Copy of Letter we sent with our Christmas Easter Cards a couple weeks ago.

Merry Christmas and Happy Easter

Our family has been doing something different for Christmas over the past couple of years. This year we are continuing with this tradition.

Christmas day is on December 25th each year. But not in our house. For many reasons, we have moved our Christmas to Easter Sunday. The birth of Christ wouldn’t have happened on December 25th anyhow. December 25th has for the most part become more of a day that benefits stores and has become way to commercialized. The day isn’t about Christ.

There are many people who don’t have the money to buy presents for their children, family and friends. Many goes into debt so they can buy gifts or put bills off in place of gift giving. Not everyone will have a hot meal or be surrounded by loved ones. I have known many who have passed away or committed suicide because the sorrow they have experienced during the most joyous of all holidays. Our daughters have families of their own and by the time Christmas in December comes around, they don’t have extra money they can spend on gifts and such. They also don’t have to worry about which parents house they will go to for dinner. By moving our Christmas to Easter, it gives them the opportunity to pay their bills and not feel stressed over money, gifts or time. I don’t think Christ would want us to go into debt and be stressed out over gifts when it is and should be all about Christ.

I know there are elements of the day that are about Christ and it is a struggle each year when it comes to trying to keep Christ in CHRISTmas. I’m pretty sure Christ would be happy with the way things are now. Christ gets lost in the shuffle. So, at our house we celebrate Christmas at Easter. We celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, while remembering that He died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead three days later. We have a big family dinner that is enjoyed by all.It is very pleasant and rewarding when we do our Christmas and Easter like this. It puts the focus on Christ, instead of all the other things and the man in the red suit.

•    John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

But what is the real meaning of Christmas?

Many would say that Christmas is about spending time with family, gifts under the tree and spreading messages of peace and love to those we care about the most. It is for some a time to send Christmas cards out once a year, playing in the snow and wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas”. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a tree decorated and Christmas music being sung and played over the radio.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Christmas and Easter is our families most important observances of the year. It is a time of joy. Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son into the world to be born. Because Jesus was born, His life and death is about love, hope and truth. When He came into this world as a babe, He brought salvation to all of us. Without Jesus, we would all die because of our sins.

Jesus was born and He died on the cross for all of our sins. When we confess that we are sinners, we can ask Him to forgive us and come into our hearts.

As we get ready to celebrate the birth and death of Jesus Christ, we know that the peace and joy we receive will last forever. God will meet all of your needs.

•   I John 1:9, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.”

Why Do We Celebrate Easter?

On Easter Sunday we commemorate the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the grave on the third day after His crucifixion and death on Calvary.
“Jesus said … ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die’” (John 11:25–26).
Easter is the day when we celebrate Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Jesus is the Son of God and heroically gave His life to die for our sins. On the third day after He died — the day we now celebrate as Easter Sunday — His friends went to His grave, and found that He had risen from the dead. They saw an angel who told them, “Don’t be afraid! I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said it would happen.”

God sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins.

Jesus is the Son of God. He lived a sinless life and then died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. “God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.”

Jesus rose from the dead and now He lives in heaven with God His Father. He offers us the gift of eternal life — of living forever with Him in heaven if we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.”
May God bless you with His joy this Christmas/Easter season!