Why Do Christians Celebrate Christmas? A Commentary and Explanation Bible Study
Every year when December comes around, the air starts to change. Even before the decorations show up. You smell pine, dust mixed with old cardboard boxes pulled from storage, maybe cinnamon if someone nearby is baking. And somewhere in the background, a song about joy or bells or peace is playing, sometimes too loud, sometimes tinny from a phone speaker.
Christmas.
For Christians, Christmas isn’t just a holiday with lights and gifts and awkward family meals. It’s deeper, older, and also strangely tender. It’s about remembering a birth. But not just any birth. The birth of Jesus Christ. And yeah, the Bible doesn’t say “December 25th” anywhere. That part always comes up in debates. But Christians celebrate Christmas because of what happened, not only when it happened.
Let’s walk through it slowly, verse by verse, thought by thought. Not rushed. Like a study Bible… but one that has coffee stains on the pages and notes written in the margins.
The Promise Before the Manger
Genesis 3:15
Right after everything breaks in the Garden of Eden, God speaks a strange promise. He tells the serpent that the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head, though His heel will be bruised.
At first glance, it’s confusing. Almost poetic, almost cryptic. But Christians read this as the very first whisper of Christmas. A promise that someday, someone born of a woman would come to defeat evil, sin, and death.
Christmas doesn’t start in Matthew. It starts in Genesis. Right in the middle of humanity’s failure, God plants hope. That alone is worth sitting with for a minute.
A Child Is Promised
Isaiah 7:14
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Immanuel means God with us. That name matters more than we realize. God doesn’t say, “I’ll send rules” or “I’ll send more prophets.” He says, I will come.
Christians celebrate Christmas because God didn’t stay distant. He didn’t shout instructions from heaven. He stepped into skin. And honestly, that’s kind of shocking when you think about it too long.
Light in the Darkness
Isaiah 9:2, 6
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light…”
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…”
Isaiah writes to people who are tired. Worn out. Afraid. Sound familiar?
The promise isn’t of a warrior king riding in with swords. It’s a child. Soft. Vulnerable. Crying. Needing to be fed. Christians celebrate Christmas because God chose the low road. The humble one.
And there’s something healing about that. A God who knows what it’s like to be small.
The Long Silence Breaks
Luke 1:26–38
After centuries of silence, an angel shows up to a young woman named Mary. She’s not famous. She’s not powerful. She’s probably scared out of her mind.
“Greetings, you who are highly favored,” the angel says.
Mary asks real questions. Honest ones. “How will this be?” She’s not rebuked for asking. She’s answered.
When Christians celebrate Christmas, they remember that God works through ordinary people who are confused but willing. Mary’s “Let it be to me according to your word” is quiet courage. The kind most of us actually live with.
Joseph’s Quiet Obedience
Matthew 1:18–25
Joseph doesn’t get as much attention, but his story matters. He plans to quietly divorce Mary when he finds out she’s pregnant. He doesn’t want to shame her. That already tells you something about his heart.
Then an angel appears in a dream. “Do not be afraid… what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”
Joseph wakes up and does what he’s told. No speeches. No arguments. Just obedience.
Christmas reminds Christians that faith is sometimes just doing the next right thing, even when your reputation takes a hit.
No Room, Still Holy
Luke 2:1–7
This part always hits me. There was no room in the inn. The Son of God is born among animals, laid in a feeding trough. The smell must’ve been awful. Hay, manure, damp earth.
And yet, this is where God chooses to arrive.
Christians celebrate Christmas because God shows up in places we would never choose. Messy places. Forgotten places. If God can be born there, maybe He can meet us in our own chaos too.
Shepherds Hear First
Luke 2:8–20
The angel doesn’t appear to kings or priests. He appears to shepherds. Night shift workers. Social outsiders.
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy for all the people.”
All the people. Not just the clean ones. Not just the important ones.
Christmas is good news because it’s inclusive before we ever learned that word. God announces His arrival to the overlooked.
The Word Becomes Flesh
John 1:1–14
This passage feels poetic, almost cosmic.
“In the beginning was the Word… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
That word “dwelt” literally means tabernacled. God pitched His tent among humanity. Lived here. Ate here. Slept here.
Christians celebrate Christmas because God didn’t send love from a distance. He moved into the neighborhood.
Why Not Just Easter?
This question comes up a lot. Why celebrate Christmas when the cross and resurrection are the real victory?
Because without Christmas, there is no Easter.
The manger leads to the cross. The baby grows into the man who heals, forgives, and ultimately gives His life. Christmas celebrates the beginning of redemption. The yes that makes every other yes possible.
Is Christmas Pagan?
Some traditions, dates, and symbols were influenced by culture, sure. Trees, lights, timing. Humans do that. We adapt.
But Christians don’t celebrate a tree or a date. They celebrate Jesus. Just like we don’t reject language because pagans used words before us. Meaning matters more than origin.
The Heart of Christmas
At its core, Christmas is about God choosing closeness over comfort. Humility over power. Love over distance.
It’s about hope being born quietly while the world barely notices.
And maybe that’s why it still matters. Because we are still tired. Still afraid. Still walking in some kind of darkness.
Christmas says God hasn’t given up on us. Not then. Not now.
A Personal Ending (Because Faith Is Personal)
I remember one Christmas when nothing felt joyful. Bills were unpaid. The house was loud in all the wrong ways. I sat quietly with a Bible open to Luke 2, and the words felt… gentle. Like they weren’t demanding anything from me.
Just saying, “God came anyway.”
That’s why Christians celebrate Christmas. Not because everything is perfect. But because God entered imperfection and called it holy.
And honestly, that still feels like good news. Even now.
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