Deconstructing Christmas





According to wikipedia, Christmas (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning "Christ's Mass") is an annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a widely observed cultural holiday, celebrated generally on December 25 by billions of people around the world.
Also stated in their article is; The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
 All this isn't new, and I believe correctly sums up the overwhelming majority of peoples perception at this time. But let's dig a little deeper.
 The word itself, 'CHRISTMAS' is a marriage of terms, CHRIST referring simply and without controversy to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The 'humanification' if you will, of the Spirit, the deity, that is God the Father. It is God becoming man, setting foot on this mortal plane, to give us a template, an example, of all that is achievable, nay, expected, of them that believe. It is God providing evidence of His Love, empathy, and also the suitability of the One who would be the perfect sacrifice, the atonement for our sins, the bridge-builder, that would restore unbroken fellowship between man and God.
and then 'mas', shortened from 'mass'.
The term "Mass" is derived from the Late Latin word missa (dismissal), a word used in the concluding formula of Mass in Latin: "Ite, missa est" ("Go; it is the dismissal"). "In antiquity, missa simply meant 'dismissal'. In Christian usage, however, it gradually took on a deeper meaning. The word 'dismissal' has come to imply a 'mission'. These few words succinctly express the missionary nature of the Church"
Wikipedia again.
So, we could arguably define Christmas as Christ's mission, or at least it's beginning.
The secular media and populist, politically correct crowd would gleefully edit the CHRIST from the 'mas', emphasizing instead the weather ('white' Christmas), retail (Christmas sales), magic (obese hirsute men who are resistant to arctic climes, can fit through chimneys without getting dirty or stuck and have flying deer for transport), diet etc.
However, the message of Christmas is predominantly, at it's heart, a message of HOPE.
Hope that humanity will still be salvaged in spite of our rebellion. Hope that a nation would find deliverance from oppression. Hope that a young virgin bride wouldn't be put to shame. Hope that a young husband would believe the call. Hope that a young couple would successfully make the long journey home to Bethlehem. Hope that a woman in labour would find a place to have her baby. Hope that travelers from afar would find their destination. Hope, for me, for you. Hope that yesterday was worth it, that today will matter, that tomorrow will be better.


Hope is part of the wonder we used to have as children. Hope for Christmas clothes; gifts under the tree; 'happy Christmas' from uncles and aunts (which invariably meant cash); rice, rice and more rice; soda; oily lips and oilier fingers; meat stuck in teeth.... oh the endless hope as we counted down to that magical Christmas day when everything was 'perfect'.
And the crushing disappointment if things didn't go as hoped for.
But that also wasn't new. It was there since that very 1st Christmas.


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