Christmas is the biggest annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It follows the Season of Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas. In Western Christianity, the Christmas season runs from December 25 (Christmas Day) to January 5 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany Eve), popularly known as the 12 Days of Christmas.
Several Christmas customs include gift giving, singing carols, watching Christmas movies and Nativity plays, exchanging Christmas cards, attending church services, family meals and displaying various Christmas decorations including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, and holly etc.
However, this year, many Christians around the world found themselves feeling overwhelmed by the war in the birthplace of Jesus, which is Bethlehem.
A Church in Bethlehem placed baby Jesus in rubble in a Nativity scene saying “This is what Christmas looks like in Palestine.”
As a result, many Christians canceled their Christmas celebrations in solidarity with the call of the Heads of Churches in Palestine to desist from Christmas celebrations this year.
It’s been a hard-hitting call that demanded sacrifice and a deep understanding of what it means to be a human community.
It is easy for us to say that we must live in hope, but the war hostilities in the Holy Land and in places like Ukraine and many other parts of our world, leave the notion of hope looking empty.
So as we step into a New Year, it is worth pondering how do we find hope in the midst of wars and conflicts going on in our world.
It’s unlikely that conflicts and tensions will all disappear anytime soon, but it is worth remembering. the Bible verse Matthew 1:23 "…and they shall call his name Emmanuel". The word Emmanuel means God is with is. For us as Christians, the message of Christmas therefore is that God is with us. So, whatever we believe, we can all continue to share God’s love and our love for one another, in the hope of a better world, believing God is with us.
May the New Year be a happy, safe, and prosperous New Year for everyone around the world!
Christ in Rubble Photo (credit Revd Dr Munther Isaac, Bethlehem) underlined the Christmas message that God is with us in all our suffering. “It is a message of comfort and hope to us”, stated Revd Dr Munther Isaac.