During the holiday season, there is much to do about goodwill toward man and an attitude of giving, rather than receiving. It is in this time of year that many retail stores will either flourish or fold. Holiday shoppers have been flooding the market place in an effort to find that perfect gift for the perfect person. The holiday has a religious base in the sense that it is called Christmas. Which actually comes to us from Catholicism and Christ’s festival or Christ’s Mass. It is defined as, "A Christian feast commemorating the birth of Jesus." When an individual goes to the sacred writings they will not find the term Christmas, or anything like it. Christmas is described as "an annual festival, held on December 25, to celebrate the Nativity, or birth of Christ. The origin of the festival is unknown. Scholars believe that it is derived in part from the pre-Christian rites of Germanic and Celtic tribesmen held in celebration of the winter solstice. Christmas festivals, generally observed by Christians since the 4^th century, include a number of heathen customs such as the use of holly, mistletoe, Yule logs, and wassail bowls. The use of Christmas trees probably originated among the Romans of pre-Christian times from whom it spread to the Germanic peoples and thence to the peoples of the British Isles. In later times Christmas celebrations acquired a wide secular and social significance, expressed in many countries in the exchange of presents, the sending of greeting cards, and the suspension of school and work. Early Dutch settlers brought to the New World the custom of celebrating St. Nicholas’ (Santa Claus’) day on Christmas Eve" (Universal Standard Encyclopedia). Historical evidence reveals that Christmas was not something practiced by Christians for three centuries following the death of Christ. Such being the case, what is it that the sacred writing has to say about how Christians are to remember Christ?

Jehovah established a number of memorials so man would not forget important events. The first festival given to the nation of Israel was the feast of the Passover and unleavened bread. When Jehovah delivered Israel from the Egyptian bondage, God slew all the first-born of Egypt but passed over the first-born of Israel. Throughout Israel’s biblical history, the Passover was kept in remembrance of that event. Jehovah told Israel, "this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12:14).

The Christian era is no different. The scriptures reveal, "For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ" (1 Corinthians 5:7). But what is it that Jehovah has placed as a memorial, to be observed by those benefited by the Christ? Is it His birth? If it were, then the scriptures would have identified it as such. The very silence of such a memorial is evidence that God did not intend for His worshippers to observe the birth of Jesus as a memorial. When worship is offered unto God, it must be according to His will and His standard. Jesus said, "God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:24). In like manner, the apostle Paul, said, "Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written…" (1 Corinthians 4:6). If an individual is devoted to worship God in spirit and truth, they will abide by the commands of the Lord.

The memorial that God would have his followers to observe was instituted by Jesus, the night he was betrayed and the apostle Paul referred to it as the "Lord’s Supper" (1 Corinthians 11:20), when he said, "For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). This memorial is to be observed not once a year, or once a quarter, but once a week. The scriptures reveal, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight." (Acts 20:7). In connection with this, the apostle Paul, said, "If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment" (1 Corinthians 11:34). As important as the birth of Jesus was to the world, it does not compare to the value of his death, for it was not his birth that saves us, but his death upon the cross. Let us keep the memorial that God has given unto us to observe.