Christmas is the biggest holiday in American culture. The average American is expected to spend more than $1,000 on gifts and decorations in 2018 alone. Many cities will decorate its streets with images of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Grinch and Jack Frost, while town squares will display marquees of ‘’Noel,’’ ‘’Happy Holidays,’’ and ‘’Merry Christmas,’’ in anticipation of the season’s festivities. Most everyone will take at least one day off from work in hopes of celebrating together with family. Literally, millions of passengers will fill airports and cram themselves into tiny seats on planes in order to be with loved ones. Beyond our country’s borders, the holiday’s popularity is so widespread that even largely Muslim countries that spend most of the year ignoring the Son of God will pause to celebrate his birth. Imagine Islamic women wearing the hijab decorating Christmas trees and you get an idea of just how popular this holiday is around the globe.
So, “WHY CHRISTMAS?” Do we simply celebrate it to spend money we don’t have, to give and receive gifts we don’t need, and eat like we have been on a 40 day fast and put on wait that we definitely did not need to put on?
Genesis 3:15 tells us the why of Christmas, and in a culture that attempts to rid itself of guilt and shame through books, like Healing the Shame that binds You (Health Communications, Inc.). we desperately need to understand “Why Christmas?”