Over two millennia ago in a small room in the little town of Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph brought their child, our Saviour, into the world. Over the next three decades or so his life would change all of ours.
So it is not only appropriate, but it should also be obligatory, that we keep those circumstances and that meaning as first and foremost in our hearts and minds these next couple of days.
But the celebration of the Christmas holiday has grown into much more over the years, decades, and centuries. So much is incorporated into our holiday celebrations now: Christmas trees, wreaths, candles, cards, gifts, drinks. Characters such as Santa Clause, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer have grown into beloved symbols of the Christmas season.
It is just as important for Christians to know and accept that we have nothing to fear from these as it is for secularists to understand that Jesus Christ is the true 'reason for the season.' Every reasonable Christian understands that it is not likely that the baby Jesus was actually born on December 25th, and that in fact he almost certainly was not.
