For those who reject x-mass as a holy day, do you put up a seasonal/decorative tree in your home?

For those who reject x-mass as a holy day, do you put up a seasonal/decorative tree in your home?

  • Tree

    Votes: 31 51.7%
  • No Tree

    Votes: 29 48.3%

  • Total voters
    60
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aaronsk

Puritan Board Freshman
Please discuss views in the comments. I am currently sorting this out. My understanding is @C. Matthew McMahon would say in his book (posted recently in a other thread) it is allowable (its been a year since I read it). It is something I have difficulty resolving. Currently we have no tree.
 
We do no tree, no presents, no feasts, no nothing. I even do school (we homeschool) if it falls on that day. If it’s a Saturday, we work; if it’s a Lord‘s Day we go to church as usual.
 
it would help the replies if you stated what principles are you having difficulty resolving
Can the tree be used as a secular holiday decoration like a turkey at thanksgiving? Or is it so intrinsically linked to false holy day or pagen worship and idolatry that its to be avoided?
 
Can the tree be used as a secular holiday decoration like a turkey at thanksgiving? Or is it so intrinsically linked to false holy day or pagen worship and idolatry that its to be avoided?
Does 1 Cor 8 help you in anyway to reason with your thinking?
 
As my convictions have changed I’m trying to slowly, compassionately put to death a majority of the holiday. My family has always been pretty all-in on the festivities. I have allowed the tree to continue this year in a very scaled-back fashion. I do enjoy seasonal (meaning winter, not “holiday”) evergreen decorations given all the death outside, but I am hoping the tree passes into oblivion over the next few years. We have also told the kids not to expect a big end-of-year gift festival, but rather if we see something during the year that makes us think of them, we will just gift it then instead of the supposed magi-inspired Dec 25.
 
Growing up an unbeliever a tree never had any spiritual or religious significance. No need to assign one. I've actually enjoyed returning to doing Christmas at home. Feels great to not be a scrouge anymore.

Christmas sermons I am all for however, as long as the elements of Christmas are kept out of worship.

Phi 1:18 KJV What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
 
A holy day is a day set apart by the Lord, we have 52 of those every year. Christmas looks back on and celebrates something very holy, but the day itself is not holy because it is a man made invention by imagination.

Having said that, God alone is Lord of the conscience and it is a matter of Christian liberty. I rather enjoy it and have zero trepidation celebrating it in our home.

This year will be different as it falls on the Lord’s Day so Christmas Eve will serve as Christmas Day in a sense in our home. I will not change our Sabbath routines.
 
Growing up an unbeliever a tree never had any spiritual or religious significance. No need to assign one. I've actually enjoyed returning to doing Christmas at home. Feels great to not be a scrouge anymore.

The "tree" poll is now 6 to 6, a 50% split both ways. I understand and respect both views, as long as... (I'll get to that in a moment)

I hope you don't mind this very personal subjective view. I hope it might help some to sort through any sub-conscience factors in their opinion.

Since my wife was a little girl, Xmass has been very dear to her as a time for her family to get together. She has never attempted to "keep Christ in Xmass," but I am afraid she would sooner give her right arm up than give this "day" up. The bottom line is that I have long since given up all hope of her seeing it any other way. So, I allow it. For me, however, it has almost always been the worst day of the year. I hate the day, but not so much because of all the religious baggage that goes with it, but because of my childhood. I grew up with an abusive father I hated and an alcoholic mother I loved. I was one confused and sad eight-year-old. By the time I was ten, my parents had separated, never to reconcile. Enough said, except to show you I am understating the case. My mother died at 39 because she drank up to two quarts of cheap 100-proof vodka daily. I endure the day but still hate it.

Now to finish my first sentence, which is timely because Xmass falls on a Lord's Day this year. "I understand and respect both views, as long as..."

As long as the Xmass whatever-you-do is NOT done on The Lord, His Day. I am persuaded that this rule should have conscience-binding status enforced by the elders.
~~~~~~~

EDIT: The Importance Attached to the Dec 25 Date
Some years ago, when I first laid down this Lord's Day/Xmass rule, there was nearly an insurrection among my extended family and, to my discredit, some among my immediate family. One of my brothers-in-law called me up and read me the riot act. Something like a half-dozen people were angry at me. This anger, despite there being no inconvenience caused by this since everyone had Monday off. Well, Monday came and went, and everybody seemed to have a good day after all.​
 
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I came to convictions on this around 1984. My view has generally been, frequently expressed on this board since joining in 2005, keep it out of the church, any nativity sermon should address the elephants in the room and not reinforce superstition or will worship by omission of warnings against such, and not being hard-nosed in condemning cultural observances like dinners and presents. But if you have followed my posts all these years I've come to increasing conviction that it is the unqualified observance of the cultural that will remain the gateway for this to continually be a problem in the church, just as it was the cultural that played a large part in Presbyterianism in the US embracing observance of the church calendar and this one of the old pretended holy days in particular. If it is not on the Lord's Day, I continue to go when invited to family dinner with my late sister's family, but these are generally nothing more than replays of Thanksgiving dinner.
 
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Currently, the Xmas tree cannot be treated like meat of unknown origin, sold in the shambles. It is to be treated like meat wrapped in red paper with a seal on it saying, "Enjoy this consecrated meat with Aphrodite's blessing!" Ask me again a few decades after celebration of Xmas has been eradicated from cultural memory and I would probably see no problem at all with putting a green tree with lights in your house, along with other wintery decorations.
 
I personally do not care what other people do on this issue. My own preference, however, would be not to have one. I would also prefer it if gifts and so forth were exchanged on New Year's Day, as they used to be in Scotland. I once read a sermon preached on New Year's Eve by Ebenezer Erskine where he used an illustration relating to the children getting presents the following day to exhort his hearers to receive the gift of eternal life.
 
I play along and enjoy all the festivities. I actually try to make the best of life in all situations. I have a small tree up all year long and a few traces of Xmas around like the Coca Cola bear with a Santa hat on. It is not a Holy Day unless it lands on the Sabbath. And Christmas adds nothing to the Sabbath. I am an odd duck. I know. I just like making people question my motives. I can be rather a mister smarty pants. LOL
 
I voted "tree" because I have no problem having a cultural celebration. I treat it on the same level as birthdays, New Years, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, etc. (while respecting that these each carry different significance). My wife and I are also careful how we present to our children "Christian" holidays given our previous experience in Evangelicalism. Christmas and Easter meant feeling especially holy and reverent. How absurd to conjure some special significance when we celebrate the incarnation, life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ each of the 52 true holy days of the year! Nat King Cole, spiked eggnog, "ugly" sweaters, the smell of evergreens and Christmas ham? What good things to rejoice in! Let that not stop us from rejoicing in the mundane things either, though; for they are also good things from the hand of the Lord.

I've come to hold this opinion--freed from the shackles of pietistic nonsense, conjuring up "joy"-- after surveying the Scriptures and seeing that God made us to rejoice in the good things he's given us. It's why he prescribed festivals to honor and commune with him following movements natural to creation and punctuated by redemptive acts. These weren't the only times the people of God celebrated or had their own feasts. Why would we do any different? We have the holy days of each Sabbath (may we treat them as such!), and we have all the reason in the world--far beyond any pitiful unbelieving reason--to celebrate good things from the hand of the Lord. May we, like Job's family, revel in God's provision. Or as Solomon describes in Ecclesiastes. The wisdom literature, such as mentioned, is especially rich in showing us to spend our short time wisely, happily, and in the good work of the Lord. After all, it's great "practice" for that day when that beloved feast shall be before us, and we shall partake of the good things with our Prophet, Priest, and King reclining at table with us!

הַֽלְלוּ־יָהּ הַלְלִי נַפְשִׁי אֶת־יְהוָֽה׃
אֲהַלְלָה יְהוָה בְּחַיָּי אֲזַמְּרָה לֵֽאלֹהַי בְּעוֹדִֽי׃

Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.
While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
 
A tree or a television, one both or neither?

Perhaps no tree but a television with a star on the top that way I can have the best of both worlds.

Or I can hang candy canes on my iPad as I spend half the day on watching youtube.

Now let me think.
 
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A tree or a television, one both or neither?

Perhaps no tree but a television with a star on the top that way I can have the best of both worlds.

Or I can hang candy canes on my iPad as I spend half the day on watching youtube.

Now let me think.
I thought, maybe I go to church and sit under the preached word in hopes that God the father would give that I may see a little of that babe in the manger that was given for the sin’s of His people.

William,
 
We don't have a tree, not because I am against it per se, but because we have small children and they would probably destroy it. Even as someone who is in Dutch Reformed church, who are traditionally more friendly towards Christmas the Presbyterians, I recognize it as a completely man-made holiday. In that sense, I do in some ways resent it. I don't have a problem with hearing sermons on Christ's incarnation or even at a certain time of year. I do have an issue with how dominant of a force it is in our churches, i.e. we seem to have weeks of "advent" themed sermons which I am not a fan of doing, even if all of the sermons are doctrinally sound and edifying. And this says nothing of the music, which I generally dislike (would rather sing psalms). I am a bit of a scrooge in may ways.

As for the festive spirit and the lights, and the giving of gifts, I enjoy it. I like family gathers, I like getting and giving presents, I like the nostalgia of the snow and the lights, etc. I just know that it has nothing to do with Christ's advent in reality.
 
There is one thing that I failed to mention but would like to take this opportunity to address and that is the day that is known as Easter or Resurrection Day.

Though I am grateful that there is a day where man’s current of thought is on the resurrection, I have zero tolerance of it in our home. My reasoning? Every Lord’s Day celebrates the resurrection and I believe that is why the Sabbath is now on the first day.

Does the recognition of one day in particular for the resurrection lead many to Christ? I bet it does and for that I am grateful. However I also suspect that this phenomenon has greatly weakened the Western church.

It is my conviction that to celebrate only one day rather than all 52 resurrection days, as it were, is a transgression. Some may call this inconsistent due to my position on Christmas and that’s fine, I do not endeavor to impress anyone.

I will confess however that my Mother insists on still giving both of my children baskets on Easter, and in accordance with the Fifth Commandment I allow it. However every year I use it as a learning experience and remind the children that all Sabbath days are equal, and that every Sunday is the Lord’s Day. My Mother knows my position on this.
 
I would also prefer it if gifts and so forth were exchanged on New Year's Day, as they used to be in Scotland.
This is what our family does. We do not relate it to Christmas. But I often save a lot of money shopping for gifts post-Christmas....
I treat it on the same level as birthdays, New Years, Thanksgiving, Independence Day, etc. (while respecting that these each carry different significance).
I don't treat them as all being on the same level because they do carry different significance:
  • In our household we do not celebrate Easter, Halloween, Christ-mass, or St. Anything, nor do we attend "special services" or congregational parties related to them - we don't make a big noise about it, we just don't attend.
  • We celebrate birthdays in our household- they remind us that God chose to bring us into this world.
  • We celebrate the new year because it reminds us that God created, ordered, and continues to care for His creation. I really want to also celebrate "new moons" in some non-Judiazing way because of Genesis 1.14 - for now I just pretend our congregation's monthly celebration of the Lord's Supper is doing that...
  • We celebrate Thanksgiving because it is declared by the government in the land where we reside (we read the Presidential Proclamation during family worship that day - they are quite interesting and this year's even quoted Scripture) and compatible with our adherence to The Directory for the Publick Worship of God: "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued. Nevertheless, it is lawful and necessary, upon special emergent occasions, to separate a day or days for publick fasting or thanksgiving, as the several eminent and extraordinary dispensations of God’s providence shall administer cause and opportunity to his people." (see also the section "Concerning the Observation of Days of Publick Thanksgiving.")
  • How we celebrate "Independence Day" is too nuanced for a brief bullet - the short version is we love fireworks and pray for repentance...
  • We celebrate each season/solstice (seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and Summer and Winter) and admire every rainbow as reminders of the Noahic Covenant (Genesis 8.22, 9.13). In the fall and winter we have seasonal decorations (candles in windows, strings of lights on mantles) but we associate that with the changing seasons (and it getting dark by 4 pm). We light trees - on fire in the furnace to stay warm.
 
There is one thing that I failed to mention but would like to take this opportunity to address and that is the day that is known as Easter or Resurrection Day.

Though I am grateful that there is a day where man’s current of thought is on the resurrection, I have zero tolerance of it in our home. My reasoning? Every Lord’s Day celebrates the resurrection and I believe that is why the Sabbath is now on the first day.

Does the recognition of one day in particular for the resurrection lead many to Christ? I bet it does and for that I am grateful. However I also suspect that this phenomenon has greatly weakened the Western church.

It is my conviction that to celebrate only one day rather than all 52 resurrection days, as it were, is a transgression. Some may call this inconsistent due to my position on Christmas and that’s fine, I do not endeavor to impress anyone.

I will confess however that my Mother insists on still giving both of my children baskets on Easter, and in accordance with the Fifth Commandment I allow it. However every year I use it as a learning experience and remind the children that all Sabbath days are equal, and that every Sunday is the Lord’s Day. My Mother knows my position on this.
My mother insisted on this, too. I insisted she tell our children they were "Spring Baskets."
 
We did away with this particular seasonal decorating some years ago. Reading through the thread it occurred to me that with trees up etc, the Lord's day comes and there is this tree shouting for attention. I guess you could cover it with a sheet, hehe. But then that begins to beg the question.
 
I have no issue with a tree in our home... in fact, we have 2! Double apostasy!

As parents, my wife and I have always made the clear distinction between the secular and the sacred at this time of year. We're happy to think about and celebrate the incarnation and to encourage our kids to look forward to Christ's coming again. But we're also happy to eat mince pies, drink mulled wine, kiss under the mistletoe, eat too much turkey... and decorate a tree!
 
We don't have a tree up or seasonal decorations. I could see the argument for some winter themed decorations that are not those that have suspect origins, but we don't decorate for seasons anyway so I've not taken the time to think through each one and if it would be good to bring into our home. No convictions against decorations, we just keep our house more or less the same -- simple year round. I can't control everything about how my church, extended family, or culture embraces the so-called holy day, but so much about it doesn't sit right with me that it seems better just to avoid the whole lot of it in my home where I can control it.

In the past we have avoided other celebrations entirely, but now we will join family for meals around this time of year and try to avoid the other festivities as much as is reasonable without causing offense. My wife and I don't have children yet, so I imagine it could become more complicated. There aren't any younger children in my extended family at the moment, and a lot of traditions have faded as everyone has grown up so it's not too big of a deal now.
 
I have no issue with a tree in our home... in fact, we have 2! Double apostasy!

As parents, my wife and I have always made the clear distinction between the secular and the sacred at this time of year. We're happy to think about and celebrate the incarnation and to encourage our kids to look forward to Christ's coming again. But we're also happy to eat mince pies, drink mulled wine, kiss under the mistletoe, eat too much turkey... and decorate a tree!
How do you square this with rejecting Christmas as a holy day (per the OP's topic)?
 
The day because traced to paganism or the idolatry of Rome has just never set right with me especially as OT examples come to mind of how much warning, admonition, and Godly displeasure was given to Israel for being influenced by the pagan nations OR by inventing there own blend of will-worship with the Lord. The answer seemed to always be to keep your self totally separated from it. I tend to agree with Chris's points on this subject. in my opinion, these celebrations within the church often diminish the Lord's Day and the sufficiency of the ordinary means of grace. Until the visible church and it's very ministers can stop feeding the superstition through things such as candle worship offerings, it really is hard for me to embrace this day. For example, many congregations will likely cancel their morning worship services to make time to families to have ample time for tree kneeling :chained:

Our family has no tree. We do exchange gifts and we attend parent/grandparent gatherings with meals and other gift exchanging. We also try not to judge others home practices nor do we view this as something to divide over. Nevertheless we do find ourselves declining the extra special candle services and caroling. We dont do a tree or stockings. This year my wife plans to make a snow village with the girls.

I enjoy sermons on the the incarnation. We also likely watch the Grinch and Home alone annually. There is also no need to answer superstition with superstition as if someone telling you Merry Xmas has stolen your precious producing a Gollum-like reply.

:2cents:
 
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When I was converted I not long after rejected Christmas. My wife grew up in the Hersteld Hervormde Kerk and it was frowned up in her church to have a tree. Her family despite being in a Dutch Reformed Church also rejected the Holiday. We give gifts on New Years.
 
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