Christmas
Christmas begins with something very simple: the word 'yes'. God sends the angel Gabriel to a small town in an unimportant province of the Roman Empire, and to an unknown girl whose name is Mary. The angel tells her she will give birth to a son, even though she is a virgin, and that his name is to be Jesus. Mary gives her 'yes' to God. 'May it be to me as you have said,' she says.
With Easter, Christmas is one of the two major festivals of the Christian church: it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, while Easter marks his death and resurrection. Christmas is celebrated each year with joy, as Christians tell the story of Jesus' birth and ponder its deep significance for humanity.
The story, as told in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, has a large and colourful cast of characters. There are shepherds and angels, three wise men who travel from the east with curious gifts, the evil, scheming King Herod and, of course, the family at the heart of it all: Mary, Joseph and Jesus himself.
All of this easily lends itself to the children's nativity plays staged by many churches and schools each December. Costumes, props and stage sets are made, scripts are written and learned, and children dress up in dressing gowns, tinsel crowns and home-made head-dresses to tell the Christmas story – how Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and how he survived the plan of King Herod to murder him in his cradle.
But Christmas is not just a pantomime. Christians sing carols at this time of year – joyful songs which were originally sung as people danced. And they hear again the good news of great joy which is at the heart of Christmas: their belief that Jesus is no less than God, come to live the life of a human being on earth. Matthew's Gospel puts it simply, saying that Jesus is 'God with us'. John's Gospel is more complex, saying that in Jesus, 'the Word became flesh, and lived among us.'
One of the hymns of the Eastern church, written in the 6th century AD, expresses it in these words:
Angels with shepherds give glory, And wise men journey with a star, For to us there has been born a little child, God before the ages.
The celebration of Christmas can be controversial. To begin with, the actual date of Jesus's birthday is unknown. It took the Christian church three centuries to decide on 25 December, and that date was chosen so the new festival could replace the pagan Roman celebration of Saturnalia, which was notorious for eating, drinking, partying and excess of every kind. However, this strategy has backfired. Christmas in the Western world today is like Saturnalia with a thin layer of religious icing.
Because of its excessive merrymaking, Christmas was at one time banned in Britain. The Puritans under Oliver Cromwell abolished it in 1652, calling Christmas Day, 'the old heathens' feasting day in honour to Saturn, their idol-god.' After eight years with no Christmas, the festival was restored when Charles II came to the throne. But even today, many nonconformist Christians are suspicious of Christmas and do not allow their church services on 25 December to even mention the birth of Jesus.
The Eastern church, which includes the Orthodox Church in Russia, Greece and elsewhere, also downplays Christmas, disliking the strong modern focus on consumerism. For Eastern Christians, Christmas is tinged with sadness, as they remember that Jesus came into this world to die. One famous icon (or picture) of Christmas shows an angel flying over Jesus in the manger, and casting on him the shadow of a cross.
Eastern Christians prefer to celebrate the coming of Christ on 6 January, when they remember the baptism of Jesus at the age of 30, which was when he was publicly declared to be the Son of God.
