Why have so many people forgotten the TRUE meaning of Christmas?

I'll admit, I'm not an overly religious person, but I am a Christian and I believe in God. I'm getting really sick and tired of people making Christmas lists with expensive gifts like iPods, video game systems, jewelry, etc. I do understand the significance of giving gifts during this holiday (the three wise men), but when did Christmas become more about gift giving and less about celebrating Jesus' birth and spending time with family? I do buy presents for certain people (usually small but meaningful ones) and of course for my kids, because they're still young and don't understand Christmas yet. What's up with full grown adults and teenagers who care about nothing more than getting gifts? Is anyone else tired of this?Why have so many people forgotten the TRUE meaning of Christmas?
Well, ignorance in general. Many people have forgotten the TRUE meaning of Christmas.





Nobody cares to explain it. Christmas has been replaced by the pagan figure of Santa Clause, which comes from the nord god Thor, that traveled in a sledge pulled by two goats: gnasher and gnawer





Today you ask anybody what is Christmas, and perhaps 1% might give the correct answer. The others stay in the eating, drinking, the gifts, Santa Clause, etc





By the way, to all the wise people that have been talking here about the origins of Christmas:


Last night, the priest at my church talked about that.





I thought it was clear, but it seems that is not.





Nobody really knows WHEN Jesus was born. And it doesn't matter.





The 25 December was a holyday in the Roman Empire that celebrated the victory of the sun. It represented the fight between darkness and light ( the sun )





After the Coming of Jesus, due to the similitude, it was chosen the 25 December as the day of the Birth of Jesus.





That was a sacralization of a pagan holyday, making it easier for the pagans to receive Christianity. Nobody ( in their right mind at least ) would celebrate today the original idea of the 25 December.


Only people that keep it floating are those that want to spoil Christmas





What is happening today is the opposite.


The Christian holyday is being transformed into a comercial, materialist holyday.





That is a paganization of Christmas, but nobody says anything against thatWhy have so many people forgotten the TRUE meaning of Christmas?
Pst: the magi from baby-lon gave 3 gifts to their king: law, the latter of such gifting a burial thing, for the burial of the law; for jews at mt sinai, in arabia, notably ';well said';: (read it yourself in Deuteronomy 18:16,17)





Grace --%26gt; Mercy ---%26gt; Peace with you all. Amen.
Very true, most of us have forgotten the pagan roots from which it was stolen. It is hard to recall the significance that our fore bearers attached to making it through half the winter and the emotions brought about knowing that the nights would now be getting shorter.





I would paint a more realistic picture, but I'm not a believer in any religion.
im tired of being tired of it.





MERRY CHRISTMAS!
The adults and teens have been trained this way such as you have begun to train your own children to become one of them. Teach them now so they do not become one of these people that care nothing more than getting gifts.





Now I on the other hand, have trained my kids that the 25th was a time for gifts, no other meaning. A fun time to set up a tree, decorate it and wait for santa. Like your children will be doing.
I am, one of my drivers was upset the other day because he was out of work for a bit and could not give his wife a ';big'; Christmas, I told him God gave him the most precious gifts, His help back and an understanding wife that loves him...I swear to you he cried and THAT to me is the meaning of Christmas, sharing and love :)
Cause is false that Jesus born in December you can´t sustain forever a lie, he born in October (Tishri 15 ) a jweish month is in the bible
When will YOU learn the TRUE meaning of Christmas?


Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus, it was originally a Pagan holiday that was stolen by the Christians in order to get more followers.
what, the birth of horus? the birth of mithra? the sacrifices to the gods for wanting the sun to come back?





which true meaning of christmas?
The true meaning? Do you mean: making up a non-scriptural based holiday and plunking it down at the end of December in order to usurp pre-existing Pagan holidays that occur then?
I quit the habit many years ago.
We are brainwashed, it is time to speak out as you did-hooray! We as Christians know the joy of celebrating the birth Of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! There is no believer that decorates, shops, writes cards, complains on spending so stupidly, that does not contemplate that INDEED THIS IS THE CELEBRATION OF JESUS' BIRTH! I hope more worship services and social get together with companionship and song and food shared in love are the tradition rather than gift giving.
The true meaning has it's roots in pagan religions. Or had you forgotten that?
yea i mean everyone just cares bout wat they're getting ';happy holidays'; it's called CHRISTmas for a reason ppl!!!!





Have a verry happy CHRISTmas :) :P
Because the true meaning of Christmas has changed many times over the years. Christmas today does not resemble anything it was 100, 200 or 1800 years ago. If you grew up in the 50's it has a different meaning than if you grew up in the 70s.


It changed and you didn't
Christmas—Is It Christian?





CHRISTMAS is widely accepted as a Christian celebration by the churches throughout the world. It is observed by hundreds of millions of people.





However, is it truly Christian? Was it of divine origin? Did Jesus Christ or his disciples establish the celebration? Was December 25 the birth date of Jesus? And does it matter whether a person celebrates it or not?





Was Christmas of Divine Origin?


Regarding the origin of Christmas and the day of Christ’s birth, note the following comments from religious and historical sources:





“Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church.”—The Catholic Encyclopedia.





“The first mention of the celebration of Christmas occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar.”—The World Book Encyclopedia.





“The observance of Christmas is not of divine appointment, nor is it of N[ew] T[estament] origin. The day of Christ’s birth cannot be ascertained from the N. T., or, indeed, from any other source. The fathers of the first three centuries do not speak of any special observance of the nativity.”—Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, by McClintock and Strong.





“Inexplicable though it seems, the date of Christ’s birth is not known. The Gospels indicate neither the day nor the month.”—New Catholic Encyclopedia.





If Christmas were important for Christians, would not Jesus or his disciples have mentioned it? Also, the Bible tells us: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial . . . that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) If Christmas were of divine origin, would not God have inspired the Bible writers to say something about it so that Christians could be “completely equipped for every good work”?





The Bible ignores Christmas because it is not a Christian doctrine or practice. It is not of divine origin. As the Sri Lankan Daily News observed: “It is quite significant to note that nowhere in the New Testament was a special day called Christmas set apart to celebrate the birth of Christ. . . . Christmas is of human origin. Christmas is not a part of the Bible.”





Jesus Not Born on December 25


Regarding the date December 25 given for the birth of Jesus, there is no evidence to indicate that this is correct. The evidence shows otherwise.





In the book Celebrations, by Robert J. Myers, we read: “The Biblical narrative of the birth of Jesus contains no indication of the date that the event occurred. However, Luke’s report [Luke 2:8] that the shepherds were ‘abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night’ suggests that Jesus may have been born in summer or early fall. Since December is cold and rainy in Judea, it is likely the shepherds would have sought shelter for their flocks at night.”





In Daily Life in the Time of Jesus, by Henri Daniel-Rops, we are similarly told: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”





The Encyclopedia Americana says of December 25: “This date was not set in the West until about the middle of the 4th century and in the East until about a century later.” Thus, Jesus was not born on that date. And he did not authorize the celebration of Christmas; neither did his disciples or the Bible writers.





Where Did It Originate?


Where, then, did Christmas originate? On this, there is general agreement. U.S. Catholic states: “It is impossible to separate Christmas from its pagan origins.” It adds: “The Romans’ favorite festival was Saturnalia, which began on December 17 and ended with the ‘birthday of the unconquered sun’ (Natalis solis invicti) on December 25. Somewhere in the second quarter of the fourth century, savvy officials of the church of Rome decided December 25 would make a dandy day to celebrate the birthday of the ‘sun of righteousness.’ Christmas was born.”





The pagan celebration of Saturnalia took place at the winter solstice. The word “solstice” comes from two Latin words: sol (the name of a sun god) and sistere (to stop). The winter solstice is the time when the daylight hours stop getting shorter and instead begin to get longer. According to the ancient Julian calendar, the day of the winter solstice was December 25.





Thus, The World Book Encyclopedia states: “This celebration [Christmas] was probably influenced by pagan (unchristian) festivals held at that time. The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras [the sun god].” The New Catholic Encyclopedia says: “On Dec. 25, 274, [Roman emperor] Aurelian had proclaimed the sun-god [Mithras] principal patron of the empire . . . Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.” The book Celebrations states: “The clergy eventually brought the . . . world of the Saturnalia into the Church itself.” And the Encyclopædia Britannica notes that December 25 was regarded “as the birth date of the . . . [sun] god Mithra.”





Most of the customs associated with Christmas—the yule log, mistletoe, Christmas tree, Santa Claus, lavish gift giving, revelries—are also rooted in paganism. They have nothing to do with Christ. As James Hastings states in Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics: “Most of the Christmas customs now prevailing . . . are not genuine Christian customs, but heathen customs which have been absorbed or tolerated by the Church. . . . The Saturnalia in Rome provided the model for most of the merry customs of the Christmas time. This old Roman feast was celebrated on 17-24 December.”





So when at times we hear people say: ‘Let’s get back to the true meaning of Christmas’ or, ‘Put Christ back into Christmas,’ keep in mind that the original meaning of Christmas is a pagan celebration of nature, and that Christ never was in Christmas. And when some denounce the commercializing of Christmas, keep in mind that the feasting and gift giving of the Saturnalia celebration meant business for merchants. So for thousands of years, the winter solstice has been commercialized.





In 1643, England’s Parliament even outlawed Christmas because of its pagan background, but later it was restored. In 1659, it was also outlawed in Massachusetts, but there too it was later restored. And U.S. Catholic reports: “Because Christians in the U.S. . . . associated Christmas with pagan customs, they didn’t celebrate Christmas in a big way until the mid-19th century.”





Dishonors God and Christ


Hence, those who celebrate Christmas do not honor God or Christ, but honor pagan celebrations and pagan gods. And by fostering such myths as Santa Claus, they promote falsehoods. That does not honor Jesus, who taught that God must be worshiped with truth. (John 4:23, 24) Said Jesus: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”—John 8:31, 32.





God’s Word also states: “What fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial [Satan]? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever?” The answer to those questions is that faithful Christians have nothing to do with such things; otherwise they lose God’s favor. Therefore, God’s Word counsels: “‘Get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says God, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’; ‘and I will take you in.’ . . . ‘And you will be sons and daughters to me.’”—2 Corinthians 6:14-18.





Real love for God has helped people break free from ungodly activities such as celebrating Christmas even though this does have an emotional appeal. They do not feel deprived by rejecting a practice that dishonors God and Christ, that in fact honors false gods. They recognize Christmas for what it is—a pagan holiday masquerading as Christian—and they shun it.