What is Christmas about?
Introduction
Christmas is not limited to a single day. From Christmas Day through Epiphany, the Church keeps the Twelve Days of Christmas as a season of continued celebration and reflection, lingering over what God has done for us in the birth of His Son. During these days, Christians rejoice that God has come near in human flesh, bringing forgiveness, life, and peace that do not fade once the decorations come down. Christmas proclaims not a passing feeling, but a lasting reality: God has entered our world to save sinners.
The following questions and answers come from a children’s Christmas service by the 19th-century Lutheran pastor and teacher Friedrich Lochner. In simple and memorable form, they confess what Christmas is truly about: Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, promised from the beginning, born of the Virgin Mary, and given for the salvation of all people. As you read, take these questions and answers to heart. Here you will find not sentimental comfort, but real peace—the peace God makes by sending His Son in human flesh to redeem us, silence the accuser, and restore us to life with Him.
Christmas Questions & Answers
What is the subject on this joyful feast?
The gracious birth of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.In which article of the Creed is this found?
In the Second Article, “Of Redemption,” where we confess: “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary.”Who is Christ?
He is true God, begotten of the Father in eternity, and also true Man, born of the Virgin Mary—true God and Man in one, undivided Person.When was He made, or when did He become, Man?
At the end of Jewish rule, when the time of the promise was fulfilled, now about 2025 years ago.How long did the time of the promise or prophecy of Christ last?
About 4,000 years.Where was the first promise or prophecy of Christ made?
In the garden of Eden, right after the Fall, when God Himself promised our parents a Savior.How is that promise worded?
The Lord God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).Which promise was made to the patriarch Jacob when he blessed his sons?
“The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [the Champion] comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people” (Genesis 49:10).Which announcement was then made through Moses?
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear” (Deuteronomy 18:15).Which promise did King David receive?
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).With what words did the prophet Isaiah prophecy that the Savior would be born of a virgin?
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).How is that prophet’s next glorious prophecy worded?
“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).How did Malachi, the last of the prophets, prophesy the coming of Christ in the flesh?
“‘Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:1).Where was the infant Jesus born?
“In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel’” (Matthew 2:5-6).And how was Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born in Bethlehem?
In great poverty and lowliness.How does the Evangelist Luke tell us this?
“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:1-7).What else does St. Luke tell us?
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:8-11).How were the shepherds to recognize the newborn Savior?
The angel said further: “And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).Finally, what else happened?
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men’” (Luke 2:13-14)!What did the shepherds do when they had seen and heard the angels?
“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Luke 2:15-16).Did they keep this account to themselves?
No. “When they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:17-19).And what did the shepherds do then?
“They returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them” (Luke 2:20).Why was the Son of God made Man?
That He as Man mankind might win / And save His creatures from their sin.Why was He born in such a poor and wretched condition?
He came to earth so mean and poor, / Man to pity and restore, / And make us rich in heav’n above, / Equal with angels through His love.What then caused the Son of God to be made Man?
His pity for us poor men, as already stated, since on account of sin we had been cast out of heaven and become the devil’s portion. Therefore, He came to redeem us and to save us, as we likewise sing: He leads us from this vale of tears, / And makes us in His kingdom heirs.For whom was Christ born?
For all poor sinners who receive and acknowledge Him as their Savior, for the angel says that the great joy shall be to all people.How are we made partakers of this Savior and of His perfect redemption?
By not doubting but firmly believing that He came and was made Man for us also; for He Himself says: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).What should we do meanwhile until He delivers us from the vale of tears?
We should rejoice and take comfort in Him and His grace, praise Him, serve Him, and constantly call upon Him, that He would forever keep us in His kingdom in a good conscience.Where is this written?
Titus chapter 2: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14). Amen.
Conclusion
Christmas is not just a story about something that happened long ago. During these Twelve Days of Christmas, the Church continues to rejoice in what God is still doing for you now.
The Son of God became Man so that He could join Himself to us—to forgive us, to give us life, and to bring us back to God. And He continues to do this in His Church: where He gathers us around His Word, where He washes us in Holy Baptism, where He forgives us through Confession and Absolution, and where He gives us His true Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper.
Here, Jesus is not distant. Here, He comes to us. Here, He joins Himself to us again and again—strengthening faith, forgiving sins, and giving the life He won for us by His birth, death, and resurrection.
This is what Christmas is about.
And this is the life to which your Savior, Jesus Christ, invites you—today, throughout these Twelve Days of Christmas, and forever.
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