Hark! The herald angels sing. O little town of Bethlehem. Rudolph the red nosed...

Whoahhh! What does a reindeer with neon nostrils have to do with the birth of the world's saviour? Nothing, really, but such songs do brighten the dreary days of December.

Xmas is a delightful time for children of all ages. There's shopping to do, a tree to decorate, a goose to be cooked, oohhhing and ahhhing at colorful lights along the streets and, of course, wondering what's in the gaily-decorated packages with tags that say "From Mom and Dad," "From Grandma," and "From Santa Claus."

Despite its pre-Christian origin, I have no argument with those who want to participate in the gaiety of xmas. (No, I don't participate.) It's calling it CHRISTmas that I'm against.

Your minister or priest will gladly tell you the birth of Jesus, who is called the Christ, did not occur in the dead of winter. So why should we celebrate it then? Shouldn't we separate Christmas from xmas, and celebrate Jesus' birth in line with the bible account? All the jollity would remain in xmas, and the celebration of Jesus' birth would take on the meaning it deserves.

"But we don't really know when Christ was born," you say. Believe it or not, the time of Jesus' birth can be determined, but it takes a bit of bible study and history and common sense. Fortunately, the work has already been done for you.

The dating of Jesus' birth begins in the Old Testament, the part of the Bible most of churchianity says is irrelevant today. And the time of celebration is also recorded in the Old Testament, amid a group of holy days most people believe are only for the Jews.

What causes consternation among the preachers of churchianity is the New Testament continues the story, and there's no way around it. And, in the end, history, the Bible, and good ol' common sense combine to show Jesus was born on a warm autumn evening in September.

There's another good reason to separate xmas from the birth of Christ. Moses, through the inspiration of God, wrote about it thousands of years before Jesus was born. The scripture says,

"Take heed to yourself…that you enquire not after their gods saying, How did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise'' ( Deuteronomy 12:30).

The celebrations surrounding xmas were around long before that warm September night in Bethlehem. But, as the Christian religion gained momentum, a church based in Rome -- not the biblical church at Rome -- began making converts of idol worshippers. How did they keep them? They did what God, through Moses, told them not to do.

This new church allowed their pagan "converts" to bring in many of their traditions and "Christianized" them. Among these was the Roman Saturnalia, a hedonistic event in late December, designed to encourage the sun god to rise from the long, dreary days of winter, and to shine benevolently on the people for another year. How easy it was to change the sun god to the son of God, and call the celebration Christmas or, more properly, xmas.

So why do the churches of today continue to combine xmas and Jesus' birth? Because it's tradition. But Jesus told the religious leaders of his day,

"Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.'' (Mark 7:9).

What was the commandment of God, and how does it apply today? Don't ask how the ungodly nations serve their gods, so you can do the same thing, calling it Christian (Deuteronomy 12:30).

To discover the wonderful plan of God for mankind, study his holy days revealed in Leviticus 23:1-44, and consider whether you should eschew xmas, and begin following the commandments of God.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.'' (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Written by: Les Turvey