Christianity Do You Celebrate Christmas?

[Randip Singh]

My family does. They all thoroughly enjoy it. Tree's, decorations, family, food, and presents,its all fun!

My question is should Sikhs have objections to celebrate Christmas? From what I have observed we Sikhs very much have a when in Rome attitude. We also celebrate Guru Gobind Singh ji's birthday as it is close too.

 

[spnadmin]

Randip ji

Yes! My family is Christian -- so, would Guruji say now that you are a Sikh turn away from your family, your friends.

Guruji says that family and friends will not be with us forever, and will leave us at the time of death. Only God attaches us to his lotus feet. But that is no call to turn your back on the people who gave you life.

Sikhs -- I think -- are very clever people. We can turn our face to the Guru and still look at the world with love. We are really talented, aren't we?

So the message of love-- and Christmas trees, bells, decorations, music, parties and get-togethers, laughter, special only-at-Christmas-time food, all part of Guru's creation.

Yes I celebrate Christmas -- only now it is part of something much bigger and amazing.

And all the best on this gurpurab!

 

[clarkejoey]

Thanks guys, that's helpful to someone experiencing his first transitional Christmas. So my tree and tinsel and lights are okay (phew!).

And how do we celebrate Guruji's birthday?

 

[Sikh80]

Happy christmas aadji.


an indian

 

[Archived_Member1]

my parents are non-religious and they celebrate christmas as a time to get together with family, eat good food, share gifts and company and stories...

i love the winter holidays and i see nothing wrong in celebrating time spent with family.

as householders, i think that spending time with family is a good thing.

 

[Astroboy]

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all SPN members.

Click to listen for voice greetings.






From Santokh/begum/namjap

 

[Archived_Member1]

is it just me, or does anyone else think santa clause would look great in a big red turban?

 

[shivabramin]

merry holidays to all my brothers

 

[spnadmin]

Merry Christmas to shivabrahmin, sikh80, namjap, jasleen, randip, clarkejoey, and to everybody else too.

Jasleen, Santa would look good in a turban, but most of the time he is wearing a kind of padka -- NO? He may be a secret Sikh! He does keep kesh.

clarkejoey -- in gurdwara, with family -- but since there are no gurdwaras in Jamaica -- then with prayer, kirtaan, maybe even writing something spiritual that you send to friends -- Sikhs and nonSikhs -- it could be something about Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji.

It is my second transitional Christmas. Everything is fine -- family members are all worked up about problems in their own lives -- so I changed my religion, but they are not paying attention anyway.

Well, I am content that Christmas trees and holly berries work for you guys.

Satnam,
Antonia

 

[Astroboy]

aad Ji,

Tusi sareyaN nu bahaut pyar karde-oo.

Merry Christmas to you.

ClarkeJoey Ji,

Merry Christmas - Cherry pick only memories of the good things of life.

Jasleen_Kaur Ji,

We can put Santa Clause to a test.
Get Santa Clause to come to any local Gurdwara to see the acceptance level of the Sikh community regarding his attire.
Ho hoo Ha Haa. Merry Christmas tuhanuu.

Santokh

 

[clarkejoey]

Merry Christmas everyone, and thanks for all the help so far; i'll be back around when work resumes!

waheguru ji ka khalsa, waheguru ji ki fateh!

 

[kds1980]

merry christmas to all of you

 

[spnadmin]

Merry Christmas kds1980 -- for being such a solid person all around.

Merry Christmas to everyone -- especially if you need some "merriness" in your life.

Antonia

 

[Sikh80]

Frankly speaking, we do enjoy Christmas too..............but Not anywhere else except in the house of one of my friends Egbert and His wife at their place.....................Hi Merry Christmas to all..............................

 

[singh is king]

why don't you guys celebrate hindu festivals like durga puja, navratre etc; lol

you should not?

 

[Archived_Member1]

why don't you guys celebrate hindu festivals like durga puja, navratre etc; lol

you should not?

christmas (despite it's origin) is no longer a religious festival for most of the world. it's completely secular. for those of us who live in the west, it's a cultural festival, nothing else.

if i lived in kolkata, i might visit with my friends at the time of durga pooja.

however, neither holiday has any religious significance for me.

oh, and happy Gurpurab!

 

[singh is king]

christmas (despite it's origin) is no longer a religious festival for most of the world. it's completely secular. for those of us who live in the west, it's a cultural festival, nothing else.

From the Old English 'Cristes Mæsse' ~ meaning the 'mass of Christ' ~ the story of Christmas begins with the birth of a babe in Bethlehem.The 25th of December is celebrated as the birth date of Jesus Christ. The Bible does not mention Christmas, and early Christians did not observe the birthday of Christ. Christmas as we know it became widely popular only in the 19th Century.
It is believed that Christ was born on the 25th, although the exact month is unknown. December was likely chosen so the Catholic Church could compete with rival pagan rituals held at that time of year and because of its closeness with the winter solstice in the Northern hemisphere, a traditional time of celebration among many ancient cultures.
Based on Biblical evidence Jesus of Nazareth was probably born in the fall near the Jewish feast of Tabernacles or in the spring around the time of Passover. Sometime before 336 the Church in Rome, unable to stamp out the pagan festival of Saturnalia, spiritualized it as the "Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness." December 25th was chosen for the celebration of his birth by Pope Julius I. The practice was adopted by the Christian church in Antioch around 374. By 380 it was being observed in Constantinople, and by 430 in Alexandria. (The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 223.)

Christmas literally means the Mass (celebration) of Christ. "Christ" is a Greek word and title, meaning "anointed" or one set apart by God for a special purpose. "Christ" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "Messiah." Based on the words of ancient prophets, the first century Jewish people expected the arrival of the Messiah promised by God as a great deliver of the people.

The Christmas Tree
The tradition of decorating trees occurs among many different people. The Celts for example decorated trees with apples and nuts during the winter solstice (around December 21), encouraging the sun to return to bring spring. Other European people had tree decorating rituals.
In the 7th century a monk from Crediton, Devonshire, went to Germany to teach the Word of God. He did many good works there, and spent much time in Thuringia, an area which was to become the cradle of the Christmas Decoration Industry. Legend has it that he used the triangular shape of the Fir Tree to describe the Holy Trinity of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The converted people began to revere the Fir tree as God's Tree, as they had previously revered the Oak. By the 12th century it was being hung, upside-down, from ceilings at Christmastime in Central Europe, as a symbol of Christianity.
Conclusion
To the best of our knowledge Christmas was never celebrated in the early days of the church. But Christmas is celebrated in local churches here in Virginia in praise of the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His only Son to earth.

 

[singh is king]

if i lived in kolkata, i might visit with my friends at the time of durga pooja.

however, neither holiday has any religious significance for me.

oh, and happy Gurpurab!

Respected jasleen ji

your right "neither holiday has any significance for me" but the thread is about celebrating christmas. why we celebrate "Gurpurb"? coz that related day is "purb" of our "guru". If we have not special for christmas then why we celebrate?

My boss was happy and he gave me christmas gift as well. Also I attended my official christmas party. It does not mean I celebrated christmas. Similarly people living in Punjab (other than sikhs) enjoys government holidays related to sikhism, it does not mean they celebrate. Good examle is muslim festival id. We enjoy holiday but we do not "hallal" bakra. do we?

bhul chuk maaf

 

[Sinister]

hello,

Christmas (dec. 25th) has nothing to do with christianity or Jesus.

It was celebrated long before the birth of christianity in Egypt and parts of Europe. Sun worshippers also designate this day...when the sun would start its upward migration in the sky bringing with it longer day and the eventually the growing season.

i dont see why anybody living in the northern hemisphere could not celebrate the winter solstice (21st) ... its a cosmic event ... and so is Dec.25 .... the 3 stars from orion's belt (aka 3 kings) align themselves with Sirius (the brightest star visible from the surface of the earth) and they point to the sunrise... on you guessed it ... dec 25th. rebirth of Sun= rebirth of Son of God= bringer of life

its entirely a cosmic event celebrated long before jesus walked the earth

Dec. 25th was just hijacked by christianity
then hijacked by the corporations.
money money money



cheers

 

[Archived_Member1]

hello,

Christmas (dec. 25th) has nothing to do with christianity or Jesus.

It was celebrated long before the birth of christianity in Egypt and parts of Europe. Sun worshippers also designate this day...when the sun would start its upward migration in the sky bringing with it longer day and the eventually the growing season.

i dont see why anybody living in the northern hemisphere could not celebrate the winter solstice (21st) ... its a cosmic event ... and so is Dec.25 .... the 3 stars from orion's belt (aka 3 kings) align themselves with Sirius (the brightest star visible from the surface of the earth) and they point to the sunrise... on you guessed it ... dec 25th. rebirth of Sun= rebirth of Son of God= bringer of life

its entirely a cosmic event celebrated long before jesus walked the earth

Dec. 25th was just hijacked by christianity
then hijacked by the corporations.
money money money



cheers

100% correct.