While the birth of Jesus Christ is certainly a biblical subject and an event worthy of intense gratitude and attention, the Christmas celebration itself is of decidedly human origin, coming from paganism by way of Roman Catholicism (see Matthew 15:1-9).
The religious commemoration of Christ’s birth is so deeply ingrained in western culture, however, that any objection to it brings one under derision as an atheist or a troublemaker. The trouble is that no one on Earth has any idea when Jesus was born – we do not know the year let alone the month and day. December twenty-fifth was selected less for its potential accuracy than its previous association with a pagan sun festival and the missionaries’ willingness to accommodate the heathen with “Christianized” forms of their favorite and indispensable customs. Christmas – a combination of Christ and mass – was born out of compromise with a pagan world. While our Lord’s birth is certainly of God, the annual winter commemoration of it is surely from man (see Matthew 21:25).
That fact makes the religious and church celebration of Christmas a non-apostolic addition to the new covenant – an imposition of human custom upon the God of heaven with as little scriptural provenance as asceticism and the worship of angels (see Colossians 2:18-19). Because of the lack of biblical precedent and approval, what appears to be holding fast to the head is in fact an unauthorized risk (First Peter 4:11, Colossians 3:17).
That does not mean that Christians are forbidden from participating in the holiday altogether. Christmas actually provides every person an opportunity to rediscover the blessing of giving, of family and friendship (see Acts 20:35). Moreover, it might just provide the right evangelistic setting to show the importance of celebrating more than Christ’s birth, but also his life through conversion and discipleship and his death through weekly worship and communion (First Corinthians 11:23-26).
It is futile to pretend that Christmas does not exist and counterproductive to dismiss it without an explanation. While it is unwise and confusing to sing songs like Silent Night and Joy to the World this time of year or to send Christmas greetings with nativity scenes upon them, the days leading up to the twenty-fifth of December provide fertile ground for respectful religious conversation. Many people are temporarily in a mood to talk about Jesus – it’s a mood that will not be repeated until spring and then not again until next Christmas. Take advantage of the opening, not to condescend or offer condemnation without explanation, but to explain “the way of God more accurately” (see Acts 18:26).