The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.
The real Christmas story is the story of God’s becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate.
The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. “But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
True Discernment 
Even Catholic sources state: “It is impossible to separate Christmas from its pagan origins.” It adds: “The Romans’ favorite festival was Saturnalia, which began on December 17 and ended with the ‘birthday of the unconquered sun’ (Natalis solis invicti) on December 25. Somewhere in the second quarter of the fourth century, savvy officials of the church of Rome decided December 25 would make a dandy day to celebrate the birthday of the ‘sun of righteousness.’ Christmas was born.” Christmas originated at a time when the cult of the sun was particularly strong at Rome.” The book Celebrations states: “The clergy eventually brought the . . . world of the Saturnalia into the Church itself.” And the Encyclopædia Britannica notes that December 25 was regarded “as the birth date of the . . . [sun] god Mithra. Although the exact details are lost in the mists of antiquity, indications are that by 336 C.E., a form of Christmas was being celebrated by the Roman church. “The date of Christmas was purposely fixed on December 25,” explains The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “to push into the background the great festival of the sun god.” When at times we hear people say: ‘Let’s get back to the true meaning of Christmas’ or, ‘Put Christ back into Christmas,’ keep in mind that the original meaning of Christmas is a pagan celebration of nature, and that Christ never was in Christmas. And when some denounce the commercializing of Christmas, keep in mind that the feasting and gift giving of the Saturnalia celebration meant business for merchants. So for thousands of years, the winter solstice has been commercialized. Those who celebrate Christmas do not honor God or Christ, but honor pagan celebrations and pagan gods.
The important thing is not Jesus’ birth, but his death. At Romans 5:12 it says; That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned. And, at 1Peter 2:24; He himself bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And “by his stripes YOU were healed. This great love that the Creator and his son, had for mankind is expressed at 1John 4:9,10; The love of God was made manifest in our case, because God sent forth his only-begotten Son into the world that we might gain life through him. The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. Jesus died as the foremost upholder of his father, Jehovah’s, sovereignty. He thus proved Satan to be a liar for charging that humans serve God only with selfish motives. (Job 2:1-5; Proverbs 27:11) By means of his death as a perfect human, Jesus also “gave his soul a ransom in exchange for many” as expressed in Matthew 20:28 When Adam sinned against God, he forfeited perfect human life and its prospects. But “God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Indeed, one of the most important scriptures to remember is Romans 6:23, “The wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.” The death of Jesus Christ, is thus linked with the two greatest expressions of love—the great love that Jehovah showed for mankind in giving his Son and the self-sacrificing love that Jesus showed for humankind by willingly giving up his human life.
A Memorial of Jesus’ death, not a celebration of his birth, magnifies these two expressions of love.