There is more than one Christmas. I happily celebrate one of them.

The most pervasive is the secular and consumeristic Christmas. Even the well-intentioned decorations at the corner diner or grocery store become part of what enables this sales-driven hype of a holiday.

Then there is “Church” Christmas. It is a little recognized fact that Christmas is not celebrated by all Christians, and certainly not by all Christians in the same way. A number of Christian denominations reject the observance of Christmas. This is because the origin and date of Christmas historically, was connected to a pagan holiday (Saturnalia). Others do not see a Biblical mandate for the occasion, noting that only two of the Gospels include a birth narrative for Jesus (even they tell quite different versions of the birth story). Some church denominations simply believe that every day is holy, so singling out one day above others can be misleading.

The........

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