Still I believe Christmas should be celebrated

Hey TJ, thanks for taking out time to comment on my blog. Let me start by inviting you you to read an interesting book by an investigative journalist following this link. I must say I'm incredibly overwhelmed by the civility with which you defend your faith, considering the sensitive nature of religious issues and the violent emotions with which people often react to contrary religious ideas. Your argument is completely valid and logical; I'm aware of the pagan origin of the the 25th of December as Christmas as well as some Christmas traditions, but I'm also aware of the logic in choosing this day and in carrying out these traditions. For the records, December 25 was not mentioned in the biblical narrative as the day Jesus was born, and, as such, we cannot be dogmatic about it one way or the other.  However, I still believe Christmas should be celebrated. Firstly, the birth of Jesus was a victory over evil; represented by King Herod. Secondly, the birth of Jesus was the beginning of the end of his mission to earth: to save mankind and reestablish that broken link between man and the Father; he could not have died on Calvary for us without being born! Therefore his birth is as important as his works and ultimate sacrifice: death on the cross. We cannot therefore celebrate only what he did and forget how He came to the world: His birth was the single greatest hope to man's salvation and so should be commemorated in some way.  Speculation as to the time of Jesus’ birth dates back to the 3rd century, when Hyppolytus (ca. 170-236) claimed that Jesus was born on December 25. The earliest mention of some sort of observance on that date is in the Philoclian Calendar, representing Roman practice, of the year 336. Later, John Chrysostom favored the same date of birth. The date eventually became the officially recognized date for Christmas in part because it coincided with the pagan festivals celebrating Saturnalia and the winter solstice. The church thereby offered people a Christian alternative to the pagan festivities and eventually reinterpreted many of their symbols and actions in ways acceptable to Christian faith and practice. What is important is not the origins of traditions, but their significance to us today as believers in the Son of God The fact is that He was born, that He came into the world to atone for our sins, that He was resurrected to eternal life, and that He’s alive today. This is what we should celebrate, as we are told in the Old Testament in such passages as Zechariah 2:10: “'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,' declares the LORD.” Further, the angel that announced the birth to the shepherds brought “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Surely here is the cause for celebration every day, not just once a year.  As for magical Santa Claus, he's just a symbol of the giving and sharing inspired by Jesus' birth and life. Is it really likely that when I give gifts to my loved ones at Christmas, the gifts will have less significance to either of us because some Druid somewhere in time offered a gift to his goat as part of some pagan ritual? No, we remember, as we should, the gifts given to the Christ-child by the Magi (Matthew 2:11). Jesus was the greatest gift ever given, and therefore His birth is worthy of celebration. Many thanks