A television interviewer was walking the streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. Much as in America, Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan. The interviewer stopped one young woman on the sidewalk, and asked:
“What is the meaning of Christmas?”
Laughing, she responded, “I don’t know. Is that the day that Jesus died?”
Presumably, the young woman may not be Christian. And we can understand and even excuse her ignorance as to what this greatest of Christian holidays is all about. But there is some truth in her answer. For the way Christmas is commercialized and celebrated even in professed Christian lands, the occasion signifies the “death” of Jesus Christ more than His birth.
Materialism and greed drive the celebration of this most important of Christian holidays. And the success of the entrepreneurial spirit has allowed Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and other fictional characters dominate the Christmas theme and has contributed to the “death of Jesus” on what is supposed to be the day of His birth.
It’s time to make Christmas what it really is- a celebration of the birth of Jesus. Let us make every celebratory act a reflection of the infinite love of God who gave the most precious gift that heaven could ever bestow upon man- the gift of His sone Jesus. Let us sing the praises of Jesus who willingly came to be born as a little baby and become a man so that He could give His life for us that we may have forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life.
Celebrating Christmas like we should will make it the day when Jesus was born, not the day that He died.
Merry Christmas to everyone!