Why Don't Mormons Go to Church on Christmas if Christmas Doesn't Fall on a Sunday?

[JeanMichel]

I have lived in the path of the so called Bible belt for the past ten years and I have noticed that all their parking lots are emty over Christmas:shrug:
May all Christians pray and prepare for the holiness of Christ’s birth during the coming forty days of Advent. Peace, Carlan

I knew one Mormon family that during the Christmas season they had a Christmas tree that was always decorated so nicely. The thing that was unusual was that underneath the tree, prior to Chrismas day, they always had a picture of the Christ beside a humble, wooden nativity. On Christmas day their tradition was to awake as a family and surround the tree. On Christmas morning they would sing carols while surrounding the Christmas tree. Later in the day, they then would exchange their gifts.

I always admired this tradtion and felt it had exactly the type of focus I wanted for my family. We have not always maintained a strict focus on Christmas morning on the gifts thing, but a picture of Christ has always been under our Christmas tree and then a wooden star with the nativity on it has always stood atop the tree (a gift fron Bethlehem).

Is going to church the only way to celebrate Christ’s birth? No, I don’t think so. However, Christmas Mass is truly one of the great times. All Christians should come and adore him at this time. More importantly, I hope that each of us prepare for this Christmas season to keep him in our hearts and extend ourselves toward others. Love the unloved, comfort the lonely, and go the extra mile to provide aid to others.

May His Peace abide with all of us always,

 

[Carlan]

I knew one Mormon family that during the Christmas season they had a Christmas tree that was always decorated so nicely. The thing that was unusual was that underneath the tree, prior to Chrismas day, they always had a picture of the Christ beside a humble, wooden nativity. On Christmas day their tradition was to awake as a family and surround the tree. On Christmas morning they would sing carols while surrounding the Christmas tree. Later in the day, they then would exchange their gifts.

I always admired this tradtion and felt it had exactly the type of focus I wanted for my family. We have not always maintained a strict focus on Christmas morning on the gifts thing, but a picture of Christ has always been under our Christmas tree and then a wooden star with the nativity on it has always stood atop the tree (a gift fron Bethlehem).

Is going to church the only way to celebrate Christ’s birth? No, I don’t think so. However, Christmas Mass is truly one of the great times. All Christians should come and adore him at this time. More importantly, I hope that each of us prepare for this Christmas season to keep him in our hearts and extend ourselves toward others. Love the unloved, comfort the lonely, and go the extra mile to provide aid to others.

May His Peace abide with all of us always,

Thank you JeanMichel for you beautiful post. Peace of the Season be with you and yours. Carlan

 

[SteveVH]

The angles in heaven certainly celebrated Christmas, singing “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth”. If it was good enough for them it should be good enough for us.

 

[flameburns623]

It is worth noting that Christmas as a holy day probably was not widely observed during the first several hundred years of the history of the Church. (Easter, by contrast, is mentioned fairly early in the patristic writings).

Even after it became widely observed, it has not always been as significant a holiday as it has become. At one time, January 6th–Epiphany–was at least as significant, or in some places more significant than December 25.

And remember that while Protestants frequently do not honor Christmas or other holy days as Catholics do–they omit such observances with the full intention of honoring Christ.

They seek to honor Him by NOT observing a day which is likely not to be His true date of birth.

And, they honor Him by NOT going beyond His word in Scripture, which does not explicitly command that Christ’s birthday be remembered.

So Protestants, like Catholics, are trying in their own way to honor Him as best they understand that He should be honored.

 

[T_Hope]

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts. I have learned a lot by reading your posts, and appreciate the chance to look at things from a different perspective other than my own.

To mormons then, the Lord’s day (Sunday), is set apart for worship. And if Christmas falls on another day, time is spent then with family and in celebration according to family tradition. I do understand that Christ was not born on a snowy December day anyway, as shepherds are not generally out with their sheep all night except for in the spring when the new lambs are being born. So, I can understand from a mormon perspective what Parker has said.

It is also interesting about some protestant views that the Lord did not command in the Bible a special celebration on Christmas day. I’ve never thought of that before.

For the first time in my life, I have something to base my newly forming and very personal traditions on - and as for this topic, my thoughts for the rest of my life are forming thus:

No matter what day our Lord was born on earth for the salvation of us all, He came with a purpose which is salvation and unity with Him. Unity. I’ve heard that word, I’ve felt that message, and heard prayers for people everywhere during Mass. This concept resonates throughout my very being. As we are unified with Christ and with each other through participating in and receiving the Eucharist at Mass, the Eucharist is the most wonderful of Christmas gifts. And I can, therefore, think of no better way to celebrate Christmas than to go to Mass on Christmas day.

May God bless us all throughout this season of Advent,
Hope
(My first Advent - and less than 5 months until Easter Vigil - who’s counting? ME!)

 

[RebeccaJ]

For Catholics, the liturgical year has had the greatest influence on when we celebrate Christmas. Easter is as close and accurate to the real “anniversary date” of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ as it comes. This has always been celebrated by Christians, from the very beginning. This has always been our most important Holy Day.

Christmas, as often is noted by people who think a seasonal alignment is somehow a pagan connotation, falls very close to the shortest, darkest day of the year. But as Christians, we view this in the light of Jesus Christ. Christmas falls just as the light of the season is beginning to increase. The darkest day has occurred, the world is only growing in light. In this way we associate the seasons, which God created, to the Light of Christ. Also made evident by our use of light in the Christmas season, which is of course from Christmas Eve to Epiphany. Our Advent candles mark the beginning of our liturgical year.

The Annunciation then, is celebrated 9 months before Christmas.

These are Catholic Traditions, in the form of a capital “T”. It is part of the whole witness we have, and all Catholics before us have given to the Truth of Jesus Christ. Our lives are aligned to Him, and though most modern Catholics are not farmers, the Catholics before us were almost exclusively, farmers, whose lives were in a rhythm to the seasons. Seeing Christ in this rhythm is what we do.

Protestants retained these Traditions, some more than others. Mormons adopted them, in a very reduced form. So reduced, that most LDS are unaware of the liturgical calendar, entirely. They think that somehow because Christmas is celebrated in December, that it is a sign of just how wrong Catholics have it. As though we literally believe Jesus was born on December 25th.

The interesting thing I find, is that LDS believe Joseph Smith knew the exact date Jesus was born on, yet, they don’t celebrate this day as the day Christ was born. They use the day Catholics have used, based on our liturgical calendar, without ever really knowing why.