Have you realised the real meaning of Christmas?
December 26th 2006 10:42
Oh holy night the stars are brightly shining…this is the night of our dear saviour’s birth!
Wishing one and all the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas season!
Christmas is the time of giving and sharing, it is the time when our families forget their differences and come together to celebrate. When we decorate our houses, put up christmas trees and spend enormous sums of money on clothes and gifts for ourselves and our loved ones. But very often we forget why we are doing all this…why am I writing about it? Maybe, because I too, almost completely forgot the reason why I celebrate Christmas in the first place!
As every year, this year too I went for the midnight service on Christmas eve to my church. I arrived fifteen minutes early, hoping to get a seat. But, to my surprise the church premises was overflowing with people, many of whom I had never seen before, not that I know everyone who comes there. But there were hawkers selling Santa Claus hats and balloons, children screaming, it was like I was in a middle of a fairground!
As the service began (I ended up standing right through), people started leaving! Then it dawned on me that these weren’t Christians at all, they were people from other faiths who had come to ‘experience’ the midnight service, like it was an annual fair. Then I looked around again, and it did seem like many of us (including me) had come there, like every year, more for tradition sake than because we wanted to celebrate and witness Christ’s birth at the service. We had become victims of the commercialisation of this beautiful event.
Thankfully, by the end of the service, I realised that the celebrations were meaningless if I didn’t completely understand God the Father’s love for me, and his expression of this love by sending Jesus to save me.
I sincerely hope that by the end of this Christmas season a majority of the world has experienced god’s love. I maybe optimistic, but deep down in my heart I know it is possible…do you?
Wishing one and all the peace and joy of Christ this Christmas season!
Christmas is the time of giving and sharing, it is the time when our families forget their differences and come together to celebrate. When we decorate our houses, put up christmas trees and spend enormous sums of money on clothes and gifts for ourselves and our loved ones. But very often we forget why we are doing all this…why am I writing about it? Maybe, because I too, almost completely forgot the reason why I celebrate Christmas in the first place!
As every year, this year too I went for the midnight service on Christmas eve to my church. I arrived fifteen minutes early, hoping to get a seat. But, to my surprise the church premises was overflowing with people, many of whom I had never seen before, not that I know everyone who comes there. But there were hawkers selling Santa Claus hats and balloons, children screaming, it was like I was in a middle of a fairground!
As the service began (I ended up standing right through), people started leaving! Then it dawned on me that these weren’t Christians at all, they were people from other faiths who had come to ‘experience’ the midnight service, like it was an annual fair. Then I looked around again, and it did seem like many of us (including me) had come there, like every year, more for tradition sake than because we wanted to celebrate and witness Christ’s birth at the service. We had become victims of the commercialisation of this beautiful event.
Thankfully, by the end of the service, I realised that the celebrations were meaningless if I didn’t completely understand God the Father’s love for me, and his expression of this love by sending Jesus to save me.
I sincerely hope that by the end of this Christmas season a majority of the world has experienced god’s love. I maybe optimistic, but deep down in my heart I know it is possible…do you?
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Comment by Ash
Flashes of memories
Good on you for reminding us all. Hope yours was a very Merry Christmas
Comment by reuben
Frank Thoughts
Hope you had a great christmas, though it was a pity that you had to work.
For sometime I almost believed that most of us thought that Christmas is only about Santa Claus, Christmas trees, holly, gifts and nothing else!
Good to know that you witnessed a Christmas miracle, we often fail to see these small things in life as miracles.
Reuben
Comment by Asha
I was in US this time for Christmas and let me tell you this... The kind of Christmas we celebrate in India is still great.
Here, I am told every house has a Christmas tree, or multiple maybe, in the front yard, at the fireplace etc. But not all houses have a crib, depicting the real meaning of Christmas.
They have Santa and Snowman, and reindeers, but no Angel heralding the coming of our Saviour.
They have decorations on the tree and lights on the garage door, but no Star, which guides the wandering soul.
In India, we have all of these. It's true Christmas has become commercialised, but you still have families getting together, you still have love flowing, you still have friends dropping in.
I attended the Christmas Mass here, went for an evening service on 24, which is a Family mass. The kids enacted the gospel, and it was lovely.. the angels, shepherds, Mary and Joseph playing their part. But I didn't feel it as Christmassy as I feel in India, probably becoz I was alone in the crowd, probably becoz not a single person wished me, probably becoz ... I don;t know.
This year, Christmas didnt happen, altho I listened to my favorite carols, I decorated my desk in office, helped decorate the house I was living in ... Nothing helped. The real meaning of Christmas still eludes me.
Nothing beats being with family and friends and loved ones, is my lesson this Christmas.
Wish you luck in the new year.