‘But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. . ‘ – 1 Peter 3:15
Christmas is come and gone. And while I admit that it mostly felt like a blur of food – lots of it, the colour red, Santa sightings, gifts and trees, parties and family gatherings, I loved it. It is indeed my favorite season of the year.
One of the things I love most is that every one is almost always in a good mood during the season.
I do find the Santa traditions quite amusing I must admit. Its not very strongly propagated where I come from, so it is always interesting to see my neighbors and friends from different parts of the world bring their own Christmas traditions to life. Cookies and milk left on the counter for Santa and the letters, good lord, the letters. The efforts parents put in to make the kids believe its real.
With all the merry making and festivities over, I have been thinking a bit more about what Christmas should mean. Having not so recently moved to a multicultural and multi religious nation, I find that Christmas is the least controversial Christian celebration. Non Christians are more accepting of Christmas, wishing us merry Christmas, sharing in the joy of the season.
I think that as Christians, we must make better use of the opportunity that Christmas presents. Not to get carried away by the north pole visitors and traditions, but to emphasize the fact that we are celebrating the birth of the Saviour, even though this is not the actual day he was born. We need to collectively drive a stronger narrative for Christmas – a Christian one with the same keenness with which we propagate the Santa traditions.
We celebrate joy, peace, the birth of Christ and the difference He has made in our lives. And we share this with others around us. Now, that is Christmas.
Much has been said and written about the commercialization of Christmas. I agree that not every one knows why Christmas is celebrated. But maybe it is time we as Christians tried a lot harder to let them know why we celebrate Christmas.