TODAY is Christmas Day! Hurray!! On this day, which is a traditional public holiday in Nigeria, billions of people are celebrating around the world. These include the Christians, non-Christians and non-believers in any religion. Though they celebrate for different reasons, the central mood is to relax and be merry, as opposed to the hectic hustle that characterises the onset of the Yuletide.

Christmas is a Christian festival because it is the day set aside to mark the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, even though many Christian denominations do not observe it for several reasons. Some say it is because the festival had a distant root in pagan traditions and therefore they would have none of it. Others, however, counter this argument, saying that its association with Christ has sanctified it of its alleged pagan roots.

Yet other Christian groups do not observe it because it is not a biblically-derived sacrament, like Baptism and the celebration of the Holy Communion. It does not impart any spiritual grace. In spite of these reservations, majority of Christians believe that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, deserves to be celebrated with the days of his birth, passion, death and resurrection befittingly commemorated.

Christmas has grown bigger than religion, however. It is far bigger than the Christmas Day itself. It is a season characterised by intense commercialism and sales bonanzas all over the world. The Yuletide, for us in Nigeria, opens around the beginning of every December and terminates on the New Year’s Day.

It is the period of the year’s “final hustle” and preparations for the annual homecoming and family/communal reunions. Many of the returnees are coming from the worldwide Diaspora. It is, therefore, a period of giving and sharing.

But unfortunately, not much thought is channelled to the poor and less-privileged. They need the gifts more. People and companies send rich hampers to already well-fed friends, customers, associates and mentors. These gifts are used more to woo or curry favour than to add real value to the receiver. That is not the spirit behind Christmas.

The “reason for the season” is primarily love; love so infinite that God sent His only begotten son to come down to earth as a commoner and give up His life in order to reconcile sinners back to the Almighty God, the Father. There is no greater expression of love than this! And this is the only kind of giving that pleases God, not the convenient, predictable and self-serving ones.

https://newlive.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/christmas-we-thank-god-for-blessings-gift-of-life-mararaba-residents/

We must make the poor, the homeless and the destitute – and our neighbours (irrespective of their religious beliefs) – feel the warmth of Christmas from us. We must also celebrate responsibly, particularly being careful not to drink while using the public highways.

Once again, Merry Christmas!