Extracted from the Chronicle, Colorado,
Celebration of Christmas
Each year, on December 25, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. But the Christmas season begins much before that with the celebration of Advent whereby Christians emphasize the joy that some would compare to the months before a child is born; excitement, wonder, joy, expectation, even exhilaration at the life that is in their midst right now, yet also a hope and longing, and a carefulness to get things in order. Although there is much doubt that Jesus Christ was actually born on December 25, that is the chosen day to celebrate his birth which took place over 2,000 years ago. The story begins when an angel appeared to a virgin, named Mary, who lived in Nazareth, a town in Galilee. She was engaged to a man named Joseph. An angel came to Mary and told her that she will become pregnant and bear a son and he shall be called Jesus, the son of God.
At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order that all people needed to register their names in their home towns. Joseph and a very pregnant Mary traveled the long distance to register in JosephÂ’s hometown of Bethlehem. Looking for a place to sleep proved difficult, for there were was no room at any of the inns, so Joseph and Mary found a stable to rest and soon after Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ.
She swaddled the baby and placed him in the manger where he peacefully slept. That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep when an angel appeared and told them of the news. The shepherds saw Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus and thanked God for what they saw.
Meanwhile, three wise men from the east heard that Christ, the son of God had been born and they wanted to see and worship him themselves. The wise men gathered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and followed the brightest star in the sky until it stopped above the place where the child was. All rejoiced.
For Christians, Christmas is about possibility. It is a possibility that is easily symbolized by a helpless infant that has nothing of its own by which to survive; but an infant that, because he is GodÂ’s son, he will forever change the world and all humanity. Christians believe that through Jesus, God has promised to forever be with all people.
Christmas is also about hope. It is not just hope, as if it were wishful thinking that things will get better when they cannot, it is hope incarnated into flesh, a hope that can be held in a motherÂ’s arms, a hope that expresses a reality that will live beyond endings and death itself. It is the hope, the possibility that springs from impossible and insignificant beginnings, infused with the power of God that will blossom into a light to the nations. It is this possibility that is celebrated at Christmas. It is celebrated with a confidence born, not of oneÂ’s own desire for it to be so, but from the birth of a child over 2,000 years ago, a child who was the Son of God!