Are Baptism And Communion Requirements For Salvation?

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I do not observe Christmas as any kind of religious observance.  I and my family do some of the secular things that are done during the holiday period. We exchange gifts and eat turkey and all that good stuff.  We do not find in the Bible any authority for singling out any particular one-day-of-the-year on which to take special note of the birth of Jesus or of His resurrection (i.e. "Easter").  Such "religious holidays" are purely the product of human tradition.

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The way I look at it, the Bible doesn't tell us to do a LOT of things, but we do them anyway. Let's see, the Bible doesn't tell us to eat salad. But we eat salad, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I like to think that it makes Jesus smile when his true children who love Him want to celebrate His birthday. I admit, MOST people give very little thought to the REASON they celebrate Christmas. Somehow it's lost amid the hoopla and noise and the fistfights at Walmart. But those of us who celebrate with MINOR gifts, food, family and friends, and prayer, are honoring Him, and whether the Bible tells us we should pick a specific day to commemorate His birth or not, I would think He likes it.

And Easter? That is the greatest thing we should celebrate. The day He rose from the dead, a miracle happened. Not just the miracle of Him coming back to life, but the miracle of the forgivness He purchased for us through His suffering. I think celebrating Easter is a reminder to His faithful of just how MUCH He suffered, and how amazingly wonderful it is that He loves us enough to have gone through that. It should be a time of reflection and redidication, in my opinion.

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I do not observe Christmas as any kind of religious observance.  I and my family do some of the secular things that are done during the holiday period. We exchange gifts and eat turkey and all that good stuff.  We do not find in the Bible any authority for singling out any particular one-day-of-the-year on which to take special note of the birth of Jesus or of His resurrection (i.e. "Easter").  Such "religious holidays" are purely the product of human tradition.

As the kids got older we did less and less. We don't decorate that much since they aren't interested in all that anymore. We still give gifts and do the parties and dinners but that's about it. It's pretty low key.

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Wait until you get Grandbabies. It won't be low key

then.

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I have had grandbabies for 18 years, and they have not been brought up to expect loads of material things piled upon them a Christmas time. Sure, they receive presents and enjoy them, but it has not become a consuming, materialistic passion with them as with many of their contemporaries. I am proud of the way their parents have raised them.