Why I Don't Celebrate Many Holidays
I don’t celebrate many holidays because I see many holidays, some of which I will specify, as a way to relegate tasks to a neat little corner in the calendar, tasks which should be observed everyday, instead of once a year.
Also, there is this effect in people’s mindsets, albeit held unconsciously by many, that nonholidays are days that are less important or are days to be less enjoyed than holidays. The Bible says, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other…” (Ecclesiastes 7:14). God made every day, whether it be a holiday, bad day, or regular day, and one day is no less special than any other. With the aforementioned subconscious mindset, what happens to some people is that they drag along the regular, ordinary, nonholidays, using them to just exist and do, satisfying responsibilities with a frown or inner sadness, and enjoy only the holidays the most, looking forward to holidays as if it is the day that will bring them happiness, failing to see that happiness can be had every single day God has made (yes, even while working!). We take for granted regular days but are excited and eager for the holidays to come. This mindset is revealed when people complain that holidays are so far away, or that more holidays should be added in certain months where it seems a dry spell for holidays is present, revealing discontent over periods of nonholidays, as if happiness can only be had during such seasons.
A more serious negative effect of holidays has been revealed through popularized research. When Usenet groups were popular on the Internet, the group Alt.Suicide.Holiday was developed to look into the relationship between suicide rates and holidays. It had been observed that many people actually fall into depression during these times, when they miss loved ones, who have died, left them, are not with them or have other problems with them, or when they look inside themselves and find dissatisfaction or lack of direction, or when they are deprived of the happiness they believe they should be having as a result of the holidays, happiness they believe other people are getting from the holidays which they do not. If you’ve had a sad holiday, you have an idea of what I’m talking about. A postsecret message reads, “It’s hard to like Mother’s Day when your mother is DEAD I still miss her every day. I don’t need another reminder!” The Alt.Suicide.Holiday site became a popular community and spawned a subculture called Ashers, the name derived from the initials of the site’s name, Alt.Suicide.Holiday; Ashers include people who are contemplating suicide. Today, it is believed by some that many suicides do occur during holidays, which is a sad and contradictory fact, considering holidays are supposed to be days that bring cheer and happiness, showing that this objective is not always realized.
In one of my favorite non-Christian books (per se), Elaine St. James’ “Simplify Your Life”, describing “100 ways to slow down and enjoy the things that really matter”, the 33rd way is, “If You Don’t Like the Holidays, Bow Out.” She says, “Major holidays are among the most stressful, and therefore least simple times of the year. Be honest. How often have you fervently and possibly not so secretly wished that you didn’t have to go through with today’s commercialized Christmas and all the shopping, presents, cooking, office parties, family dinners, overeating, overdrinking, and overspending that’s a long way from simplifying your life and in fact complicates your life a whole deal.” In support of the previous paragraph, she adds, “Studies show that for many people, Christmas is the most depressing time of the year… It’s no big deal to finally admit that the holidays are a pain in the neck and move on to other things we’d rather do.” She says, “Imagine how you’d like to spend the time you’ve previously spent on holidays… then set it up exactly as you’d like it to be.” She concludes, “This year do Christmas your way.” I agree that holidays shouldn’t be done the commercialized way, or the way supposedly everybody does it, or the way supposedly everybody expects you to celebrate it, but rather enjoy the day as the day is supposed to be rightfully enjoyed, and as well as all days should be enjoyed.
Some holidays are celebrated traditionally, without people asking why the holiday even exists. One example would be Halloween. I was glad several years ago that the Philippines, where I live and was born, didn’t celebrate Halloween. No sooner had I enjoyed that thought when I was surprised that suddenly there came Halloween parties, Halloween décor and other Halloween stuff. I was surprised because before Halloween could only be seen on TV, celebrated by Americans. So even though such a holiday was not celebrated in the Philippines, this became another avenue for Filipinos to display their colonial mentality. And what exactly is celebrated in Halloween anyway? Fear? Fictitious creatures? Role playing? Why celebrate any of that? Some say it’s for kids, and in which case I ask, in which way is celebrating Halloween good for kids? Just because some people think it’s fun? But what are kids getting from it? That baseless, ritualistic fun should be celebrated? That’s a good lesson for them for the future. In the U.S., trick or treating has become less fun, with predators walking the streets, or inviting their trick or treaters into their homes, making it a necessity for parents or guardians to accompany trick or treaters, and the past hysteria that said treats could contain malicious elements, from blades to poison, making it a necessity for guardians to inspect the candies before the children enjoy them. Yeah, that sounds fun. Many Christian literature say that Halloween began as a Satanic holiday, which dark forces have injected into society to become an acceptable albeit paganistic holiday. Even if this wasn’t true, my question remains, why celebrate Halloween at all? What is being celebrated on Halloween? Just because everyone does it? Because the other days are not fun?
Another holiday I don’t understand is New Year’s Day. People go about with so much fuss, as if a new year will bring changes. Why expect changes only during new years; changes can and do happen all the time, anytime. I don’t understand why people make new year’s resolutions, when if there is something that needs to be changed or improved about them, it should be changed anytime, and at once rather than wait for the new year. Some people say the changing of the year should be celebrated, in which case I ask, why not celebrate New Month’s Day? Or how about New Week’s Day? Or Happy New Hour? Or Happy New Minute? For all we know, crazy people aren’t really crazy, they’re just celebrating every New Second. Rather than greeting people Happy New Year’s Day once a year, how about greeting people Happy New Day? I believe every new day is to be celebrated, because the Lord’s compassion is “… new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:23) “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Another thing I dislike about holidays is the manner in which some celebrate them. In the Philippines, New Year’s Day used to mean excessive fireworks and explosives, and although such displays are safe in other countries, and are meant to gather people in the streets, in many Philippine communities, it’s not even safe to go in the streets, lest you want to expose yourself to a painful or life-altering accident. Every year, hospitals get so many victims of supposedly fun firecrackers, as some lose fingers or get permanent scars from an activity which is more dangerous than fun. And what’s so fun about wasting all your money to make such harmful noise. Every year, our dogs cringe as they hide out during this time of the year. I wouldn’t mind leaving the country myself during this time of the year. But as Filipinos realize they don’t have a lot of money to spend on firecrackers, I have started to sleep earlier in the morning on New Year’s Day as the noise dies down earlier the past few years. And it’s not just New Year’s Day that is celebrated badly. Many countries have really off traditions that I would much rather be spared of.
Some people, just to celebrate holidays, waste so much money. Some Filipinos have this habit of spreading some amount of a feast for holidays and fiestas, even when they’re not abounding in cash, wasting money they don’t have a lot of that could have been used for better purposes, sometimes even borrowing money and falling to debt just to celebrate a holiday. Again, another bad result of holidays, giving pressure to some people to shell out cash, cash that could have been spent more wisely, even if they don’t have enough of it, otherwise, they will be perceived badly, and those that don’t have the cash to spend fall into depression from the sorrow of not being able to celebrate the holidays like other people can, to which some people sadly remark, holidays are only for the rich.
Although celebrating some milestones makes sense to me, I don’t see why people celebrate monthsaries. It’s like they’re telling the whole world that they’re relationship isn’t likely going to last a year, that’s why they need monthly celebrations instead. If celebrating a relationship more frequently is important, then why not celebrate weeksaries? Or maybe even daysaries? You could celebrate the hour of the day the two of you officially became a couple. With that in mind, how about hoursaries? Why not even minutesaries? Why not go all out and celebrate secondsaries? If you think I’m being absurd now, then I hope you also see why I think monthsaries are absurd.
If you think the last paragraph makes me not very romantic, you haven’t heard anything yet. I also don’t like celebrating Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is one of the prime examples of what I said at the beginning when I said the problem with holidays is that some “tasks” are neatly relegated to one corner of the calendar, when in fact, these things should be done and celebrated every day. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day for love, but does that mean all the other days are days without love? If all days are supposed to be days for love, then what exactly is being celebrated in Valentine’s? Some say Valentine’s is for couples, but isn’t every day special when you’re in a loving relationship? And how about for those who aren’t in a relationship? Some have called this day Single Awareness Day, or SAD for short, emphasizing their feelings of condemnation brought about by this man-made holiday. Some say that Valentine’s Day is a special day where one shows his or her loved one how much he or she loves him or her. But what happens when the anticipation doesn’t live up to the actual date? Trouble, disappointment and sadness, that’s what. An amusing quote from xkcd reads, “Valentine’s Day because love isn’t quite as complicated enough as it is”. Also, if Valentine’s Day is the day you show your loved one how much you love that person, does that mean, it’s ok to not show how much you love your loved one during the other 364 days of the year? We relegate something that should be done every day of the year to a neat little corner in the calendar so that it alleviates us of the responsibility of showing our love and appreciation every single day, as we ought to. We reserve awesome and thoughtful gifts for Valentine’s, but what happens when one of you is taken by the Lord before that day? If you have a thoughtful gift to give, why wait, why not give it now? If you wait, simply for a certain date, it may be too late. When I see something I think someone special to me will like, I get it and give it as soon as I can, even if there is no holiday. Must there be a reason to give something to your loved one? Isn’t your love enough reason? Will a holiday make a gift more special? Shouldn’t a gift be appreciated simply because it was given by a loved one? If given when there is no other reason but love and thoughtfulness, doesn’t that make it even more special? I have never celebrated a monthsary nor an anniversary (note that I have never been married) even though I have been in a few loving relationships, about half of which lasted for years. This is mostly because I have never taken note of the day when the two of us officially became a couple, and I don’t remember a single one, as I always have naturally seen our couplehood as a developing process, not to be attributed to a single day, and that every day with my partner is to be celebrated, as having someone who loves you or you love is such a precious gift, and days pass by without me even noticing how long our relationship has been, without the need to count something we expect would not end anyway, thus removing the need to celebrate the relationship in a preassigned and ritualistic day, as each day together is cause for happiness, and we go out, celebrate and do whatever anytime we feel like it, and can be all the time. There was even a time when a waitress asked my girlfriend at that time and I if it was our anniversary; we just smiled as we didn’t know what to say; it seemed like we were celebrating something, but it was actually just a regular day. If this was the case with women I didn’t end up marrying, I can only imagine how much love there will be with the woman I actually will be married to. And you thought I wasn’t romantic.
Seems to me like Valentine’s Day is actually anti-romantic, and is just a commercialized day for some to make more money. And that’s another thing I don’t like about holidays, that many of them are merely commercial, even if they do create some questionable reason to celebrate. Various companies have created holidays and have tried to push these to consumers, albeit some are more successful than others. A prime example of this is the Philippinized version of the Oktoberfest, which is mostly pushed by a beer company, and is celebrated in the Philippines the whole month of October by partying and drinking beer, not taking into consideration that Germany, where the Oktoberfest originated, does not necessarily celebrate Oktoberfest the whole of October nor only on October. (This was confirmed to me by a German researcher I was privileged to speak with personally who also disputed a belief conveyed to me that all Germans drink beer as if it was merely water.) Commercialization is also very evident during the Christmas holiday season.
You may be wondering, how can a Christian be against the celebration of Christmas, when it is the day Jesus was born on earth. The problem there is its accuracy. Many people have argued that the day we celebrate Christmas was not really the day Jesus was born, meaning the Lord’s birthday is not really December 25. Various evidences have been shown that Jesus’ birth told in the gospel could not have and did not happen on that exact day. Some have even argued that we don’t know the exact day of the birth of Jesus. So if Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25, what exactly are we celebrating on Christmas?
Commercialization has brought the iconic figure known as Santa Claus. Even if some keep tracing him back to a Saint Nick, the current version of Santa Claus is hardly the same. Children have adored the icon, up to the point when somebody reveals to them, “No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus,” leaving some children jaded, disappointed, sad, and untrustful of their parents. Some people say Christmas is for kids, but I would rather teach my kids to be joyous and happy every day of the year, and not have their happiness be dependent on one or more days of the year only; to be happy when there are presents and when there are no presents, when there is much celebration and merry making, and when there is less, as their happiness should not be dependent on external or man-made things, but on something deeper (a relationship with the Lord). But while some believe, or at least play like they believe, Santa Claus and the other icons of Christmas such as the Christmas tree, Christmas carols, and gift-giving, have replaced the supposed original reason for the celebration, much like the Easter Bunny, giving even non-Christians a reason to celebrate the holiday, when the supposed best reason to celebrate the holiday is the birth of Christ.
Some have said Christmas is the day to give love, but again, I ask, does that mean it’s ok to not give love on the other 364 days of the year? If that was the case, such a convenient holiday should be done away with as it becomes an excuse for people to not show love on the other days and still appear and believe themselves to be caring when they become nice one day in a year.
Some admit that December 25 is not Jesus’ real birthday, but nonetheless we use that day to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Christ. And why not celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, for if He did not come on earth and became flesh, where would we be? Destined for Hell, while living a hellish, unsatisfying, miserable life on earth. I agree that we must commemorate and celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, but again, this is something we must celebrate, remember, and enjoy every day, instead of relegating it to a neat little corner on the calendar. And that is why I don’t celebrate Christmas, because the reason to celebrate it should be celebrated everyday, not neatly relegated to once a year, and the fact that it has been relegated to be celebrated only once a year has been more negative than positive, as it seems to absolve us from cherishing Christ’s descent to save us every day. If someone will say, we celebrate this the most every Christmas, again, I go back to my discussion with Valentine’s when I say, why do we have to reserve the best to a certain date in the future when it can be done right now. We have right now, but we don’t know if we still have tomorrow to celebrate.
“”Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial…” (1 Corinthians 6:12) “…some people who think we live by the standards of this world.” (2 Corinthians 10:2) “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:” (Colossians 2:20) “See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
I do celebrate a few holidays, such as my wife’s birthday, when I get married. And there are a lot of other holidays I don’t agree with, not just the ones I have mentioned. But the point of this article is this: If there’s cause for joy, why wait for a man-made schedule? Every day is made by God and is very special, if only we will appreciate and cherish it.
- A. L. E. -
(Originally written: 2008, June 18, 10:30 pm)
Also, there is this effect in people’s mindsets, albeit held unconsciously by many, that nonholidays are days that are less important or are days to be less enjoyed than holidays. The Bible says, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other…” (Ecclesiastes 7:14). God made every day, whether it be a holiday, bad day, or regular day, and one day is no less special than any other. With the aforementioned subconscious mindset, what happens to some people is that they drag along the regular, ordinary, nonholidays, using them to just exist and do, satisfying responsibilities with a frown or inner sadness, and enjoy only the holidays the most, looking forward to holidays as if it is the day that will bring them happiness, failing to see that happiness can be had every single day God has made (yes, even while working!). We take for granted regular days but are excited and eager for the holidays to come. This mindset is revealed when people complain that holidays are so far away, or that more holidays should be added in certain months where it seems a dry spell for holidays is present, revealing discontent over periods of nonholidays, as if happiness can only be had during such seasons.
A more serious negative effect of holidays has been revealed through popularized research. When Usenet groups were popular on the Internet, the group Alt.Suicide.Holiday was developed to look into the relationship between suicide rates and holidays. It had been observed that many people actually fall into depression during these times, when they miss loved ones, who have died, left them, are not with them or have other problems with them, or when they look inside themselves and find dissatisfaction or lack of direction, or when they are deprived of the happiness they believe they should be having as a result of the holidays, happiness they believe other people are getting from the holidays which they do not. If you’ve had a sad holiday, you have an idea of what I’m talking about. A postsecret message reads, “It’s hard to like Mother’s Day when your mother is DEAD I still miss her every day. I don’t need another reminder!” The Alt.Suicide.Holiday site became a popular community and spawned a subculture called Ashers, the name derived from the initials of the site’s name, Alt.Suicide.Holiday; Ashers include people who are contemplating suicide. Today, it is believed by some that many suicides do occur during holidays, which is a sad and contradictory fact, considering holidays are supposed to be days that bring cheer and happiness, showing that this objective is not always realized.
In one of my favorite non-Christian books (per se), Elaine St. James’ “Simplify Your Life”, describing “100 ways to slow down and enjoy the things that really matter”, the 33rd way is, “If You Don’t Like the Holidays, Bow Out.” She says, “Major holidays are among the most stressful, and therefore least simple times of the year. Be honest. How often have you fervently and possibly not so secretly wished that you didn’t have to go through with today’s commercialized Christmas and all the shopping, presents, cooking, office parties, family dinners, overeating, overdrinking, and overspending that’s a long way from simplifying your life and in fact complicates your life a whole deal.” In support of the previous paragraph, she adds, “Studies show that for many people, Christmas is the most depressing time of the year… It’s no big deal to finally admit that the holidays are a pain in the neck and move on to other things we’d rather do.” She says, “Imagine how you’d like to spend the time you’ve previously spent on holidays… then set it up exactly as you’d like it to be.” She concludes, “This year do Christmas your way.” I agree that holidays shouldn’t be done the commercialized way, or the way supposedly everybody does it, or the way supposedly everybody expects you to celebrate it, but rather enjoy the day as the day is supposed to be rightfully enjoyed, and as well as all days should be enjoyed.
Some holidays are celebrated traditionally, without people asking why the holiday even exists. One example would be Halloween. I was glad several years ago that the Philippines, where I live and was born, didn’t celebrate Halloween. No sooner had I enjoyed that thought when I was surprised that suddenly there came Halloween parties, Halloween décor and other Halloween stuff. I was surprised because before Halloween could only be seen on TV, celebrated by Americans. So even though such a holiday was not celebrated in the Philippines, this became another avenue for Filipinos to display their colonial mentality. And what exactly is celebrated in Halloween anyway? Fear? Fictitious creatures? Role playing? Why celebrate any of that? Some say it’s for kids, and in which case I ask, in which way is celebrating Halloween good for kids? Just because some people think it’s fun? But what are kids getting from it? That baseless, ritualistic fun should be celebrated? That’s a good lesson for them for the future. In the U.S., trick or treating has become less fun, with predators walking the streets, or inviting their trick or treaters into their homes, making it a necessity for parents or guardians to accompany trick or treaters, and the past hysteria that said treats could contain malicious elements, from blades to poison, making it a necessity for guardians to inspect the candies before the children enjoy them. Yeah, that sounds fun. Many Christian literature say that Halloween began as a Satanic holiday, which dark forces have injected into society to become an acceptable albeit paganistic holiday. Even if this wasn’t true, my question remains, why celebrate Halloween at all? What is being celebrated on Halloween? Just because everyone does it? Because the other days are not fun?
Another holiday I don’t understand is New Year’s Day. People go about with so much fuss, as if a new year will bring changes. Why expect changes only during new years; changes can and do happen all the time, anytime. I don’t understand why people make new year’s resolutions, when if there is something that needs to be changed or improved about them, it should be changed anytime, and at once rather than wait for the new year. Some people say the changing of the year should be celebrated, in which case I ask, why not celebrate New Month’s Day? Or how about New Week’s Day? Or Happy New Hour? Or Happy New Minute? For all we know, crazy people aren’t really crazy, they’re just celebrating every New Second. Rather than greeting people Happy New Year’s Day once a year, how about greeting people Happy New Day? I believe every new day is to be celebrated, because the Lord’s compassion is “… new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:23) “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)
Another thing I dislike about holidays is the manner in which some celebrate them. In the Philippines, New Year’s Day used to mean excessive fireworks and explosives, and although such displays are safe in other countries, and are meant to gather people in the streets, in many Philippine communities, it’s not even safe to go in the streets, lest you want to expose yourself to a painful or life-altering accident. Every year, hospitals get so many victims of supposedly fun firecrackers, as some lose fingers or get permanent scars from an activity which is more dangerous than fun. And what’s so fun about wasting all your money to make such harmful noise. Every year, our dogs cringe as they hide out during this time of the year. I wouldn’t mind leaving the country myself during this time of the year. But as Filipinos realize they don’t have a lot of money to spend on firecrackers, I have started to sleep earlier in the morning on New Year’s Day as the noise dies down earlier the past few years. And it’s not just New Year’s Day that is celebrated badly. Many countries have really off traditions that I would much rather be spared of.
Some people, just to celebrate holidays, waste so much money. Some Filipinos have this habit of spreading some amount of a feast for holidays and fiestas, even when they’re not abounding in cash, wasting money they don’t have a lot of that could have been used for better purposes, sometimes even borrowing money and falling to debt just to celebrate a holiday. Again, another bad result of holidays, giving pressure to some people to shell out cash, cash that could have been spent more wisely, even if they don’t have enough of it, otherwise, they will be perceived badly, and those that don’t have the cash to spend fall into depression from the sorrow of not being able to celebrate the holidays like other people can, to which some people sadly remark, holidays are only for the rich.
Although celebrating some milestones makes sense to me, I don’t see why people celebrate monthsaries. It’s like they’re telling the whole world that they’re relationship isn’t likely going to last a year, that’s why they need monthly celebrations instead. If celebrating a relationship more frequently is important, then why not celebrate weeksaries? Or maybe even daysaries? You could celebrate the hour of the day the two of you officially became a couple. With that in mind, how about hoursaries? Why not even minutesaries? Why not go all out and celebrate secondsaries? If you think I’m being absurd now, then I hope you also see why I think monthsaries are absurd.
If you think the last paragraph makes me not very romantic, you haven’t heard anything yet. I also don’t like celebrating Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is one of the prime examples of what I said at the beginning when I said the problem with holidays is that some “tasks” are neatly relegated to one corner of the calendar, when in fact, these things should be done and celebrated every day. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day for love, but does that mean all the other days are days without love? If all days are supposed to be days for love, then what exactly is being celebrated in Valentine’s? Some say Valentine’s is for couples, but isn’t every day special when you’re in a loving relationship? And how about for those who aren’t in a relationship? Some have called this day Single Awareness Day, or SAD for short, emphasizing their feelings of condemnation brought about by this man-made holiday. Some say that Valentine’s Day is a special day where one shows his or her loved one how much he or she loves him or her. But what happens when the anticipation doesn’t live up to the actual date? Trouble, disappointment and sadness, that’s what. An amusing quote from xkcd reads, “Valentine’s Day because love isn’t quite as complicated enough as it is”. Also, if Valentine’s Day is the day you show your loved one how much you love that person, does that mean, it’s ok to not show how much you love your loved one during the other 364 days of the year? We relegate something that should be done every day of the year to a neat little corner in the calendar so that it alleviates us of the responsibility of showing our love and appreciation every single day, as we ought to. We reserve awesome and thoughtful gifts for Valentine’s, but what happens when one of you is taken by the Lord before that day? If you have a thoughtful gift to give, why wait, why not give it now? If you wait, simply for a certain date, it may be too late. When I see something I think someone special to me will like, I get it and give it as soon as I can, even if there is no holiday. Must there be a reason to give something to your loved one? Isn’t your love enough reason? Will a holiday make a gift more special? Shouldn’t a gift be appreciated simply because it was given by a loved one? If given when there is no other reason but love and thoughtfulness, doesn’t that make it even more special? I have never celebrated a monthsary nor an anniversary (note that I have never been married) even though I have been in a few loving relationships, about half of which lasted for years. This is mostly because I have never taken note of the day when the two of us officially became a couple, and I don’t remember a single one, as I always have naturally seen our couplehood as a developing process, not to be attributed to a single day, and that every day with my partner is to be celebrated, as having someone who loves you or you love is such a precious gift, and days pass by without me even noticing how long our relationship has been, without the need to count something we expect would not end anyway, thus removing the need to celebrate the relationship in a preassigned and ritualistic day, as each day together is cause for happiness, and we go out, celebrate and do whatever anytime we feel like it, and can be all the time. There was even a time when a waitress asked my girlfriend at that time and I if it was our anniversary; we just smiled as we didn’t know what to say; it seemed like we were celebrating something, but it was actually just a regular day. If this was the case with women I didn’t end up marrying, I can only imagine how much love there will be with the woman I actually will be married to. And you thought I wasn’t romantic.
Seems to me like Valentine’s Day is actually anti-romantic, and is just a commercialized day for some to make more money. And that’s another thing I don’t like about holidays, that many of them are merely commercial, even if they do create some questionable reason to celebrate. Various companies have created holidays and have tried to push these to consumers, albeit some are more successful than others. A prime example of this is the Philippinized version of the Oktoberfest, which is mostly pushed by a beer company, and is celebrated in the Philippines the whole month of October by partying and drinking beer, not taking into consideration that Germany, where the Oktoberfest originated, does not necessarily celebrate Oktoberfest the whole of October nor only on October. (This was confirmed to me by a German researcher I was privileged to speak with personally who also disputed a belief conveyed to me that all Germans drink beer as if it was merely water.) Commercialization is also very evident during the Christmas holiday season.
You may be wondering, how can a Christian be against the celebration of Christmas, when it is the day Jesus was born on earth. The problem there is its accuracy. Many people have argued that the day we celebrate Christmas was not really the day Jesus was born, meaning the Lord’s birthday is not really December 25. Various evidences have been shown that Jesus’ birth told in the gospel could not have and did not happen on that exact day. Some have even argued that we don’t know the exact day of the birth of Jesus. So if Jesus wasn’t really born on December 25, what exactly are we celebrating on Christmas?
Commercialization has brought the iconic figure known as Santa Claus. Even if some keep tracing him back to a Saint Nick, the current version of Santa Claus is hardly the same. Children have adored the icon, up to the point when somebody reveals to them, “No, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus,” leaving some children jaded, disappointed, sad, and untrustful of their parents. Some people say Christmas is for kids, but I would rather teach my kids to be joyous and happy every day of the year, and not have their happiness be dependent on one or more days of the year only; to be happy when there are presents and when there are no presents, when there is much celebration and merry making, and when there is less, as their happiness should not be dependent on external or man-made things, but on something deeper (a relationship with the Lord). But while some believe, or at least play like they believe, Santa Claus and the other icons of Christmas such as the Christmas tree, Christmas carols, and gift-giving, have replaced the supposed original reason for the celebration, much like the Easter Bunny, giving even non-Christians a reason to celebrate the holiday, when the supposed best reason to celebrate the holiday is the birth of Christ.
Some have said Christmas is the day to give love, but again, I ask, does that mean it’s ok to not give love on the other 364 days of the year? If that was the case, such a convenient holiday should be done away with as it becomes an excuse for people to not show love on the other days and still appear and believe themselves to be caring when they become nice one day in a year.
Some admit that December 25 is not Jesus’ real birthday, but nonetheless we use that day to commemorate and celebrate the birth of Christ. And why not celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, for if He did not come on earth and became flesh, where would we be? Destined for Hell, while living a hellish, unsatisfying, miserable life on earth. I agree that we must commemorate and celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, but again, this is something we must celebrate, remember, and enjoy every day, instead of relegating it to a neat little corner on the calendar. And that is why I don’t celebrate Christmas, because the reason to celebrate it should be celebrated everyday, not neatly relegated to once a year, and the fact that it has been relegated to be celebrated only once a year has been more negative than positive, as it seems to absolve us from cherishing Christ’s descent to save us every day. If someone will say, we celebrate this the most every Christmas, again, I go back to my discussion with Valentine’s when I say, why do we have to reserve the best to a certain date in the future when it can be done right now. We have right now, but we don’t know if we still have tomorrow to celebrate.
“”Everything is permissible for me” – but not everything is beneficial…” (1 Corinthians 6:12) “…some people who think we live by the standards of this world.” (2 Corinthians 10:2) “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules:” (Colossians 2:20) “See to it that no-one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
I do celebrate a few holidays, such as my wife’s birthday, when I get married. And there are a lot of other holidays I don’t agree with, not just the ones I have mentioned. But the point of this article is this: If there’s cause for joy, why wait for a man-made schedule? Every day is made by God and is very special, if only we will appreciate and cherish it.
- A. L. E. -
(Originally written: 2008, June 18, 10:30 pm)
