Christmas is a special occasion with unique offerings for the Christian community worldwide and has the potential to converting to Christianity a large number yet to decide masses when the interrelated and interdependent activities are creatively and efficiently managed.
The widespread celebration is a popular myth that is marked annually on 25th December to remind us of the day the savior of the world was born positioning Jesus as the very personification of Divinity. The reason for the choice of this day by the church officials in the fourth century as a holiday was for the purpose of absorbing the traditions linked to agriculture, the Roman festival and the solar observation amid the introduction of the Yule rites.
According to Joseph A. Fitzmeyer – a professor Emeritus of Biblical studies at the catholic university of America, “Although the year of Jesus birth is not reckoned with certainty, the birth did not occur in AD1. He also emphasized that the Christian era is supposed to have its starting point in the year of Jesus birth. According to the Roman Almanac, the Christmas was celebrated by AD 336. In the Eastern part of Rome , it was celebrated on January 6 as a manifestation of God in both the birth and the baptism of Christ.
Undoubtedly, the early years of Christianity focused on Easter as the main holiday and reasonably so the earliest gospel Mark begins with the baptism and an adult Jesus. The celebration of Christmas was however necessitated to fill the gap in the week long celebration from 17 to 25th by the Roman. This celebration has nothing intrinsically Christian hence some of the depraved customs were revived by the Catholic Church in 1466 leading to the synthesis of customs and rerouting of others in line with the expectation of Christians.
Today, Christmas is branded as sacred religious holiday and worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon with variables worth considering from the Christian perspective.
Ranking high is the spiritual life of Christ as an agent of transformation because he was born at the time when ignorance, superstition, greed, hatred and hypocrisy exist to the neglect of its sanctification and morality. His birth therefore bring a new era dawned for the world.
One character that has assumed importance in the celebration is the focus on Saint Nicholas or the Santa Claus because he was noted for his generosity with children and this has been reveled through his deeds in saving a poor family of three daughters who had no wedding dowries with bags of gold. It is a also common for families to meet to share the we feeling among the members. It is also an opportunity to remember the less fortunate in society. Interestingly, people use the period to honor some of the youth who have distinguished themselves.
During this special moment, goodwill is also expressed through exchange of gifts. Notably, the first Christmas card was designed in England in 1843 during a family party with the words “merry Christmas and Happy New year”
The custom of decorating the chrismas tree also reflects the drive for eternity through Christian lifestyle by using the evergreen decorated with light and ornament. Wreaths and garlands are also symbolic mark of honor to Christ as the most priced value. The unique addition to this originated from western Germany as people set tree and parade in their homes on 24th December as feast of Adam and Eve. The hanging of wafer to signify redemption amid candles, candies and funny cakes and ribbons attached to the branches.
The penultimate is the opportunity that the celebration presents for the people to attend church for Christ spirit to take its place within our heart. Carols are also medium of expression, feelings and beliefs of the celebration. Most of these carols are macaronic mixing two languages. These songs refer to Virgin Mary, Christ child or the saints. Christmas also announces that God the almighty creator of the universe has come into the world in human form tagged by the birth name Jesus. Without the message of God’s incarnation in human flesh and the gift of his son salvation of mankind will suffer.
The peace of the world is also anchored as one of the attributes of the season because we believe there can be no peace on earth apart from the spirit of Jesus. The gift of peace is a special blessing worth celebrating and sharing the love to the world since any other thing is meaningless. Peace prevails in humility, simplicity, holiness and doing good to conquer evil.
Given that the celebration was in place before you were born, while we grow, conduct our daily lives and even when we retire from this earth, sustainability of chrismas will need reengineering in its context on the intrinsic meaning, history, origin and promotion in order not to be swept away carelessly. Ironically, each year 30 to 35 million real chrismas trees are sold in the united state alone. The commercialization of Christmas will be inevitable but the need for targeting while appreciating the present with understanding the need of market will be vital in the growth of the church. As revealed by Stephen Nissenbaum, professor history at the university of Massachutts, Amherst “ in return for ensuring massive observance of the anniversary of the savior’s birth , the church tacitly agreed to allow the holiday to be celebrated more or less the way it had always been”
There is no disputing the fact that Christmas is a strong selling proposition of the Christian faith with set of benefits it offers that needs attention in order to sustain it by living it knowing where we are, where we are going and what will guide our journey.
A concerted effort by stakeholders to promote the produced information balancing Christmas dynamics will help sustain it. Parents should be able explain the relationship between the historical biblical accounts of the birth to children. Our Christian ministers and teachers must be able to blend biblical story with the non biblical legends and traditions worth celebrating. Companies are also supposed to play their role by not sacrificing eternity to the momentary satisfaction that people will gain from their role while we prepare for the future by receiving Christ in our heart as we love and live for the truth as shown to us in John 3:16.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year……….. Bonne Noel et Bonne annee.
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