Once again, we put up the lights and decorate the tree, bake cookies and drink eggnog, we hear the Christmas music before Thanksgiving and we know that the Holidays are here, the season of peace on earth as arrived.
But the real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the son of God. About 2000 years ago God sent an angel to Israel, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel told Mary that by God's power, she would conceive and bear a son. When Joseph learned that she was pregnant, an angel instructed him to marry her. Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem. And this is the reason for the season.
But as Christmas came along there are things that became tradition, and although we may think most are cute traditions of Hallmark, it is not.
But the real meaning of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the son of God. About 2000 years ago God sent an angel to Israel, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter. The angel told Mary that by God's power, she would conceive and bear a son. When Joseph learned that she was pregnant, an angel instructed him to marry her. Joseph took her to Bethlehem to register for a census. While there, Mary gave birth to Jesus. She laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn. Shepherds visited Jesus in Bethlehem. And this is the reason for the season.
But as Christmas came along there are things that became tradition, and although we may think most are cute traditions of Hallmark, it is not.
At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe". The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night”. Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a card with the message “Merry Christmas" as a way of showing it off.
So on this Christmas Day, I hope you give and receive in all the same amount of joy. From my family to yours Merry Christmas, Felice Navidad and Happy Kwanza!
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