Billy Graham: Don't treat Christmas like a secular holiday

Rev. Billy Graham said that Christians should not to celebrate Christmas just like any other secular holiday and take the time instead to remember God's greatest gift—Jesus Christ.

In his question and answer column at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website, Graham was asked by an immigrant which of the two holidays, Thanksgiving or Christmas, was more important.

The famed evangelistic explained that Thanksgiving is celebrated to commemorate the first European settlers in America who gave thanks to God despite the hardships they experienced.

"About a month later most Americans will join with people in many other countries to celebrate Christmas, which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago," he continued.

He mentioned that many Americans will be shopping for gifts and decorate their homes and businesses to celebrate Christmas.

Graham noted that most people would say that Christmas is more important than Thanksgiving but he said that both should be treated equally because both holidays remind people of god's goodness.

"Unfortunately, for many people both Thanksgiving and Christmas are merely secular holidays. But take time today to thank God for His goodness to you, and to commit your life anew to Him. And as Christmas approaches, take time also to remember God's greatest gift to us—the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ," he said.

Graham's observations about Christmas being preferred by most Americans seem to align with surveys about American's favorite holidays.

In an online survey conducted by FiveThirtyEight last year, Christmas came on top of the list of favorite holidays. Seventy-eight percent of 1,095 respondents listed it among the top five holidays. Thanksgiving came in second at 74 percent followed by Independence Day at 47 percent and New Year's Eve/Day with 41 percent. Easter came in fifth with 26 percent.

Christmas was also the top pick in another survey conducted by The Harris Poll in November last year. It was named as the favorite holiday by 46 percent of 2,368 respondents followed by Thanksgiving with 19 percent. Halloween came in third with nine percent.