In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

darbypitcher22 wrote: Thanks for posting the sermon I'm going to hear tonight. Maybe now I can try to figure a way out of church.

gorocks99 wrote: And if you don't say Merry Christmas to me, you're a terrorist. That's right. A terrorist.

ptown_trojans_1 wrote: Christmas, to me, is more about family and friends than the religious aspect. Yes, I do acknowledge the birth and know it was the original meaning for the holiday, but I family and friends that I haven't seen in a long time trump that.

Also, like my view on religion, I believe that Christmas can mean many different things to many different people.

nc52 wrote:


all this time i thought christmas was all about this ^^^^

krambman wrote: Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Very few believe that December 25 is actually the date of his birth, but the date was selected because of some miss-figuring of the date of his conception, and likely to also co-op the already existing Roman pagan celebration of the winter solstice to turn it into a Christian celebration. Now Christmas is celebrated widely by Christians and non-Christians alike.

eersandbeers wrote:

krambman wrote: Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Very few believe that December 25 is actually the date of his birth, but the date was selected because of some miss-figuring of the date of his conception, and likely to also co-op the already existing Roman pagan celebration of the winter solstice to turn it into a Christian celebration. Now Christmas is celebrated widely by Christians and non-Christians alike.

Like you said, the true meaning of Christmas was to combat the paganism practiced by other people. They wanted to hijack the solstice to promote Christianity.


For me, the true meaning of Christmas is worshiping the sun. All praise the sun.

devil1197 wrote: Jesus is the Reason for the Season.

Merry Christmas