Christmas Isn’t About Family Time — It’s About Celebrating Christ With Family

Every December, we hear the same familiar phrase repeated in conversations, commercials, and holiday cards: “Christmas is about spending time with family.” Family gatherings are indeed precious, and I would never diminish their importance. But as a pastor, I believe that statement, while well-intentioned, misses the heart of the season.

Family time is not the meaning of Christmas; it is a blessing that flows from it.

The Christmas season invites us to recognize the many gifts God has placed in our lives—our health, our daily bread, our relationships, and yes, our families. These are blessings worthy of gratitude. Yet they are not the source of Christmas joy; they are the result of a deeper truth. The greatest blessing of all came not in a living room filled with presents, but in a humble manger in Bethlehem: the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

What many people describe as the “magic” of Christmas is not nostalgia or sentimentality. It is something far more profound. It is the movement of the Holy Spirit reminding us—sometimes quietly, sometimes powerfully—that God entered the world in human flesh. Scripture gives us a beautiful image of this in Luke’s Gospel. When Mary, carrying Jesus, visited her cousin Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth’s womb—John the Baptist—leapt for joy. That was not coincidence or emotion alone; it was a physical response to the presence of the Spirit of God.

Christmas stirs us in much the same way. It softens hearts, awakens generosity, and draws our attention to something beyond ourselves. That stirring is the Spirit at work, pointing us back to Christ.

So this Christmas season, I invite us to gently reorder our priorities. Do not merely celebrate family and then add Christ as a tradition or background story. Instead, celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ—and do so with your family. Gather around the table and give thanks not only for one another, but for the Savior who makes true joy possible. Read the Christmas story. Pray together. Remember why this season exists at all.

When Christ is at the center, family time becomes more meaningful, not less. Love grows deeper, forgiveness comes easier, and gratitude takes root. Christmas is not about us finding joy in one another alone; it is about discovering again the joy God has given us in His Son.

That is the good news of Christmas. And that is a gift worth celebrating—together.