Why I as a Christian Choose to Celebrate Holidays
With the holiday season finally in swing and the continued expansion of social media, I have seen many posts and opinions concerning the reasons why Americans, Christians and Blacks should not celebrate holidays. I decided to mildly address this issue, since I fall into all three categories, in hopes to helping some open minded people (not everyone will be) understand why I personally choose to celebrate holidays. Before I begin I would like to ensure that everyone understands that I am only expressing my personal views and I am in no way speaking against anyone in a negative way. I believe that everyone has a right to their opinions and that we as a people must learn to respect the thoughts of those who do not feel as we do.
There is a misunderstanding that a lot of us who choose to celebrate holidays are ignorant to our history as well as the word of God. In no way are we in the dark when it comes to how this land was obtained. We do understand that the Native Americans were mistreated and that what was once theirs was stolen including a number of their lives. This is why many of the Native Americans honor the “National Day of Mourning” on Thanksgiving Day. However, in addition to remembering their ancestors who were mistreated, many of them also choose to celebrate Thanksgiving as their ancestors had done many years prior to the arrival of the pilgrims.
In today’s time many people, including myself, choose to celebrate Thanksgiving because we are grateful for what we have and in some cases for what we don’t have today. It is a time that we set aside to say Thanks to God for His unfailing love and His constant grace. Thanksgiving is a day that we choose to reinforce the love that we have for our families and friends and to cherish the ones that are still with us. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand that we should do this every day and it is not that we don’t but Thanksgiving is simply a reminder that we should. The true story of the origin of Thanksgiving will never be forgotten. At the same time the desire to give thanks for what we have on today still strongly exists.
The celebration of Christmas is truly a huge debate for some reason. As a Christian I could never imagine myself not honoring the birth of my one and only savior. I personally would have an issue with celebrating every other birthday such as mine and/or my children but failing to recognize the birth of my savior. The birth of Jesus was a turning point in my life. I choose to celebrate that day because I understand that without His birth I would still be lost. Without His birth I would not be reconciled to God who is the creator of all. While I do completely understand that December 25th may not be Christ’s actual birthday it is the day that has been set aside to honor the fact that he was born.
The holiday season between November and January is a time that brings families together. It is a time of tradition making, joy and laughter. During this time many people take notice of those who are less fortunate as well as those who are lonely and they decide to give while lending a helping hand. While depression does increase during this season so does love. Many hearts are turned towards those who are hurting and distressed and there is an overwhelming feeling to meet the needs of those who lack. For some reason people are more open to good deeds during the holidays. I as a Christian choose to celebrate holidays because regardless of how much negativity is in the world the holiday season provides an even greater opportunity to remember and show the love of Christ.
