This blog was started with the idea of helping each of us find what Christmas really is. In writing this blog for the two weeks my faith has been reignited and the joy of the season, it’s beauty and it’s peace has walked with me every step of the way. I have begun to feel about Christmas the way I used to feel when I was much younger this blog has been gift.
What Christmas movies can you name off the top of your head or TV specials. Let’s see what I have: A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Christmas Carol, Scrooge, White Christmas, Christmas in Connecticut, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle On 34th Street, Santa Claus Conquers The Martians, The Littlest Angel, The Homecoming, The Gathering, The Christmas Box, I could go on but I think you get the point.
I have been pretty serious about Christmas, as Christmas is a serious subject. Afer all the central them is that God sent his to Earth in the form of Jesus, Jesus was and is completely human and completely God, another mystery that we will never solve, and it is by Jesus life, His death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead that restores us to a relationship with God and redeems us from our sinful nature, this is the true work of Christmas.
But Christmas is also fun. We truly do not know when Jesus was born. We have an approximate time period as we know who ruled when in the area of Judea and Rome and Luke gives those details but not exact dates. Jesus could have been born in December or any other month of the year, but again there is no record of His birth. So why December the 25th?
History tells us that there was huge Pagan Festival that honored the God Saturn during this time of year. Much of our great traditions of Christmas come from this festival, gift giving amongst others. People of the time of the early Church wanted to be Christians, but they liked this festival too, so the church leaders of the time decided to redeem the festival and turn it into a Christian celebration and so Christmas or The Birth of Jesus came into being. Some people seem to want to criticize the church fathers of the time for making this decision, but in some ways December The 25th is a lot like us. We were separated from God, Jesus steps in a saved us. The Pagan festival was also separated from God, but the church leaders came in and gave it a purpose and new meaning. Personally I think this a wonderful thing and fantastic in its own way. We are born with the character of God and the desire to create. The early church fathers simple did the same as God did, for people, to save the day.
So Christmas though serious in its meaning is also meant to be fun. A time to tell stories, get together with family and friends and to give gifts. It’s meant to amaze us and to teach us. Christmas is meant to give us joy. The films above are a portion of the fun and joy and happiness that is Christmas. In future blogs I will take a look at some of these stories that we love so much and try to determine why we look forward to them every year.