The Season of Christmas


THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS

Mario D’Couto

            What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Christmas’? Is it parties, sweets, gifts or socializing? Sometime back I had a discussion with a Protestant colleague of mine at work and according to him, Christmas should not be celebrated on 25th December as there is no written record in the Bible. Fair enough! While there are many theories and explanations as to why 25th December was chosen which we could probably discuss and debate about, here’s a question that I would like to ask all my separated brethren (Protestants), “If your focus is solely on scripture, is not scripture a fruit of tradition? Did God come down from heaven, bringing a Bible in His hand saying, ‘Here’s the Bible, follow as it is?’” The interesting thing about our separated brethren is that each of them have their own interpretation of the Bible. There’s no one reason as to why one should agree with the other and the number of sects and denominations among our separated brethren only testify to it. But let’s assume that even if the standpoint of our separated brethren were true, is Christmas only about social celebration, parties, gifts and sweets? If we all accept the fact that Christmas in the truest meaning of the word is the celebration of God becoming incarnate among us, I think we should be celebrating Christmas everyday because God makes Himself present in our lives in more ways than one. Hence, rather than being caught up with whether is it right to celebrate Christmas on 25th December, I think, in my humble opinion, the real meaning of Christmas is appreciating and thanking God for His presence in our lives not just on 25th December but each and everyday of our lives.

            However, for the sake of clarification which could serve as an enlightenment, here’s a video I found by Dr. Taylor Marshall on the birth of Our Lord, which I would encourage you to watch. Please click on the link below to watch it, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7nuX2F_Cpo

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