians should not send greeting cards that imply we are observing Christmas as the birthday of Jesus. Neither should parents teach their children this deception at this time of year.(Gospel Journal, 25). Some say to say Christmas is to say Christ. To say Corpus Christi would be doing the same. "Thursday" comes from the worship of the heathen god "Thor." Are we honoring Thor by saying Thursday? God doesn't hold us responsible for such ancient links. So Merry Christmas. (Piloting the Strait, 251-261)." This was written by H.D. Simmons
Hope that this might help anyone understand a little more and maybe use as a teaching tool to help someone else understand. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.