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Are
you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and desires of
little children; to remember the weaknesses and loneliness of people
who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you,
and to ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind
the things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to trim
your lamp so that it will give more light and less smoke, and to
carry it in front so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make
a grave for your ugly thoughts and a garden for your kindly feelings,
with the gate open? Are you willing to do these things for a day?
Then you are ready to keep Christmas!
--HENRY VAN DYKE (1852–1933)
Christmas
is not a date. It is a state of mind.
--MARY ELLEN CHASE (1887–1973)
--Christmas is the day that holds all time together.
ALEXANDER SMITH (1830–1867)
God
grant you the light in Christmas, which is faith; the warmth of
Christmas, which is love; the radiance of Christmas, which is purity;
the righteousness of Christmas, which is justice; the belief in
Christmas, which is truth; the all of Christmas, which is Christ.
--WILDA ENGLISH
It
is Christmas every time you let God love others through you . .
. yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and
offer him your hand.
--MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA (1910– )
SIDE
NOTE OF INTEREST:
Saint Nicholas, (fourth century)
a bishop in Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) is said to have attended
the Council of Nicea. He is the patron saint of children, and one
of the most popular saints of the church. His feast day is December
6, a holiday that is widely celebrated in Europe by giving gifts
to children. The Dutch form of Saint Nicholas is Sinterklaas, from
which we get the contemporary Santa Claus.
Christmas
is the most recent in origin. The name, a contraction of the term
"Christ's mass," did not come into use until the Middle
Ages. In the early centuries, Christians were much more likely to
celebrate the day of a person's death than the person's birthday.
Very early in its history, the church had an annual observance of
the death of Christ and also honored many of the early martyrs on
the day of their death. Before the fourth century, churches in the
East-Egypt, Asia Minor, and Antioch-observed Epiphany, the manifestation
of God to the world, celebrating Christ's baptism, His birth, and
the visit of the Magi.
In the early part of the fourth century, Christians in Rome began
to celebrate the birth of Christ. The practice spread widely and
rapidly, so that most parts of the Christian world observed the
new festival by the end of the century. In the fourth century, the
controversy over the nature of Christ, whether He was truly God
or a created being, led to an increased emphasis on the doctrine
of the incarnation, the affirmation that “the Word was made
flesh” (John 1:14). It is likely that the urgency to proclaim
the incarnation was an important factor in the spread of the celebration
of Christmas.
No evidence remains about the exact date of the birth of Christ.
The December 25 date was chosen as much for practical reasons as
for theological ones. Throughout the Roman Empire, various festivals
were held in conjunction with the winter solstice. In Rome, the
Feast of the Unconquerable Sun celebrated the beginning of the return
of the sun. When Christianity became the religion of the Empire,
the church either had to suppress the festivals or transform them.
The winter solstice seemed an appropriate time to celebrate Christ’s
birth. Thus, the festival of the sun became a festival of the Son,
the Light of the world. See Church Year.
--Fred A. Grissom
Adapted from Holman's Bible Dictionary
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