"I Celebrate the Day"

I grew up in a church that didn't celebrate Christmas; that thought that Christmas was bad and should be avoided as much as possible. When I was 18 I left that church. Not as a rebelion, or a rejection of God, but because my personal study of God's Word did not match up with what that church was teaching. Even so, setting aside practices and attitiudes that I had done my whole life took time and a lot of prayer and Bible study. One of the things I had trouble with was the celebration of Christmas. I no longer thought it was evil and wrong; I believed that the birth of Christ should be celebrated. But I still had trouble assimilating to a tradition that for the most of my life was something I abhorred.

There were two things (besides the Holy Spirit) that helped me accept Christmas. The first is a Warde family tradition. Every Christmas the Warde family makes a birthday cake for Jesus (yes, we know December 25th isn't the actual day He was born.) Each person lights a birthday candle for it and shares something that they are going to "give" to God that year. Fears or worries about something, plans for the future, something to surrender to God's will and to place in His hands.

The other thing that helped me was a song by Reliant K named "I Celebrate the Day." It really spoke to my heart and helped me to let go of my prejudices; to look forward to celebrating Christ's birth.
Here it is on youtube (this is the song played with a picture slide show, not an actual music video by the band.)

Here are the lyrics (emphasis added):

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life 


Now today I celebrate Christmas with my husband's family and with my children. I play Christmas carols (which I love now,) I decorate a tree, and I teach my children what Christmas means to me and our family.

Most of the family on my side still attend that church, still think that Christmas is bad and that I've turned my back on God. I love them and they love me anyway. I don't judge those who think it's wrong. I've been there, I completely understand. I don't think that not celebrating is a rejection of God. (Unless you're rejecting it because you're an Atheist.) I'm just sharing why I changed my mind, and the peace that comes instead of the turmoil every December.

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