Pixlet - I’m cutting and pasting from a couple of older posts of mine. I hope it helps.
The scripture that they tie together with the commands to commemorate Christ’s death is:
Ecclesiastes 7:1 A good name is better than a good ointment, and the day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.
As can be seen, this is still very short of prohibiting birthdays, or an observance of Christ’s birth.
That all of the birthdays in the Bible are from pagans or bad people is a subject of some debate:
Job 1:4 And his (Job’s) sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day…
A number of commentators (for example, Albert Barnes, author of Barnes Notes on the Old and New Testament) have understood these to be birthday celebrations. There is nothing in the text to indicate that what they were doing was bad, or that the troubles that they experienced were as a result of these celebrations.
One of the questions that comes up in Christmas/no-Christmas discussions is:** If there is not an explicit command to observe a “day” in Scripture, is it OK to clebrate it?** I hope the following notes help:
In Jesus’ day the Jews celebrated a holiday not commanded in the Law of Moses, and Jesus celebrated it too:
“The Feast of Dedication” - John 10:22-23 “And it was at Jerusalem the Feast of Dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch.”
(This feast came into practice between Old and New Testament times , noting the defeat of Antiochus who had defiled the Temple. After his defeat the Temple was rededicated; the “Feast of Dedication“ commemorated this. Not commanded in the Law of Moses [but it‘s origin is described in 1 Maccabees 4:59 and 2 Maccabees 10:8])
Other examples of days being observed out of custom, not commanded in the Law of Moses:
Having to do with Jephthah’s daughter - Judges 11:39,40 - “Thus it became a custom in Israel that the daughters of Israel went yearly to commemorate the daughter of Jephthah… four days of the year”
Because of national victories in the days of Esther - Esther 9:19 “Therefore the Jews of the rural areas, who live in the rural towns, make the fourteenth day of the month Adar a holiday for rejoicing and feasting and sending portions of food to one another.”
Nowhere does it say the God told them to do this, but neither does it say that it is condemned. Rather, the contexts suggest that these practices are commendable.
If it was OK for the Jews to commemorate military victories and other things with holidays not commanded in the Law, is it wrong for Christians to commemorate the birth of Jesus with a day?
(Ralph Woodrow’s (not a Catholic) excellent book "
Christmas Reconsidered" discusses the above and more; available here -
ralphwoodrow.org/book.htm