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One Christmas celebration. Why two days - Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

I have been a person of faith since childhood. Yet today, on Christmas Eve, I felt a gentle spiritual nudge to pause and ask a simple question:

Why is there a Christmas Eve, followed by a Christmas Day, to remember the birth of Jesus?

The answer reaches deeper than modern tradition.


In Jewish culture—shaping daily life in Jesus’ time and rooted in the Bible—a new day begins at sunset, not at midnight. Scripture repeatedly tells us, “There was evening, and there was morning…”

So in this biblical understanding of time, the evening before a day is actually the beginning of that day.


What we practice today in the Gregorian calendar—marking Christmas Eve before Christmas Day—is, perhaps unknowingly, still echoing this ancient, biblical rhythm. In that sense, Christmas Eve is not merely the night before Christmas; it is our entrance into Christmas Day.


This matters, because Jesus entered the world quietly, in the night. Shepherds were watching their flocks in the darkness when angels appeared, announcing good news of great joy. Light broke into the night, and hope arrived before the dawn. In time, wise men from afar began their journey, seeking the Child, guided not by spectacle but by faith and obedience. Christmas did not start with noise or power, but with waiting—with heaven drawing near to earth, and God drawing near to us.


Each Christmas on earth, then, is not only a cultural celebration but a spiritual remembrance of why Jesus was born. Scripture reminds us that His coming was purposeful. As thoughtfully outlined in a recent Crossway article, Jesus came to:

Expose misunderstanding and disobedience

Provide a sacrifice for the salvation of sinners

Bring light into the world

Be glorified by the Father


Christmas points us not just to a manger, but forward to the cross—and beyond that, to redemption and glory.

This is why the invitation to “remember the Christ in Christmas” still matters. Christmas is more than sentiment or seasonality. It is a reminder that hope, joy, peace, and love—symbolized in the Advent candles—are not abstract ideals, but gifts made possible through Him.


Whether one approaches this season through faith, tradition, or quiet curiosity, Christmas Eve gently asks us to consider this:

What if the light we long for truly entered the world—and still does?


'Tis the season to be jolly, yes—but more deeply, 'tis the season to remember why He came.

And His good news, then as now, is for all nations.




 
 
 

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