We will gather together this Christmas, with family and friends, sharing a traditional dinner, exchanging presents, ---- in the joy of spending time with people we love and enjoy being with.
The true meaning of Christmas is ---“Celebration of Life, the birth of new life and the feeling of community and belongingness.”
Christmas is celebrated by one third of the world’s population. The various Christmas traditions we participate in did not begin with the birth of Jesus but rather began thousands of years ago with roots outside Christianity. In the first centuries, AD, anyone who was not Christian, regardless of their religious connections, was referred to as ‘pagan’ by Christian missionaries. It was these so-called ‘pagans’ who held winter solstice celebrations to rejoice that the worst of winter was over and they could look forward to longer days and more hours of sunlight. It is commonly believed that December 25th was chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus in an attempt to end the traditions of ‘pagan’ celebrations that Christians’ looked down upon. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336AD during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantin’s reign – the first Christian Roman Emperor.
Our roots are deeply steeped in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic traditions.
Through religious practices we have developed a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldview that relate humanity to spirituality and sometimes to moral values. Religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe.
Unfortunately, history teaches us, religious intolerance is used to feed hatred and to contribute to armed conflicts, not so much because it is the cause of conflict but because religious belonging is used to draw dividing lines.
Qatar, a nation deeply rooted in Islam, with calls to prayer five times a day, allows Christian worship in the city of Doha, with eight churches --- from Anglican to Greek Orthodox with the Catholic Church the most prominent. Where Reverend Rally Gonzaga and eleven priests celebrate mass in English, Tagalog, Indonesian, Korean, Urdu, Malayalam, Tamil, Konkani, Sinhala, and Arabic. There is a minor twist to the religious celebrations --- instead of the conventional Sunday celebrations --- celebrations are held on Friday based on Muslim traditions.
We, North Americans, are very fortunate living in a relatively free society and share little experience with conflicts that have and continue to plague most of our planet. Consider how the people in war torn Ukraine will spend this Christmas?
In downtown Kyiv, in the middle of a raging war and with the potential of bombs falling, there were no empty seats near a candle lit stage where a classical music concert was in play. ABC reporter spoke to concert organizer Oledsandr Pescherytisa ---- “They’re for people who are afraid, who had their safety and peace of mind torn away from them, so it’s important to keep the light and warmth in people’s heart alive. Nothing does it better than music.”
Nearby Kyiv resident Maksym Kondratovych has gone to great lengths to brace for a worst-case scenario, telling ABC News he’s basically camping in his own apartment. He stocked up on everything including equipment to filter and boil water, camping food, dried borscht, glow-sticks, flashlights. He takes dry showers and has a sleeping bag at the ready for when it’s too cold.
"You can’t change the world. You can change a person’s world. The more people you help, the more worlds you’ve changed.”…… Andrew Gifford, eighteen century Baptist Minister
Christmas is a time to be grateful for what we have and to spend time enjoying our family and friends. A time to help others in need that are less fortunate than we are.
Have a Very Mary Christmas!
Cheers
John