As we all know Christmas - 25th December, marks and honors the birth of Jesus Christ. December actually is not the actual date of the birth of Jesus, in fact, scholars have not found the date of which Jesus was born yet. December 25th is actually celebrated on the same date as a Roman Festival, a Pagan holiday and the winter solstice.
Modern tradition of Christmas includes Church celebrations, gift-giving and elements such as the Christmas tree, mistletoe, nativity scenes and hollies. Santa Claus also known as Father Christmas is a fat jolly man, that wears a red coat, and "rides" to the sky in a sleigh with flying reindeers. Santa Claus is famously known to the climb down people's chimney and simply drops gifts for children and climbs back up. Before christmas, Santa would keep a list of all the children around the world and categories between bad and good kids. Santa Claus was taught to be a fusion of Saint Nicholas and a pagan god.
Christmas is celebrated among Christians and also non-christians. The Christmas period is the period of heightened economy and the time for retailers to earn Lamborghini's.
The Birth of Jesus Christ - The book of Matthew
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"which means, "God with us."When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.To make a short story long, the angel by the name of Gabriel came to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary his fiancee will concieve a child and will still be a virgin. Before then, Joseph taught that Mary may have slept with a soldier or something, that planned to divorce privately, to avoid disgrace, humilation, and the possibility of being stoned to death. But, the angel ordered him to bring Mary to the town of Bethlehem, and take her as his wife. So Joseph obeyed the angel Gabriel that made a trip to Bethlehem. Soon, when they arrived there Mary felt a contraction, and Joseph ran from door to door for help, but no one answered. So desparately, they made it to a barn (or somewhere else) and with the assistance of Joseph she gave birth to a boy named Jesus, the Son of Man, and the bringer of peace and salvation to the people of Israel. and something to take note of*, the Magi or the three wise men followed the "Star of Bethlehem" and found Jesus and gave them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, which was MONTHS or YEARS AFTER THE BIRTH OF JESUS. The usual nativity story of the birth of Jesus, and the three wise men seeing Jesus at the exact day of his birth is WRONG. Anyways, thus, this day became Christmas.
Although, 25th December might not be the correct date of when Jesus was born, but we have to eventually pick a date to celebrate his birth right? This is the true purpose of Christmas, to celebrate the birth of our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ!
Once again, I wish my dear readers, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
May the new year, be the beginning of beginnings, and rain down Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control!!!! The best time of our lives are yet to come. I tell you, the Lord has plans for you, some people might say the year 2009 will be the year of suffering, recession, and worsened economy melt down, but if we maintain our faith in our Lord Jesus, 2009 will be the year of beginnings and happiness! Take out your widows garment! End the chapter of this year, and start a new chapter! Amen, to that!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Sincerely,
Leon Lim Jake-Li.
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