As recorded by an on-line encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. It is a feast central to Christianity. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries and it is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, especially since the 20th century.
The celebration of the festival dates back to336 AD during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Constantine. It came into being as a result of the resolve of some folks who were not comfortable with the binding of the roman society with the clutches of paganism. The observance of the event was more as a call to the worship of the sun. So, dislodging the grip of this pagan society from what amounted to the worship of idol was a task that must be carried out in line with the biblical injunction that forbids the romance with idols.
Secondly, in the estimation of the early Christian, setting a day aside to celebrate the birth of the savior of mankind is a worthwhile venture. These, in a null shell are the essence of Christmas.
However, with the passage of time, many people around the world have been so carried away that common sense appear to have been removed from the celebration of Christmas, the birthday of the only begotten son of God, according to Christian religious records.
Today, men and women of the world spend more time on personal engagements on the 25th day of December than appreciating the ‘celebrant’, unlike the celebrations of the same kind involving Christians, those who are yearly engaged in the event often turn the occasion to times of social misbehavior.
Desperate young people use the yuletide period as spring board for engaging themselves in heinous crimes such as armed robbery, advance fee fraud (419), kidnapping, stealing, corrupt practices and sexual promiscuity.
The reason for these acts of deviant character exposition remain the fact that the season’s merry makers have thrown common sense overboard in carrying out their activities during the period. Some call the period in Nigeria ‘ember months’ while others simply refer to it as ‘Christmas season’.
Apart from the crimes associated with the season, many couples and their children use the time meant for the celebration of Christ as that for settling old scores. Some have divorced their partners thereby while many children on the other hand pitch their tent with either of the spouse against the other.
Many questions remain unanswered by billions of people in the world with focus on the need to celebrate the annual event. For example, if Jesus Christ was to appear in a country like Nigeria on the 25th of December, will he permit the methods of giving thanks on his behalf by Nigerians, given the hardship in the land? Why should people prefer bags of rice, chickens and clothes purchased for use in December to those that are already available in their houses before the yuletide? And why must man borrow to be extravagant momentarily at the detriment of economic disciplinary offer provided by the current situation in the nation?
When men celebrate, their loved ones offer them gifts that sometimes include houses and motor cars. On the contrary, when they celebrate Christ, they get involved in rigorous prayers and church services that make it appear that God only blesses people during Christmas periods of the year. They seldom think of promoting the ideals of the Man who was murdered at the cross of Calvary. Again, churches’ rules are often broken by members, using the period to dispossess unsuspecting public of their hard earned monies in the name of marking Christmas.
Meanwhile, commendations must be appropriately given to men and women of good will who use the yuletide as a period of gifting for the upliftment of mankind in line with the wishes of the Man described in the Bible as doing good everywhere he went while his stay physically lasted on the surface of the earth.
Their acts and methods of celebrations must be emulated by those that are yet to realise that the essence of the celebration requires the addition of common sense during the last few days of every year.
This type of sense can be likened to the kind of wisdom that passes all understandings as exemplified by the life of Jesus Christ.
