In June of this year, the state of Texas passed what has been called the "Merry Christmas" bill.  This bill allows schools to say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukkah," along with "Happy Holidays," so long as more than one religion or a religion and a secular symbol are represented.

The point of the bill was to allow schools to celebrate these winter holidays without having to resort to awkwardly renaming the Christmas tree - holiday tree - and the Christmas party - holiday party - and the like.  Instead, two (or more, I suppose) of these holidays will be acknowledged together.

In spite of the possible confusion of mixing holidays together, I certainly understand the idea behind it.  I don't find a lot of problems with this because I recognize a Christian's Jewish heritage in Hanukkah, and I recognize the historicity and cultural implications of both Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, even though I personally do not celebrate either of them.

What I am less comfortable with is how far this idea can be taken.

In 2012, a privately-funded statue of the Ten Commandments was placed at the Oklahoma state capitol.  As a result, a satanic temple is now in the process of raising funds for their own monument to be placed nearby.  As far as I can tell, this hasn't been officially approved yet, but once they have collected the money they need, I have a hard time seeing how the government will be able to deny them.

Logically, I understand the thinking behind this, but I have a hard time with it nonetheless.

It reminds me of the time Paul spent in Athens in the book of Acts.  He explored the city before he spoke out at the Areopagus.  He saw the myriad of gods worshiped in Athens.  The people of the city were attempting to cover all their bases by erecting monuments (idols!) to every god they could think of and even one they couldn't think of - the unknown god.

I realize our current situation stems from a desire for fairness and equality rather than making sure every god is covered, but I fear the result will look the same.

I would love to hear any thoughts you have on the issue, so long as they are thoughtful and respectful.  I hope that after you comment you'll also use the sharing buttons below so that others can join the conversation.

This is a guest post written by Michelle is a blogger and freelancer who's written about almost every topic under the sun, and loves constantly learning about new subjects and industries while she’s writing. In her spare time she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dogs. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.

Photo: Angi English
The holiday season offers Christians plenty of opportunities to reach members of the community in loving and memorable ways. While some people might approach Christmas with no religious background, most of us who are Christians see the holiday as a celebration of our Savior’s birth.

It’s also important to remember that the holiday season often causes additional stress that could make people feel lost and uncertain of where to turn, especially if they don’t have faith in God to rely on during the hard times. Keep reading to get a few easy ideas of how to be a positive influence to others, whether they’re Christian or not.

Invite People to Your Holiday Events

If you’re planning on cooking a festive dinner or even just attending a candlelight service at your church, both of those situations are occasions where you could invite someone to join you. By extending an invitation in a warm and casual way, you’ll make it easier for someone to decline if he or she has other obligations, and you can also help someone feel relieved by having something to do instead of sitting at home alone.

Buy a Gift for Someone Who’s Struggling

There are many outreach campaigns that can help you improve the lives of people who are less fortunate, such as the local homeless population. However, think about doing something nice for someone who is a bit closer to you, such as a former coworker who was just laid off.

For example, you could buy car covers for a person if you overheard him or her proudly talking about having just bought a new vehicle prior to the disappointing job loss news. If you prefer to do your good deed anonymously, consider including a note that is also equipped with a strengthening Bible verse to help the person stay hopeful during the days ahead.

Host a Party for Community Children

Parents often find it difficult to keep youngsters occupied during the holiday season, especially if the little ones are out of school and there’s still shopping and other seasonal responsibilities to do. Think about organizing a kid-friendly event for your neighborhood. That’ll let parents breathe easily for a few hours without children in tow.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Matthew 9:12 deals with a situation in which the Pharisees were confused why Jesus characteristically chose to spend time with sinners. Jesus then said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Even as Christians, we might find ourselves becoming disconnected from the people that could most benefit from our background in faith. This often occurs as we spend a lot of time in church, but not enough interacting with people outside of it.

Whether you decide to visit with inmates who will be incarcerated during the holidays or perhaps spend some time brightening the days of people in the hospital, don’t be afraid to spend time in places that feel slightly uncharacteristic. You never know if something you say or do in those environments might encourage an unsaved person to ask you about how to accept Christ and receive eternal life.

These are just a few suggestions of how you can project the light of your faith to the people who may need it most. The holiday season means many things to different people. For Christians, there’s no better time to show the love of Christ through words and actions. Doing so may even encourage strangers to ask what’s different about us, presenting worthwhile chances to be witnesses every day. 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."

John 3:16-17 (NASB)

Every year when Christmas comes around, my Facebook newsfeed fills with posts related to the holiday.  I often see variations of posts decrying the use of the abbreviation Xmas.  Every year I try to explain to my Facebook friends why it’s actually not as terrible as they think it is (see below), I haven’t seemed to make any difference from one year to the next.

This one, really minor issue, makes me think of all the other things we don’t get exactly right when it comes to the Christmas story.  Very few of these things are matters of significance, but it should encourage us to take another look at the details of the Christmas story.


Xmas
We’ll start with Xmas, since you’re probably very curious by now.  The first thing to know is, even though we pronounce “Xmas” as if that first letter is the English letter “x”, actually it’s not.  It is the first letter of the Greek word '”christos,” translated Christ.  The letter was often used as an abbreviation for Christ.



This symbol is called a labarum.  It is a combination of the first two Greek letters of Christ.  The “x” is a “chi'” and the “p” is a “rho.” 




Another good example of using the “chi” to stand for Christ is in the acronym “ichthus,” which is where the Jesus fish came from.  “Ichthus” is the Greek word for fish, but more importantly is that it uses the first letters of the Greek words “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior,” which in Greek is pronounced “Iesous, Christos, Theou, Yios, Soter.”

According to several websites, including this one at TLC's How Stuff Works, the “chi” has been used as an abbreviation for the name of Christ since the 16th century, and some variations of it have been used as long ago as 1021.  Using the abbreviation Xmas is simply another example of using the “chi” as an abbreviation of Christ.

I won’t dispute that some outside the church may use Xmas in place of Christmas in an attempt to leave Christ out, but it looks like the joke is on them!

Joseph and Mary Travel Alone to Bethlehem



“Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.  This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.  And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.”  Luke 2:1-5 (NASB).

Because everyone was expected to participate in this census, I find it difficult to imagine that Mary and Joseph traveled by themselves to Bethlehem, even though we’ve seen the Christmas card pictures again and again of Mary riding on a donkey and Joseph leading the animal along the road. 

Joseph and Mary likely did not travel the most direct route to Bethlehem from Nazareth because that would have taken them through Samaria, which Jews typically went out of their way to avoid.  According to the IVP New Testament Commentary on Luke, this journey would have been about 90 miles and taken approximately three days.

Two people, including a woman advanced in her pregnancy, could not reasonably travel that distance safely by themselves.  It is much more likely they joined a caravan as was custom.  Notice another example of this later in Luke 2 when Jesus stayed in Jerusalem even though Joseph and Mary were headed back home. 

“And as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.  But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances.”  Luke 2:43-44 (NASB).

When you think of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem, picture them in a long caravan of people and probably animals.  And speaking of animals, how did we decide they had a donkey?  It’s certainly possible, but it’s never stated.

Born in a Barn

“While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  Luke 2:6-7 (NASB).

The scene of the innkeeper sending Joseph and his pregnant wife away is a typical part of any Christmas play, but I would love to see one that looks more like it actually happened.  You can go to Answers in Genesis to see more about this idea, but I’ll summarize it for you.  If you read Luke 2:6-7 without our preconceptions, it sounds like the two had probably been in Bethlehem for a while, rather than just coming in to town as we picture it.  It is unlikely they would have not found a place to stay after more than a day, especially since much of their family would have been there with them, whether having traveled along with them or already living in the town. 

Further, the word used for “inn” in the second verse is actually a word for guest room.  Joseph and Mary were probably staying with family but there was no room in the upper level of the house, so they stayed in the bottom level of the house, which was often used to hold the animals at night.  Maybe this could legitimately allow us to say that He was born in a barn, but it is definitely not the rickety wooden building set apart from the inn that we have pictured in our minds.  Rather, it is a home, with others present to attend Mary during the birth.

We Three Kings

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2 (NASB).

Our nativity scenes often show Mary and Joseph, Jesus, all the animals, the shepherds, and the wise men all together.  I really don’t believe that is accurate. 

“Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”  Matthew 2:16 (NASB).

The star appeared at Jesus’ birth, and it seems that, inferring from verse 16, that had been as much as two years prior.  The magi were certainly not present at the same time as the shepherds, but much later.

Also, how did we ever decide that there were three magi?  There were three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  We do not know, though, that there was one man per gift. 

One of my favorite paintings of the magi is Adoration of the Magi by Fra Angelico.  You can click on this link to view it.  I love this one because Jesus is older than a newborn infant and there are eight magi present.


The Christmas season is full of beautiful history, stories, and traditions, but sometimes the church needs to take a step back and look carefully at what we believe.  Does the Bible actually say that?