Santa Theory

[mee]

How did a holiday that professes to honor the birth of Christ become so entangled with non-Christian customs?

More important, how does God view the matter?

 

[Quahom1]

How did a holiday that professes to honor the birth of Christ become so entangled with non-Christian customs?

More important, how does God view the matter?

The Church coinsided the celebration of Jesus with the traditional pagan winter festival, in order to acclimate the pagans to Christianity. They convinced the pagans that instead of celebrating the beginning of life and renewal (salvation) for a natural year, they could be celebrating the promise of the beginning of eternal life and renewal.

Of course the newly converted Christians would bring their own traditions into the celebratory part of the "Christian" holiday, just as immigrants have brought their traditions into the collective whole of your country and the USA, making for richer and vibrant nations.

As far as how God views the matter, well you'll have to ask him. But I doubt any situation that causes man to turn a more tender heart towards his fellow man, and to think about Christ and what he stands for, would upset him much...