The Over-Celebration of Christmas


I purposely waited until after Christmas to post this in hopes that with Christmas past us, I wouldn't receive hate comments about my "lack of Christmas spirit".

No, I'm not talking about the over-commercialization of Christmas, I'm saying that Christmas itself, from a spiritual perspective is over-celebrated.

Let me first say that Christmas is great. It is a wonderful time to remember one of the most awesome gifts God gave to man, His Son Jesus Christ.

Let me also say that given the fact the Gospel writers took so much time writing about the supernatural events surrounding Christ's birth, it's obviously an important part of the story of Christ.

My problem isn't with Christmas, it's with how much we celebrate it compared to another holiday, Easter. We as Christians give very little recognition to Easter (when compared to Christmas). Yes, we do "Passion Plays", we watch "The Passion of the Christ", we have a big Easter service; but what do all of those things normally focus on? The crucifixion.

Now, let me say that the crucifixion is EXTREMELY important, without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. But in the case of Christ's sacrifice for our sins, without the resurrection we have a dead guy that claimed he was God. It is by Christ defeating death and sin that we can have victory over it through His power that is at work in us today.

I'm sure most Christians would agree with the importance of Easter, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. My big question is "If all of these things are so important, how should we celebrate them?" We certainly don't have many "Easter Carols", Wal-mart won't dedicate an entire wing of their stores to plastic "Resurrection Scenes", and stores won't have massive crowds of people looking for the perfect Easter present.

So, what do we do?

Comments

In the Den said…
Thought number one:
A friend of mine is hosting an Easter festivala at his church this year. Much like a fall festival... only around Easter.

Thought number two:
Lame as this is, we can't truly celebrate the death and resurection of Christ on one day of the year. (Much like we can't celebrate His birth once a year either.)

Thought number three:
Inflatable tombs.
January 3, 2008 at 8:23 PM
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