Celebrating Christmas?
December 24th, 2007, by Michael StelznerOn this Christmas eve, I thought I might explore the meaning of Christmas.
Is Christmas about gift giving, random acts of kindness, Santa or shopping?
Well, sadly yes and no.
Christmas has become something a bit different from its roots.
Simply stated, Christmas historically is the celebration of the birth of Christ. It is a celebration that the savior of the world was born in a little town called Bethlehem.
Here is a blurb from Wikipedia.org on Christmas:
The Nativity of Jesus refers to the Christian belief that the Messiah was born to the Virgin Mary. The story of Christmas is based on the biblical accounts given in the Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 1:18-Matthew 2:12 and the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 1:26-Luke 2:40. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem.
According to popular tradition, the birth took place in a “stable”, surrounded by farm animals, though neither the “stable” nor the animals are mentioned in the Biblical accounts. However, a “manger” is mentioned in Luke 2:7 where it states “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child. Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth.
If you are a Christian (like I am), please take a moment and reflect on the importance of Christ’s coming into the world.
Merry Christmas!
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December 24th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Amen …
December 24th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Larry - Merry Christmas! - Mike
December 24th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Great reminder. And perhaps one of the best things Christians can do is to attend a candlelight service at their local church on Christmas Eve tonight or a Christmas morning celebration service tomorrow.
Take an hour to forget about yourself and the holiday hassles; just hear the words from Scripture, sing the hymns, and center your focus on Christ.
Merry Christmas
December 24th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
I am doing that very thing tonight Jesse
December 24th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Thanks, Mike, for this message.
I posted my thoughts about the Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays controversy at http://coloradosprings.yourhub.com/Briargate/Blogs/Religion-Faith/Blog~407414.aspx.
These are the thoughts that didn’t get posted last week on your blog for some reason.
December 25th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Linda, I completely agree with your article! My mother and I were discussing just last night (over Christmas carols) that we are just as happy hearing a hearty Happy Holidays! as Merry Christmas. There is plenty of room in my heart to just be happy that others are finding meaning in their own religious practices, even if I do think my own Christian spirituality is the most true.
Merry Christmas to all! And I hope you celebrate the full 12 days of Christmas, from today through Epiphany.
December 25th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Thanks Linda!
I switched my email filter so messages should not be disappearing any more (got a handful of messages about this recently).
Mike
December 26th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
The birth of our Savior is what Christmas is all about (and our relationship to Him). Our church’s candlelight service was such a highlight for me this year. Merry Christmas Mike, to you and your expanding family.