Beyond Today Daily

Christmas: An American Tradition?

Is Christmas an American tradition or is there more to it?

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[Steve Myers] No Christmas? That's the oldest American Christmas tradition, is the fact that Christmas was not observed in America. In fact, even more than that, did you know that Christmas was outlawed in America in the Massachusetts Bay Colony? They didn't allow the worship of Christmas. In fact, for 200 years, Christmas was outlawed in New England, couldn't even observe it without being fined. Now, why would that be?

Why didn't the early Americans observe Christmas? Have you ever looked into that? It'd be a good idea maybe to check it out. Go back and find out why didn't the Puritans observe Christmas, why did they ignore it? In fact, why did they have such a hard stance against it? Why did they discourage people from observing Christmas? Once you begin to do that, I hope what you'll do is then ask yourself a couple of questions, "Why do I observe Christmas? What's the purpose that I do? Is it really to honor God or is it just some type of secular type of thing? Is it something that we should be doing? Is it something that actually honors God or not?" There are so many passages in the Bible that tell us to be careful about things that are just traditions. So, over and over and over again, we're reminded about that, and not to take those traditions and try to honor God with them.

One of the passages that come to mind is one that's found in Mark 7. In Mark 7, here we find Jesus Christ talking about traditions. And He says, "You lay aside the commandment of God, and hold the tradition of men." We don't wanna be guilty of that. In fact, He says then in verse 9, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition." That's quite a challenge that we have to be careful of.

Are we doing these things just because we've always done them? We think we're honoring God or are we actually honoring God? Check out your Bible. Check out Christmas past. Find out why Christmas was outlawed in America. I have a feeling it's gonna change your perspective.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.

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Holidays or Holy Days - Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?

Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?

Many people are shocked to discover the origins of our most popular religious holidays. They are also surprised to find that the days God commands us to observe in the Bible—the same days Jesus Christ and the apostles kept—are almost universally ignored. Why? Also, why are today's supposedly Christian holidays observed with so many rituals and customs that are not sanctioned anywhere in the Bible? In this booklet you'll discover detailed answers to these questions.

Steve Myers

Steve is the Operation Manager for Ministerial and Member Services of the United Church of God. He is also an instructor at Ambassador Bible College and served as a host on the Beyond Today television program.  Together, he and his wife, Kathe, have served God and His people for over 30 years.