Everything Christmas

Our challenge for the Scrappinmoms Idol 2 finale was posted in their blog yesterday. After arriving from a children's party my sons attended, i browsed through the scrappinmoms blogsite and saw the challenge requirement: "Everything Christmas". Now, this thought would probably bring good cheer to a majority of scrappers, maybe even the rest of the 9 finalists, what subject would be easiest to scrap, right? But not me. I stared at the challenge criteria and felt disconcerted to say the least. Don't get me wrong, i do have a lot of christmas memories as a child growing up in a catholic family, and they were all pleasant. I just don't feel comfortable scrapping the subject and its worldly traditions given my present faith and conviction.

Faith and conviction - those are two very big words that most people find uncomfortable to discuss and some even consider as taboo; But i would share them to you anyway. You see, i have converted to christianity about four years ago. Christianity you say? But isn't christmas supposed to be all about christianity? Its the celebration of Christ's birth right? Well.... Not to me, anyway.

You see, my faith involves not believing in any other doctrine but the Lord's and His doctrine is found in the Bible. I read the Bible everyday and try my bestest to follow what it says that i need to do in order to be saved. What has this got to do with christmas, then?

Well, i believe that it has never been known when the exact birth of Christ was, and for sure it wasn't on Dec. 25. Christmas, in all it wonderful celebrations and traditions has been celebrated way before Christ was born. How can it then be suddenly about Jesus and His birth?

"Some legends claim that the Christian "Christmas" celebration was invented to compete against the pagan celebrations of December. The 25th was not only sacred to the Romans but also the Persians whose religion Mithraism was one of Christianity's main rivals at that time. The Church eventually was successful in taking the merriment, lights, and gifts from the Saturanilia festival and bringing them to the celebration of Christmas.
The exact day of the Christ child's birth has never been pinpointed. Traditions say that it has been celebrated since the year 98 AD. In 137 AD the Bishop of Rome ordered the birthday of the Christ Child celebrated as a solemn feast. In 350 AD another Bishop of Rome, Julius I, choose December 25th as the observance of Christmas." (an excerpt from The History of Christmas found in holidays.net)

Because of my belief and conviction, we have no longer celebrated christmas how the rest of the world celebrates it. We do away with the trimmings and ornamants associated with the holidays (christmas trees, wreaths, santa claus). I do allow my children to participate in gift exchanges in school and relatives as i explain to them that this is done for the fellowship with other children. But, my children now know that Dec. 25 is not Jesus' birthday and that santa claus definitely does not exist. What i always tell them though is not to forego of the love, respect, sharing, and camaraderie that the holidays tend to bring and to practice goodwill to all men and celebrate Jesus' birth not just in december, but for the rest of the year as well.

"Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind." ~Mary Ellen Chase