Christmas

So what’s the big deal about Christmas?

            Pretty much ever since humans began to think, they have postulated gods.  Always these gods had some interaction with the humans who invented them.  Some did so by thunder and lightning.  Some did so with earthquakes and floods.  And some did so through dreams, seers and/or prophets. 

            As humans developed, along came the monotheism of Judaism and the one God who communicated through revelations to special people.  The revelations promised, among other things, that this one God would come into the world directly.  Many of us believe that one Jew, Jesus Christ, was this first coming into our world by God. 

God was no longer an absentee landlord.  He had a direct and personal interest in what was going on in this world.  By coming into our world God showed us that we are by our very nature connected to Him.  Later by his life and death he would show us exactly what that connection meant and what our duties and expectations should be.

The significance of Christmas is that it demonstrates the existence of our connection with the Almighty and more importantly, His connection with us.  When I try to understand how this can be, I am reminded of my relationship with my dog, Cleo.  No matter how hard she tries, she will never understand how it can be that she and I get into a steel, plastic and glass box, usually after I call loudly “car” and after a period of mild vibration, we end up in a totally different place.  It is simply beyond her level of comprehension.  She knows it happens, but not how or why. 

Christmas was, is and always be a religious holiday.  It celebrates the mysterious event of the Almighty becoming one of us.  While there are secular aspects, like a day off from work, presents, Santa Claus and reindeer; they do not represent the basic reason for our celebration.  After all, we could have all those things on any day of the year.  They really are not very special.

God becoming one of us, demonstrating our immortality and personal connection with Him; now that is a special event worth celebrating.