What’s Behind the Tradition

I went to senior high Sunday school with my youth group student’s this morning. We actually watched a film made for kids much younger but it had some very helpful elements for explaining the traditions we have at Christmas.

First off was explaining the name Christmas, this comes from early, mostly Catholic, churches celebrating Christ’s Mass which celebrated Christ’s birth, Christmas simply combines the two words. 

As for the chopped down tree in your house, that comes from a German tradition where people had been worshipping a maple tree, but then Christian missionaries where able to convert them and then encouraged them to use the fir tree as a symbol of their new faith, as it remained evergreen like God’s love for them, and the tip points to heaven, our eternal home. 

The stockings on your mantle come from a separate holiday, that of Saint Nicolas, a rich man who gave gifts throughout the season and would leave the gifts in stockings. His holiday got mixed with Jesus’ and now because of how different cultures pronounced the name he’s largely known as Santa Claus. So yes the tradition of Santa Claus is based on a real person, but he doesn’t live at the north pole, come down the chimney, or make toys for that matter. He was a follower of Christ who shared his good fortune with the less fortunate, and because he was celebrated on Dec 6 it has over time led to somewhat combined holidays/celebrations.

So enjoy the traditions of Christmas this season, but realize that the real reason for Christmas is celebrating Christ and how He humbled himself and came to Earth as a baby, and died for our sins, so that anyone who believes in Him can be saved. 

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8-9

Adapted from information presented in “Buck Denver Asks ‘Why Do We Call it Christmas?” https://shop.jellytelly.com/products/why-do-we-call-it-christmas