I am puzzled by people who believe they can celebrate Christmas without celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. I can't help thinking how I'd feel if my family decided to celebrate my birthday while excluding me from the festivities.
Or what if people started saying that they wanted to have parades and picnics and fireworks on the 4th of July while denying that the celebration had anything to do with America winning our independence? After all, that was a long time ago. Some people don't even really believe it was all that important, anyway; and what if people from Great Britain got offended by the implication that we won a war against them?
I understand that some people like all of the perks of Christmas without giving any thought to the Host; but is that any reason to hijack it from those of us who celebrate for the Original Reason? No other religious holiday has to contend with people trying to steal it away!
So Merry Christmas to all, but to all those who don't believe in the reason for it, please stop stealing our Holy Day away from us just because you only like the trappings and not the Source of all the Joy that Christmas brings to the world. A Creche is a much more accurate representation of Christmas than a Frosty Snowman or even a Santa Claus.
This is not a just a winter holiday. There are, as people love to point out, lots of holidays in the winter. But each of the others gets to be called by its actual name and be celebrated by those of the faith that it originates with, using the symbols they find meaningful. Christmas is special, but that's because it celebrates the God of Creation becoming flesh and dwelling amongst us. It is filled with joy, hope, love and goodwill; but if you remove the reason for all of those good things, you will be left with a hollow shell of greed, discontentment and over-indulgence. Christmas is first and foremost a religious Holy Day. Without the birth of Jesus Christ, there simply is no Christmas.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment