Baptist Bah Humbug

Would you believe that at one time in this country Baptists rejected the celebration of Christmas? This was the case during the Colonial period of American history into the 19th century. This was startling news for me when I read it because I grew up celebrating Christmas as a Baptist and attending worship service every Christmas Day.

Since Baptists emerged from the Puritan wing of the English Reformation, Baptists saw no biblical warrant for the celebration of holy days in NT. The only holy day Baptists observed was the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord's Day, which is the first day of the week.

What I observe now is that Christmas Day has more importance than all 52 Lord's Days put together. Just notice: Christmas Day is when no one works other than police officers, fire fighters, etc. What about the Lord's Day? Restaurants are in full swing, retail stores, grocery stores, etc. Business owners refuse to keep a Sabbath unless it's Thanksgiving or Christmas. What about Christians and their view of the Lord's Day? Very few Christians keep the Sabbath holy. Some argue that the fourth commandment has no bearing on New Covenant piety while others argue that all days are alike. Except Christmas.

Things are reversed from what Baptists used to practice. Baptists have historically held to a high view of the Lord's Day Sabbath, and rejected celebration of holy days. In the 1689 London Confession, Chapter 22 teaches that since the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ the first day of week is the Sabbath. There is no mention the observance of any other day, but the Lord's Day. No Christian Calendar. No holy days.

This was the fundamental position of the Westminster divines when they crafted the Directory for the Public Worship of God. Regarding holy days, they wrote: "There is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord's day, which is the Christian Sabbath." They go on to state, "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-Days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued." Some argue that Reformed Puritans reacted to the retaining of the Church Calendar in the English Church, and this colored their rejection of holy days including Christmas. This is a response according to the word of God, not merely a gut reaction.

This was the prevailing practice among Baptists until the mid to late 19th century when observance of Christmas crept in the churches, which is about the same time that Americans began to observe Christmas in larger numbers. Baptist observance was more cultural than according to biblical conviction. This is unfortunate since Baptists have a strong tradition in Sola Scriptura and applying it rightly to worship matters.

If there is no biblical warrant to observe Christmas, why is this a general practice in our Baptist churches? Besides the point made in the previous paragraph, there is more to be said on this matter.