The Spirit Of Christmas: Birth Of The Christian Era

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.It is a season full of meaning, tradition and hope celebrated throughout the Christian world as a major festival and public holiday.The traditional Christian festival begins Christmas Day, December 25 until Epiphany in the New Year which falls on January 6th.It’s wonderful sights and sounds can be felt, seen and heard everywhere that bring out the best in people.Nativity scenes, Father Christmas, Christmas Carols, Christmas trees, stockings hanging by the fireplace, mistletoe and holly, sparkling, colorful lights and decorations in the city and suburbs, towns and villages and Christmas work parties all add to the Christmas spirit.As Christmas approaches thousands of happy people visit shopping centers, stores and markets decked with glitter and color and stocked with Christmas food, gifts and specials will stay open till late playing the traditional Christmas Carols while groups of people will sing them out in the streets to help raise money for charities. And, children all around the Christian world look forward with anticipation and begin the count-down for Father Christmas (Santa Claus) with his big bag of toys to arrive with his sleigh and reindeer in the early hours of Christmas morning to deliver their presents.The Christmas season reinforces the heartwarming bonds of family and provides pleasant childhood memories of Christmases past.Many family members who are separated by miles will travel from all over the world to once again mingle with family and old friends in their hometown in an incredible atmosphere of joy as they celebrate their unforgettable and moving Christmas traditions.All these wonderful things add to the Christmas spirit.More than 2000 years ago, a humble donkey carried our Blessed Virgin Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem to give Birth to the King of Kings in a humble stable in Bethlehem.Jesus is the Son of God, Born on that first Christmas night over two thousand years ago marking the beginning of the Christian era.As Christians, we must not lose sight of its Divine Origins because the real Christmas Story is found in the Holy Bible with the Birth of Jesus Christ.The Birth of Jesus Marked the Beginning of the Christian Era. Christian life is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Christian fellowship in the church and through serving our fellow human being. Christianity encompasses all that is right, conscientious and moral and provides an opportunity to live a wholesome and balanced existence, in harmony with our fellow human being.Christian life is blessed by God with love, humility, forgiveness, and compassion. Jesus Christ says, ＂This is the way to a meaningful, just and wholesome existence＂. ＂I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.＂Matthew 5:16 Our spiritual assets open our eyes of faith to see beyond this world. Spiritual Happiness can only be found in God and Jesus Christ.We become rich in faith, love and goodness through serving God, our family and our fellow human being. Faith generates that spiritual energy in times of need to persevere and to endure every difficulty, every sorrow and every setback because God is our refuge, our strength and our inspiration toward a brighter tomorrow.The tradition of gift-giving started the moment God gave humanity the Gift of His only Son, Jesus. The Three Wise Men came from the east following the bright Star of Bethlehem to acknowledge His Divinity by giving Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Gift giving conveys the spirit of Christmas as symbolic expressions of love, respect, gratitude, friendship and charity to family, friends and charities.Father Christmas (Santa Claus) symbolizes this spirit of gift giving and, we identify him with Saint Nicholas, the Greek Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor with his good deeds and charitable gifts.