Putting Christ back into the Christmas

Is it not imperative to emphasise the significance of the spirit of Christ in our hearts during the Christmas celebration?

COMMENT

Christmas is just around the corner and it may come as a surprise that many people never reflect on why they believe or do what they do during Christmas.

They basically do what the majority of the Christian faith does or what everybody else does because it is easy and the most natural way to follow.

To put it simply, Christmas is just another occasion and time to be together with families and friends for a feisty and food celebration.

With some 1.9 million Christians in the country according to our latest 2012 statistics, the celebration of Christmas is one of many diverse major religious and cultural celebrations in our nation.

The Christmas celebration invokes in us many glittering and beautiful decorative images, including the Christian faithful going to churches, Christmas Eve’s family get-together dinners and of course, not forgetting for the children, the popular and evergreen myth of Santa Claus riding his red-nose reindeer, Rudolph.

In fact, there are so many things associating with Christmas, thanks to the competence of commercialisation at shopping malls, media and TV advertisements. It is almost impossible for non-Christians not knowing the Christmas season is around the corner!

But are all these images of Christmas goodies and traditional Christian cultural practices pointing to the real significance of Christmas?

The holly wreaths, decorated fir trees, seasonal greeting cards, singing Christmas songs and carols, the exchange of gifts, roasted stuffed turkey and special cookies or even chestnuts in open fire as in snow-white covered countries – do all these carry any special significant messages to humanity and reflecting a spiritual evolution of Christiandom?

Author David C Pack on “The True Origin of Christmas” viewed that many people generally accepted without question what others believed or did during Christmas. “Neither do they wonder on the origin of Christmas.”

“Nearly all aspects of Christianity observance have their roots in Roman custom and religion. According to a large American newspaper, The Buffalo (Nov 22, 1984 Edition): The earliest reference to Christmas being marked on Dec 25 comes from the second century after Jesus’ birth,” noted David.

“After all, in the Roman world the Saturnalia (Dec 17) was a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts and Dec 25 was also regarded as the birthdate of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness.

“On Roman New year (Jan 1), houses were decorated with greenery and lights and gifts were given to children and the poor,” he added.

Dr William Gutsch, chairman of the American Museum of Natural History of Hayden Planetarium, also agreed to the observation in his writing in a Westchester New York newspaper, “The Reporter Dispatch”, saying, “The early Romans were not celebrating Christmas but rather an annual pagan feast each year around the beginning of winter called the Saturnalia.

“If many of the trappings of Saturnalia, however, seem to parallel what so many of us do today [during Christmas time], we can see where we borrowed… our holiday traditions,” Gutsch wrote.

The Saturnalia is a celebration of Saturn, the fire god or god of sowing (seeds) because the sun was allowed for planting and growth of crops.

Spirit of Christ

Is not “Christmas” denoted as “Christ-mas”? Is it not imperative to emphasise the significance of the spirit of Christ in our hearts during the Christmas celebration?

Hence, putting Christ back into the Christmas celebration has become more significant in a cold and cruel world of increasing apathy, indifference and uncaring attitude towards the marginalised and neglected segment of our so-called progressive and modern society at large across the globe today.

Over the years, more and more heart-warming stories are unfolded and spread across continents, thousands of touching Christmas stories that have had happened.

Some kind souls with a magnanimous gesture, a caring heart, a small gift to the less fortunate, the homeless, the deprived and those neglected out in a cold winter night.

Many gave without realising it can be a miracle or how special their gesture or gift, no matter how small, can mean to the recipient. The Christmas season can bring something unique, the spirit of Christ and joy in many broken hearts.

Can Christ be honoured by the Christmas celebration?

“Indeed, Christmas is not a command of God but it is a tradition of men. In the Bible, [Matt 15:9] it was stated Christ said, ‘But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men’,” wrote David in the blog for The Restored Church of God.

“Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.” – (Mark 7:9).

According to some historians, it was 300 years after Christ before the Roman Church kept Christmas and it was not until the fifth century that it was mandated to be kept throughout the empire as an official festival honouring the Christ.

Since then every year, throughout the world, hundreds of millions celebrate Christmas.

To many others, it does not matter how the Christmas celebration had its origins. Neither does it matter on how the controversies and official interpretation on the actual birthdate of Jesus Christ nor the influence of Yule log and Yule cakes, greenery and fir trees had upon traditional celebrative practices today.

Undoubtedly, putting the spirit of Christ or Christ consciousness not only during Christmas time but into our daily lives is significantly important in this modern century.

It is a celebration of human kindness, generosity, compassion and brotherhood of mankind.

On this occasion, I wish all FMT readers and especially Malaysian Christians a Merry and Joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Stanley Koh is a FMT columnist.