It is around this time of the year that many of us start asking the question “What is the true meaning of Christmas?” I am sure that for those who do ponder this question, your inquiry is no doubt prompted by an assortment of stimuli. For example: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, shop till you drop lists, Toys for Tots, Christmas countdowns, gift rages, children meltdowns, commercials, jingles and endless exhortations to buy that special gift that will truly show someone you love them.
I must be humble. Many have tried to answer this question before me. I am nowhere near the first nor do I assume the last who will ever tackle this issue. Thus, I offer my opinion where no doubt many wiser than I have gone before me and many wiser will go after. However, if I merely offer you some fresh insights into this age old question, I will have accomplished my goal. Perhaps I may see things in a slightly different perspective than all the wise people who have already treaded on this question.
I am going to break the key question “What is the true meaning of Christmas?” into three parts or three sub-questions.
The first sub-question is “Why do we celebrate Christmas?” The answer to this question is obvious. A man named Jesus was born on or near this date in the time of the Roman occupation of Israel. He is alternately revered as a great prophet, the son of God, the Messiah or a humble man with a simple but profound message. Many who respect him honor his memory on December 25 each year.
The second sub-question is “What should we celebrate at Christmas?” The most common means of celebrating the life of a great person is to remember what they stood for. Jesus IMHO stood for two major ideas which were radical in his time. The first major idea was to “Love Everyone.” This meant that you needed to love your enemies as well as your friends. Easy to love your friends said Jesus, much more difficult to love your enemies. The second major idea was to “Forgive Everyone.” Again, not just forgiveness for your friends and relatives but also for those you hate and your mortal enemies. Thus, at Christmastime, Christians and those who wish to venerate Jesus of Nazareth should be celebrating both Love and Forgiveness. We see many manifestations of the love at this time of the year but much less focus on forgiveness. The truth of this will be more evident when we look at the third sub-question: “How do we Celebrate Christmas?”
“How do we celebrate Christmas?” How do we take the two major ideas that Jesus stood for and remember them. Each concept could be honored in a variety of ways. The primary way that we seem to express the idea of Love is through the giving of gifts. We can give gifts of the spirit or gifts of the world. Gifts of the spirit express our love for others by giving some of ourselves. We give some immaterial expression of love to others that we care about. We might choose to spend time with a loved one or simply help them out with a project or task that needs doing.
We also give physical or material gifts. These include toys, gadgets, technology, clothes, jewelry etc. Material gifts express our love by transferring our money into presents for others based on their perceived wants and needs. It is quite common to see gifts given based on wants but needs are less frequently factored into the gift giving equation. One could posit a hierarchy of gift giving, going from easiest to give to most difficult. I think it would look something like this:
- Material gifts based on wants (easy)
- Material gifts based on needs (more difficult)
- Spiritual gifts based on wants (difficult)
- Spiritual gifts based on needs (very difficult)
It is not always easy to distinguish between wants and needs, particularly when dealing with children who often confuse the two. The good parent should be able to tell the difference, but all too often parents are more interested in simply satisfying their child’s wants rather than dealing with their child’s needs. The Love of Jesus becomes a love focused on completing a shopping list of wants. Little attention is spent on needs while even less time is spent on spiritual gifts. It is easier to buy a gift card than to spend time with a friend or loved one.
How do we deal at Christmastime with the second major idea that Jesus promoted, the idea that we should Forgive others? This idea does not seem to have seriously entered the panoply of displays that we see or that are observed at this time of the year. Somehow, Forgiveness gets forgotten at Christmas time. A cynic might wonder if it is not because this is the hardest idea to implement. Can you imagine sending a beautiful gift of flowers or jewelry to someone you loath and detest? Can you imagine spending time with someone you hate or giving some gift of the spirit to someone you dislike? I suggest that such demonstrations of Forgiveness would be unusual for most Christians as well as non-Christians.
So “What is the true meaning of Christmas?” After dicing and slicing this question what are we left with? A short summary of the main points that I have made to address this question might help:
- We celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a great prophet, teacher and to some God
- Jesus’s mission and purpose was to teach us Love and Forgiveness
- We attempt to celebrate his concept of Love during the time we think he was born
- We substitute gift giving for more substantive displays of Love or more difficult expressions of the concept
- We leave out or neglect Jesus’s concept of Forgiveness
Perhaps this Christmas, we can all try to GIVE more Forgiveness. If there is a “True Meaning of Christmas”, if Jesus were alive today, I am sure he would be most pleased if we all spent more time trying to love our enemies as well as our friends and to forgive those who “Trespass against us.”
Time for Questions:
What is your “meaning” for Christmas? How do you celebrate the birth of Jesus? What could you do more of this year to truly celebrate his message? What can we do to help make Forgiveness part of the Christmas message?
Life is just beginning.
“How many observe Christ’s birthday! How few, His precepts!” ―
“And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!”
―
Aging Capriciously 
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Dec 24, 2018 @ 22:33:26
🎁 It’s love and forgiveness. 🎁
The season begins after Thanksgiving and is over in January for Epiphany. It’s only more than a month for a multitude of events, foods, music 🎶 and gifts. We can not do all that is offered for us. However, we can love and forgive.
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Dec 24, 2018 @ 22:56:20
True, and we can do that year round and not just once a year for two weeks. Merry Christmas Socorro and Happy Holiday to you.
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Dec 23, 2022 @ 08:44:56
Unless we’re religious (I’m not) isn’t it about buying people stuff they don’t want and saying all those “nice” (what does this word mean??) things that we won’t continue in to the next year because we only carry out the Christmas spirit for about a week?
Cynical is my second name! 😐
For me the joy of Christmas is on the small children’s faces when they’re meeting Santa 🤶 🎅. Those expressions of wonder and amazement or fear and panic 🙂 After all it may not be a bad reaction that strange men with beards should be avoided. 😂
Happy Christmas John 🎄
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Dec 23, 2022 @ 10:35:27
Margaret, I am with you on the cynical. My wife says I am the grinch. Instead of Ho Ho HO, it should be Bah, Bah, Bah. But then I try to get in the Spirit of what I think Christmas should be rather than what it is. And that is for me Love and Forgiveness. Have a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas Margaret. Hope you have all our dreams and hopes come to pass in the New Year. John
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Dec 22, 2023 @ 08:28:58
“On or near this date” actually we don’t know if he was born near December some even suggesting he was born in a warm month NOT in winter. We don’t even know what year he was born, If I remember correctly it is 4 BC that many scholars believe he was born. Also the birth stories of Jesus that appear in the bible contradict each other. So at least one of the writers got it wrong or more likely made stuff up.
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Dec 22, 2023 @ 08:45:02
Not hard for stories to differ Jacob even when people see the same thing. The famous story and movie Rashomon is a good example of that. It has led to what is called the “Rashomon Effect” defined as follows:
The Rashomon effect describes how parties describe an event in a different and contradictory manner, which reflects their subjective interpretation and self-interested advocacy, rather than an objective truth. The Rashomon effect is evident when the event is the outcome of litigation.
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Dec 22, 2023 @ 08:39:06
Great post. I love Jesus’s teachings of Unconditional Love and unconditional Forgiveness. He also taught to help the poor and needy. I totally agree with those philosophies.
I love what you said, “It is easier to buy a gift card than to spend time with a friend or loved one.” I can really relate because some of my relatives I would really like to see more often. I have some that live in the same state and send me gifts which is nice, but what I really want is to see them in person.
I also really like the poem you quoted at the end of this post, very beautiful and true.
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Dec 22, 2023 @ 08:42:46
Thanks Jacob. I appreciate your thoughts. I wish I lived in RI and we could visit more. Have a happy holiday and we can keep in touch via phone etc. Uncle John
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