We celebrate CHRISTMAS, not just a holiday
Padre Mike Umoh
Have you noticed during this season that some TV stations place on their screens or scrollbars, “Wishing you a Happy Holiday”, instead of “Wishing you a Merry Christmas” or “Wishing you a Blessed Christmas”? To an unsuspecting mind, this may seem just like a funky or trendy option of saying the same thing. NO, it is not!
Using the word “holiday” instead of “CHRISTMAS” is part of the age long subtle efforts by the secularists and unbelievers to remove Jesus/God, the Sacred, from human affairs. The onslaught on Christmas has a long history, and it is worth reading up. The use of XMAS may not be unconnected with this secularistic ideology. Many people have accepted it without suspicion thinking the “X” was just the short form of the Greek “chi” which makes us at times write “Xst” instead of Christ. There has been a whole conscious and well calculated effort is to do away with CHRIST at Christmas.
The truth dear friends is that, what we celebrate is CHRISTMAS, not just a holiday. There can be no Christmas without Jesus Christ, the Son of God born, born of a woman at the fullness of time (Gal 4:4).
We must not be tired of emphasising and explaining to the world that the center of the celebration is Jesus Christ, the gift of God to the world for our redemption. He is fully God and fully man as the word of God who was with God from the beginning and was made flesh to dwell among us (John 1:1-14). He alone gives meaning to Christmas as he invites us to love one another just as the Father has loved us by giving us his only begotten Son to save us from sin.
LET US THEREFORE RESIST THE MOVE TO COMPROMISE OUR FAITH. Refrain from referring to CHRISTMAS, as HOLIDAY. Indeed, Christmas is a holiday season because it is a very HOLY DAY made so by the mystery of God becoming man.
Christmas therefore is not an annual event, but a celebration God’s revelation of a desire; the desire of a relationship and constant presence.
Emmanuel….God with us!
Have a blessed Christmas!!
