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| Christmas and its Meaning
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Every year, in the month of December, people start with the preparations for the grand fiesta. Christmas lights gleam in the streets;
Christmas carols fill the air with melody and rhythm, sweet smell of Christmas cakes and sweets is felt everywhere. Yes! It is that time of the year again…a time
to sing carols! A time to dance to Christmas tunes! A time to make merry with friends and family! A time for fun and frolic! Gather knowledge and know all about
Christmas with Christmas Carnivals.
Christmas in literally terms means the Mass (celebration) of Christ. "Christ" is a Greek word and title, meaning "anointed" or one set apart by God for a special purpose.
"Christ" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "Messiah." Based on the words of ancient prophets, the first century Jewish people expected the arrival of the Messiah promised
by God as a great deliver of the people.
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Jesus "Christ" is known as the founder or central figure of "Christianity." Christmas is a Christian holiday on December 25 that commemorates the birth of Jesus. Ancient
Romans also commemorated Jesus' birth by marking a division of the calendar still in use today. The years before Jesus' birth are marked as B.C. (Before Christ), and the years after Jesus' birth
are marked A.D. (Anno Domini, which means, in the year of our Lord).
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Christmas story from an ancient biographer, Luke (Chapter 2)
Luke's biography records how Mary and her husband Joseph left their home in Nazareth to travel to Joseph's
ancestral home, Bethlehem, to enroll in the census ordered by the Roman emperor, Augustus. Finding no room
in inns in the town, they set up primitive lodgings in a stable. There Mary gave birth to Jesus in a manger
or stall. Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the home of the house of King David from which Joseph was descended,
fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. This is confirmed to Mary by a visit from angels and shepherds.
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Christmas story from an ancient biographer, Matthew (Chapter 1)
Matthew's biography begins by recounting the genealogy and virgin birth of Jesus, and then moves
to the coming of the Wise Men from the Orient (likely China) to where Jesus was staying after his
birth in Bethlehem. The wise men, or Magi, first arrived in Jerusalem and reported to the king of
Judea, Herod the Great, that they had seen a star heralding the birth of a king. Further inquiry
led them to Bethlehem of Judea and the location of Mary and Joseph. They presented Jesus with treasures
of "gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
In Jesus' adult years, Jesus claimed to be this King, the Jewish Messiah. Ultimately, Jesus' claim to be
Christ caused controversy and the religious trial leading to his execution. Christians commemorate Jesus'
execution and believed return from the dead (resurrection) during "Easter."
Jesus also described His birth on earth as the most important "Good News," signifying that God Himself chose
to come from heaven to earth to help make earth more like heaven (see: Good News: the Kingdom of God has Come to Earth).
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