Christmas means many things to many people, from devoutly religious people to those who just enjoy the cheerful camaraderie of the colorful season.
The true meaning of Christmas, of course, is to celebrate the birth of the Christ child in a manger in Bethlehem more than 2,000 years ago. That world-changing event is appropriately reflected in crèche displays, tree ornaments and countless beautiful Christmas songs.
But even those who are not so religiously inclined can and do enjoy Christmas. It’s supposed to be a joyous time when family and friends gather to enjoy delicious dinners, to exchange gifts, to listen to holiday songs and to relax with a few days off of work.
“Peace on Earth, good will toward men (and women)” may be religious in origin, but everybody should be able to relate well to that gentle admonition, especially in the often dark, anxious, fearful days of the current world situation.
For believers and non-believers alike, Christmas ought to be a happy time when we all demonstrate kindness to one another, when we go the extra mile to do good deeds for the less fortunate, when we experience joy in being alive, when hope and goodness fill all hearts.
Christmas, all too often, becomes an orgy of spending, of consumerism run rampant, of gifts, gifts and more gifts. And though spending on “things” can become a bit too much, there is nothing wrong with buying and sharing gifts with others, especially for kids who are so unboundingly happy when they’re opening their presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning.
Yes, Christmas is a time for one and all. What’s beautiful is Christmas at its best is when its Christian meaning and its more secular traditions overlap, causing people to demonstrate to one another their kinder natures. It’s a time when the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” has a chance to shine, for awhile anyway.
The great writer Charles Dickens, who gave us the immortal A Christmas Carol and its mean-spirited but teachable Scrooge, was never happier than during the Christmas season when he turned into a virtual kid again. Dickens was so aware, up close, of the poverty and misery of people in London during the thick of the Industrial Revolution that Christmas, for him, became a kind of respite from suffering, a wish-fulfillment, a glimpse of a better world, brief but promising.
Christmas, as Dickens knew in his bones, is a time for children, a kind of paradise regained for children at heart, no matter what their age. He said it so well in this quote from A Christmas Carol.
“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.”
We at the Newsleaders would like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Or as a frail but happy Tiny Tim proclaimed, “God bless us, every one!”
