What is Christmas about? It is Jesus birthday of course. But there are many other influences that give us the celebrations we have today. Here are five common misconceptions about our modern Christmas celebration. 

Misconception #1 Christmas is just another of many winter holidays and a takeoff of the ancient roman celebration of Saturnalia. Author Gerry Bower makes a well documented case in his book Christmas in the Crosshairs that the reason that Christmas was organized by the early Christian church was in order to emphasize the legitimacy of the Biblical narrative and the virgin birth which the Gnostic’s (people with special knowledge) were promoting doubt about. Today, this still remains the main and greatest mission of Christmas to point our lost and dying world to their savior in spite of ourselves.

Misconception #2 A Visit from St. Nicholas commonly known as Twas the night before Christmas is just a cute little poem for kids. Yes, it was a poem written for Clement Clark Moore’s children, but it became much more. It is arguably the most influential poem ever published in the United States. (You can certainly find a more noble American poem, and a more noble author, but not a more influential one.) Effects from this poem and conjunctive works by Washington Irving were major reasons Christmas was transformed from a raucous party and a time of “misrule” to the family focused affair we see today. In a very odd and indirect way, it was a small precursor to the prophesy in the book of Malachi. That is the turning of the fathers toward their children and children to their fathers. 

Misconceptions #3 A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was the topping off to a great writing career. In fact, his career was suffering at the time he wrote A Christmas Carol and Christmas was at one of its lower points in its popularity. Dickens book reignited both Christmas and Dickens career and placed a greater emphasis on charity and giving. A Christmas Carol helped make Christmas what it is today. It was not just one more story thrown into the mix but was a story that helped redefine the celebration. And why shouldn’t the greatest secular story that helped make the greatest holiday in the world be about the new birth of a sinful man?

Misconception #4 The wise men showed up with the shepherds at the birth of Jesus. Although it makes for a great story and painting, it isn’t true. The birth of Jesus is by far the most fictionalized part of the Bible many times over, the wise men absolutely did not show up at the birth and most likely showed up a year and a half to two years later. God’s real work is often slower than our fictionalized minds can bear.

Misconception #5 All Christians celebrate Christmas. Though it is rare to find a few these days, the Puritans and many of the Reformers did not celebrate Christmas because at the time it was seen as just one more of the many saints days promoted by the corrupt Catholic church. The emphasis was more on drinking and extortion of gifts than Jesus. When Christmas became more of a family celebration due to social changes, even in New England where Thanksgiving had reigned supreme, Christmas picked up steam and most Christians dropped their concern and adopted the day to celebrate Christ’s birth with believers all around the world making a worldwide day of evangelism. 

Praying this for all of us 

I pray that we would enter Christmas with the joy and amazement that the shepherds must have shown that first night in Bethlehem. I pray what really excites each of us this Christmas is that when we walk through the grocery store and hear the hymns playing it warms our hearts and encourages us more than the price and quality of the goods for sale. That hearts of the families would be turned to their children and hearts of their children would be turned in toward their families during this season and for the rest of the year. I pray that believers in Jesus Christ would unite all around the world to proclaim the amazing arrival of the incarnate Christ and understand its impact and importance. I pray in our hearts that what is amazing to us is that God himself came to rescue us from our own self destruction as a baby born in poverty who overcame, transcended, and will eventually crush the greatest powers of this world.