Christmas is celebrated once a year all over the world. It is not celebrated by Christians only. Non-Christians, people of other faiths, even people of no faith at all, also celebrate it. In some countries, it is celebrated nationally. In some others, it is celebrated as a national holiday. It is quite correct to describe Christmas as an inter-faith, international celebration.

But while it has become a worldwide, universal celebration, there are many all over the world who neither know its real reason nor the one in whose name it is celebrated.

This article seeks to explain the real reason behind the event and to help point to the one whose birth more than two thousand years ago is the real reason for the celebration.

There is indeed a real reason behind Christmas celebration. The Scripture is trite in this regard.

First, Christmas is a time of real good news. When the angel first brokered the news of the birth which has come to be celebrated as Christmas, he described it as good news (Lk. 2:10-12). According to him, the good news was that a Saviour was born to the world (Lk. 2:10-12). The Saviour’s birth which we now celebrate as Christmas is good news indeed (Lk. 2:10-12). Christmas is therefore a day of good news, that the world has one who is her Saviour (Lk. 2:10-12). Therefore, as we celebrate Christmas, we must never forget the good news behind the celebration.

Second, Christmas is a time when God fulfilled His promise to send the Messiah to redeem the world. This promise is stated in several ways in the Scripture (see Gen. 3:15; Is. 7:14; Is. 9:6-7). According to the Scripture, the birth of Jesus which the world celebrates as Christmas actually fulfils a messianic promise that God had made (see Matt. 1:22-23). As we celebrate Christmas all over the nations today, we should remember that we are actually celebrating the fulfillment of God’s messianic promise. In other words, we are really celebrating the arrival of the world’s promised Messiah more than two thousand years ago. This means that Christmas is nothing but a messianic celebration. The messiah is already available. To lose sight of this in our Christmas celebrations is to celebrate meaninglessly.

Third, Christmas is a time to celebrate God’s love. By the birth of Jesus, God demonstrated His love for fallen humanity (see Jn. 3:16; cf. Rom. 5:8). This love is both universal and unconditional (Jn. 3:16; cf. Lk. 2:10-11). This love must be received to justify God giving it (see Jn. 6:40). When received, this love results in everlasting life (Jn. 3:16). Christmas celebrations must therefore remind us of the birth of God’s love more than two thousand years ago. It must also remind us that not only that love but its result is still available to all mankind today. To celebrate Christmas properly today we must take due account of God’s love which is still available to every human being right from the first Christmas celebration more than two thousand years ago.

In the fourth place, Christmas is a time to remember the salvation of mankind. The Saviour of the world was born during the first Christmas more than two thousand years ago (see Lk. 2:10-12; Matt. 1:21). After years of expectation, the birth of Jesus at that time marked the birth of Salvation for mankind (Lk. 2:10-12; Matt. 1:21). Therefore, Christmas celebrations today ought to be celebrations of God’s salvation for mankind. It ought to be a celebration of the saved. Wherever Christmas is celebrated today, it is important to remember that Salvation is available for all mankind as a result of the first Christmas event which took place in Bethlehem more than two thousand years ago.

Fifth, Christmas is a time of celebrating God’s reconciliation with His estranged children. The fall of man (Gen. 3:1-19) brought enmity between God and humanity. The birth of Jesus more than two thousand years ago made reconciliation between God and mankind not only possible but real. Christmas is therefore a time to celebrate the peace that now exists between God and mankind through Jesus Christ. Whenever and wherever we celebrate Christmas, we must never forget that real peace is now readily available to human beings through Jesus Christ (see Jn. 14:27).

Sixth, Christmas is a time of a new order, a new way of life. The birth of Jesus more than two thousand years ago, which the whole world celebrates every year, formally ended the old order of sin and evil (see Matt. 1:29; Jn. 1:29) and introduced the new order of righteousness (see 2Cor. 5:17). Christmas celebrations all over the world today ought to be characterized by the reign of righteousness which the first Christmas in Judea more than two thousand years ago signified. When we overlook the need for the reign of righteousness even while we celebrate Christmas today, such celebrations are at best improper.

Finally, Christmas is a time for knowing God in a new way, as He is, and as He deserves to be known. Until the birth of Jesus more than two thousand years ago, we used to think of God as one who is wholly other and beyond knowing. But when Jesus was born, He brought us a new understanding of God. According to the Scripture, the birth of Jesus revealed God to mankind as the one with us (Matt. 1:22-23). As we celebrate Christmas, we should no longer think of God as one who is far removed from us. We should remember that Jesus’ birth brought God within the reach of every human being. With His birth, we can now know God as He really is, one with us (Matt. 1:22-23). We cannot be celebrating Christmas today and still think of God as the unknown one

As we celebrate Christmas each year all over the world, it is most necessary take full account of the real reason behind the celebration. Any Christmas celebration that does not take account of the real reason behind the event is a fruitless exercise, despite its fanfare and the resources committed to it. A Christmas celebration that is worth celebrating is one that is done on the basis of the real reason behind the event.