CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS

By Carl L Hoyal

      The Decembers of the years are cold, and dark.  A patina of gloom pervades the air. Many of the songs of the season reflect this image with phrases such as “In the bleak midwinter and frosty wind ,the weather outside is frightful , on a cold winters night, when the snow lay round about deep and crisp---with chestnuts roasting on an open fire and let it snow, let it snow”. The short December days envelope the light of day and promote its cold and icy gloom. Yet out of these dark dreary days comes a spirit of lively joy.  December 25^th is a day of all days to remember.  Another song of the season reminds us that however dark and gloomy, with fog that congeals on our cheeks and cold that penetrates to our very bones, it is the most wonderful time of the year.  Why is December 25^th and the time surrounding it so wonderful?  It is a birthday celebration. Like the birthdays of our own children and the celebration that goes with each new person coming into the family, we make cakes and give presents wrapped in pretty paper and beautiful bows.  We show our love and care with these simple little actions.  We do this on each anniversary of that new birth.  It becomes a way to mark the years of our age and the age of our children. We have copied the celebration of that one great and most significant birth.  The birth that was looked upon by all who came before and remembered by all those who came after. ‘Luke records the circumstances of that birth.  “And it came to pass in those days there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.  And all went to be taxed each to his own city.  Joseph and Mary went out of Nazareth to the city of David which is Bethlehem because he was of the linage of David.”  While they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered and she brought forth her first son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.   There were wise men who came to Herod inquiring, where is he who is born king of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the east and come to worship him.  Herod had his priests search the scriptures and they told him that he should be born in Bethlehem.  The wise men found the child and presented him with Gold, Frankincense, and myrrh.  It was the birth of the savior.  The birth of Christ has become the model for birthday celebrations with gifts and praise for the new person added to the family. The celebration on December 25^th is the most wonderful time of the year because  Christ came to release us from the pain of an everlasting hell and to free us from the dark shadows of an endless sleep in the cold confines of a grave forever closed.  Amidst the cold and darkness of December, there are shards of coruscating light that give hope to all those who look to him for redemption and life everlasting.  The Christmas season becomes even more joyous as the traditions of local peoples are adopted into the one great celebration.  The festivals, the Tannenbaum, the advent of  Santa,  Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and the culture of giving, represent a heart of charity and thoughtful contemplation of the one who (to quote Dickens) “made lame beggars walk and the blind see.” The Christian world has adopted many of the traditions that were once considered pagan, yet it is those traditions that add color and mirthful countenances and bring joy and warmth to the season. Christ, whose birthday we celebrate, remains the center of the celebration.  His mission and message are the path that leads to the true meaning of  “the most wonderful time of the year”  May we have the calm and peaceful assurance that it is Christ, the Prince of Peace, Lord of Lords , and his sacrifice for us that made it the most wonderful time of the year. …

Carl L. Hoyal 2011