What is Christmas?
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Since about 400 AD, Christians have
celebrated the birth of Jesus. 'Christ'
means 'Messiah' or 'Anointed One' - the
title given to Jesus - and 'Mass' was a
religious festival.
In the West today, the real meaning
of Christmas is often forgotten. It has
become a non-religious holiday! More
children believe in Father Christmas
than in Jesus. Christmas Day is a time
for eating and drinking too much and
watching television.
But the real Christmas story is found
in the Christian Bible. It is told in
two different books: Matthew and Luke
chapters 1 and 2. If you have no Bible,
you can read these chapters online. You
may think that the story of the birth of
Jesus, and the way that the West
celebrates Christmas today, do not seem
to have many connections.
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Mary says
"yes"
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These chapters tell
how Jesus was born as a baby to Mary.
This was no ordinary birth! She was not
married, she was a virgin, (yes,
really!) and an angel had told her she
would bear a special baby. Her
husband-to-be, Joseph, did not believe
her at first. Who would? Then an angel
told him in a dream that it was true!
Probably no one else believed it. So
when they had to travel from their home
in Nazareth to Bethlehem (near
Jerusalem), to register their names with
the ruling Roman government, they
probably escaped many hard words from
other people. |
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Arrival in Bethlehem brought worry
and upset: there was no room for them to
stay at the hotel. There was only space
in the stable - the animal house for
travellers' donkeys and horses.
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was born that night, and as they had no
bed for him, they used an animal feeding
box filled with the dry grass the
animals ate.
Christmas cards and pictures today
make it all seem very nice. In truth, it
must have been dirty and frightening for
a young couple, far from their home and
families. Possibly the birth was
premature after the stress of the
journey. This was a very poor place for
Jesus to start his life on earth.
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God's plan?
Christians believe that it was
exactly God's plan that things happened
this way. They say that it shows that
Jesus came as a humble, poor person and
not as a strong, rich king. They also
claim that the birth of Jesus was told
many years before in the books of the
prophets.
Five hundred years before, the
prophet Micah had said,
"But you Bethlehem, though you are
small, out of you will come for me, one
who will be ruler over Israel, whose
origins are from of old, from ancient
times."
The prophet Isaiah had written,
"A child is born to us! A son is
given to us! And he will be our ruler.
He will be called, "Wonderful
Counsellor," "Mighty God," "Eternal
Father," "Prince of Peace." His royal
power will continue to grow; his kingdom
will always be at peace....
He will rule as King David's
successor, basing his power on right and
justice, from now until the end of
time."
These are only two of many prophetic
words that told of the birth and life of
Jesus, written hundreds of years before
His birth.
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shepherds are frightened |
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At that time, sheep farmers were
seen by other people as low and of no
value. Yet it was to these shepherds
that the birth of Jesus was first
announced in an amazing dramatic way:
"That night there were some men
looking after sheep in the fields
nearby. Suddenly they saw a great light.
It was an angel, who said,
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| 'Don't be afraid. I
have good news for you, and for all
people. Someone great has been born
today. He is Christ, the great King you
have been waiting for. He will save you
from all that is wrong and evil. You
will find him dressed in baby clothes,
lying on a bed of dry grass.'" |
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The story of
the wise men
After Jesus was born, wise men came
to look for Him, from an area which is
now in either Iran or Saudi Arabia.
Although they are often called the
"Three Kings", the Bible does not say
how many there were, or that they were
kings. Three is only a guess because
they brought with them three gifts.
Gold,
Frankincense and Myrrh
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They were certainly men of learning -
probably today we would call them
philosophers or scientists. They had
seen an unusual new star in the sky, and
knew that it told of the birth of a
special king. (The star they saw was
probably a exploding "supernova" and is
known from astronomical records.) They
followed the direction of the star and
eventually found the place where Mary,
Joseph and Jesus were staying. To bring
honour to the child, they brought rich
gifts: gold, frankincense (a resin which
burns with a beautiful smell), and myrrh
(plant oil with a very strong sweet
smell). These gifts tell us in pictures
three key things about Jesus:
Gold:
a gift fit for a King
Frankincense:
burnt in worship of God
Myrrh:
a sign of mortal human-ness - it was
used to bury the dead
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Jesus a refugee
Herod, the evil king of the area,
heard about the child, saw Him as a
threat, and sent soldiers to kill Jesus.
But God told Joseph in a dream to take
Mary and the baby and escape to Egypt.
They lived there till King Herod died
and then went back to live in Nazareth.
We read nothing more about the life of
Jesus, except for one story when he was
12, until He reached 30. By the way -
note one important thing: Jesus was not
a white European, and Christianity is
not a Western religion. Christmas cards
from different countries often show
Mary, Joseph and Jesus in the landscape
of that country, and with the racial
appearance of that nationality, be it
black African, Indian, or Japanese. This
is good and right - Jesus came to
identify with every racial group. He is
"Everyman" for us all.
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The end of the
story?
Jesus was indeed "the man born to
die". But that was not the end of the
story. It is still going on, and you can
be part of the story, if you wish.
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