Beauty of Christmas

The beauty of Christmas is first and foremost the celebration of the real Christmas Story found in the Holy Bible with the Birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who came to bring love, hope, and salvation to the world.
The beauty of Christmas embodies joy, generosity and togetherness in a world of love, hope and faith.
For Christians, it's also a time for reflecting on one's relationship with God.
More than 2000 years ago, a humble donkey carried our Blessed Virgin Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem to give Birth to the King of Kings in a humble stable in Bethlehem on that first Christmas night marking the beginning of the Christian Era based on the Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Birth of Jesus Christ
Mary, a young Jewish girl from Nazareth in the region of Galilee, was chosen to give Birth to the Son of God.
God delivered His Message through His Archangel Gabriel who greeted her with the words "Rejoice O Blessed One, the Lord is with Thee! Blessed are Thou amongst women"!
Mary answered, "Let it be according to the Will of God".
Jesus is the Name given to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel (Luke 1:31).
Christ comes from the Greek word "Christos", meaning “Anointed One of God" (Daniel 9:25; Isaiah 32:1).
The Birth of Jesus begins with a reference to Caesar Augustus, Emperor of the powerful, Roman Empire and, of Jesus, a Jewish, Baby Boy Born into poverty.
Mary And Joseph traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph's ancestral home on a humble donkey to find no room at the inn.
Beauty of Christmas-Humility Simplicity and Poverty
Jesus came into this world in humility, simplicity and in poverty.
His Crib was an animal feeding trough.
Angels proclaimed the joyous Birth of Jesus to shepherds keeping watch over their flock that first Christmas Eve.
“The glory of the Lord shone round about them and said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord".
(Luke 2:10, 11)
Humble shepherds and farm animals surrounded the Baby Jesus in that humble Stable.
The Three gentile (non-Jewish), Wise Men came from the east following the bright Star of Bethlehem.
They bowed before Him to acknowledge His Deity and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
The gentiles later, would make up most of the Christian world that grew and spread in many directions from ancient Jerusalem.
Nazareth
Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth, following the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
Joseph, a humble man, was the earthly step-father of Jesus trained Him in his trade, as that of a carpenter.
Nazareth is where Jesus was Raised in the Jewish spiritual traditions until He began His three-year Ministry in the region of Galilee at about the age of thirty.
Jesus Christ the Savior
"God loved the world so much, that He gave His One and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost but have eternal life". (John 3:16).
Jesus is the Good Shepherd Who came to shepherd God's people to greener pastures so we can inherit the Kingdom of God.
BC/AD System of Dating
The Birth of Jesus divided history into the BC/AD system of dating.
B.C. means “Before Christ”.
A.D. (“Anno Domini”) is the Latin phrase meaning “In The Year Of Our Lord,” referring to the year of Christ’s Birth.
Since the Birth of Jesus, every historical event as well as the Christian Calendar is measured as A.D. and is used with both, the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

Light of the World

Beauty of Christmas
The Light of the World (Greek: φώς τοῦ κόσμου Phṓs tou kósmou), illuminates our path like a lighthouse through the darkness of sin and enduring struggles toward the Refuge of God.
Through unseen currents, the Light of the World radiates holiness, goodness and grace to touch hearts and change lives.
Jesus Christ (Greek: Χριστός (Christós) is the "Light of the World" bringing peace, joy and goodwill to the world.
His Illuminated Light gives us peace of mind and helps us to overcome fears, worries and the obstacles of life.
Christmas is a time for giving, a time for peace on earth that reaches out to all people and a time for remembering others less fortunate than ourselves.
There are those going through times of hardship, suffering and pain, there are those who are alone or, don't have the extra money to buy presents for the one's they love.
There are those who are saddened when they think of loved ones who will not be with them for Christmas.
Yet, in the midst of difficulties there is always hope to endure and to keep moving forward.
Faith generates that spiritual energy in times of need to persevere and to endure every difficulty, every sorrow and every setback because God is our refuge, our strength and our inspiration toward a brighter tomorrow.
Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd Who guides His flock to "greener pastures" of peace, abundance, and fulfillment, as described in Psalm 23.
Like a bright shining light, the spirit of Christmas embodies many wonderful qualities for those who feel it in their heart and have the eyes of faith.

Christianity

Beauty of Christmas
Hellenistic Judaism
Christianity has a religious continuity with Judaism, the ancient spiritual heritage of the Jews.
Hellenistic Judaism blended Jewish religious tradition with Hellenistic culture profoundly impacted the customs, practices and language of the Jews.
It began with the translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek known as the Septuagint which became synonymous with the Old Testament.
Hellenism and Judaism formed the basis of Early Christianity.
The Apostles names were Hellenized and Greek names were also given to children such as Andrew, Peter, Paul, Thomas, Simon Philip, Alexander, Jason.
The New Testament was written in Greek.
Greek was used to preach the Gospel of Christ.
Christianity was able to spread from Jerusalem into the Eastern half of the Roman Empire because it was predominantly Greek-speaking.
Beauty of Christmas
Bethlehem
Bethlehem, ("City of David"), was the birthplace of David (Jewish shepherd boy who slew the giant Philistine warrior, Goliath), and where he was anointed and crowned as the second king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.
Bethlehem is also the Birthplace of Jesus Christ, Whose Birth marked the beginning of the Christian era
Holy Bible
The Bible is the sacred Book of Judaism (Old Testament - the Prophets), and Christianity (New Testament - Jesus Christ and His Apostles).
Beauty of Christmas
Christian Life
Christian life is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, Christian fellowship in the church and through serving our fellow human being.
It is a way of life that encompasses all that is right, conscientious and moral and provides an opportunity to live a wholesome and balanced existence, in harmony with our fellow human being.
And we serve God by serving our family and our fellow human being.
Christian Church
Sunday, the Seventh Day, is given to mankind by God to devote time to their spiritual needs.
Jesus Christ came to offer people salvation through repentance, by putting their trust in Him and to be baptized into His Church.
When the church bell tolls, it reminds Christians of God’s Presence.
Every Sunday, the Christian faithful go to church to hear the Voice of God through Liturgy and the Sacraments and to find Jesus the Good Shepherd Who leads His flock to greener pastures.

Beauty of Christmas

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year with its very own traditional and beautiful old customs steeped in historical pageantry, diverse customs and feasting traditions that have evolved over centuries.
Christmas is a Holy Day, full of meaning, tradition and hope and celebrated throughout the Christian world as a major festival and public holiday.
Jesus Christ's Birth is the embodiment of God's love for humanity through the promise of eternal life via the path of redemption (being saved from sin and evil).
The wonderful sights and sounds of Christmas can be felt, seen and heard everywhere that bring out the best in people.
Nativity scenes, Father Christmas, Christmas Carols, Christmas trees, stockings hanging by the fireplace, mistletoe and holly, sparkling, colorful lights and decorations in the city and suburbs, towns and villages and Christmas work parties all add to the Christmas spirit.
The festive season provides a valuable respite from the demands of everyday life focused on a unique and joyful atmosphere of togetherness with family and friends, gift-giving, and a sense of hope to a fresh start as the year ends.
Beauty of Christmas
Adelaide Christmas Pageant
South Australia
Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is the City of Churches.
With its tree-lined suburbs, quarter-acre block homes, large public squares and city surrounded entirely by lush, green parklands, is famous for its annual Christmas Pageant.
The arrival of the festive season in Adelaide is always marked by the Adelaide Christmas Pageant (formerly known as John Martins Christmas Pageant) staged in early November every year, on a Saturday morning. which starts the countdown to Christmas.
People across South Australia look forward to the spectacular parade which has been bringing the Spirit of Christmas to Adelaide’s city streets every November since 1933.
The Adelaide Christmas Pageant was founded by Sir Edward Hayward, owner of the Adelaide department store John Martin's, who opened the first pageant on 18 November 1933 and saw it as a way to bring joy into the lives of the people of Adelaide during the Great Depression.
Since then, the Christmas Pageant has been the traditional start to the Christmas season in South Australia with thousands of people, young and old, lining the city streets each November to welcome Father Christmas to Adelaide.
Today, the Christmas Pageant has become a Heritage Icon of South Australia and has become the largest event of its kind in the world attracting crowds of over 400,000 that line the 3.3km pageant route to see Father Christmas (Santa Claus) and a huge line-up of fairy tale floats, clowns, marching bands, dancing groups, walking performers and many other magical characters with the final float being Father Christmas and his magical sleigh winding through the city streets.
Beauty of Christmas
Christmas Eve
Final preparations for Christmas are made on Christmas Eve with last-minute shopping for presents or food.
Children will hang their Christmas stockings for the arrival of Santa Claus in the early hours of Christmas morning with their presents.
People and churches will organize groups to go Christmas Caroling from door-to-door or in public venues to raise money for favorite charities.
Christmas Day-December 25
The traditional Christian festival begins Christmas Day, December 25 until Epiphany in the New Year which falls on January 6th.
On Christmas morning, children will open beautifully wrapped gifts laid underneath the Christmas Tree that came with love.
And, in every kitchen, stoves and ovens are fired up as housewives and daughters prepare all the mouthwatering food that will be served on this special day.
On the beautifully decorated Christmas table, there may be traditional roasted meats like turkey, duck or goose, leg of ham and, mouth-watering accompaniments like seasonal vegetables and salads.
There may be Christmas pudding, enticing deserts and Christmas biscuits.
The festive Christmas table is sure to please, as we celebrate the spirit of Christmas, on this special day, the Birth of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Humble Home

"At Christmas, all Roads Lead Home"
- Marjorie Holmes
Beauty of Christmas
Home is where our fondest dreams are centered and the bonds of family, where love and comfort surrounds us.
There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being with those you love at Christmas with its heartwarming family gatherings.
Home is where you always have that sense of belonging and pleasant childhood memories of Christmases past.
A Time To Reunite
Many family members who are separated by miles will travel from all over the world to once again mingle with family and old friends in their hometown in an incredible atmosphere of joy as they celebrate their unforgettable Christmas traditions.
"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time".
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Important Family Feast Day
The beauty of Christmas provides the bonds of family through quality time for shared experiences that strengthen relationships throughout the year.
Family rituals are special because they are recurring activities that bring a family closer together and build a sense of belonging.
Going to church with the family on Christmas Day, setting-up the symbolic Nativity Scene, decorating the tree together, the house with lights, baking festive foods, watching Christmas movies or leaving out treats for Father Christmas (Santa Claus) creates lasting memories for everyone involved.
The beauty of Christmas also creates a sense of community with many organizations and businesses participating in holiday-related activities such as giving gifts to employees or supporting charities, which fosters a culture of goodwill.

Spirit Of Giving

Beauty of Christmas
Give And Thou Shalt Receive
Gift giving conveys the spirit of Christmas as symbolic expressions of love, respect, gratitude and friendship to family, friends and charities.
Gifts are a part of the spirit of Christmas that comes in many forms to help others without expecting anything in return.
You reap a rich harvest of spiritual blessings when you reach out to those in need and hold the hand of those in sorrow.
The joy of giving are good works that manifest the Kingdom of God.
The tradition of gift-giving started the moment God gave humanity the Gift of His only Son, Jesus.
The Three Wise Men came from the east following the bright Star of Bethlehem to acknowledge His Divinity by giving Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Beauty of Christmas
Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens 1843 Classic Christmas Story is a tale of human redemption and spiritual transformation in Victorian England during the Industrial Revolution and deals with the gap between rich and poor and social injustice.
Ebenezer Scrooge is a rich, cold-hearted, old miser who despises Christmas and has only disgust for the poor, thinking the world would be better off without them and "decreasing the surplus population."
Scrooge's selfish nature is contrasted with his good-hearted, nephew Fred, who radiates the Christmas spirit.
Bob Cratchit, a symbol for the Victorian poor, is the underpaid and overworked clerk of Scrooge and his youngest son, the crippled Tiny Tim, symbolizes the overwhelming goodness of the Christmas spirit.
On Christmas Eve, four ghosts visit Scrooge.
The ghost of his friend and business partner Jacob Marley, is the first to appear and attempts to save his friend's soul by warning him of the suffering awaiting him if he does not change.
Marley's ghost is damned to walk the Earth for eternity, bound by the heavy chains he "forged in life," from selfishness and greed.
Three other ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey.
Each reveal scenes from his past, present and future.
He experiences remorse with the Spirit of Christmas Past, repentance with the Spirit of Christmas Present and redemption with the Spirit of Christmas Future making the final transformation from a cold, unfeeling miser to one filled with the Christmas spirit.
Scrooge wakes up to find it is Christmas Day and that he is able to right the wrongs of his past.
He sets out to help his nephew Fred, the Cratchit family and, especially Tiny Tim who is in need of medical attention.
And, he begins to give generously to charity. At the family Christmas dinner, Bob Cratchit offers a blessing. "A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us." "God bless us every one! said Tiny Tim.
"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year".
-Charles Dickens

Christmas Carols

Beauty of Christmas
Christmas Carols remain a part of our most beloved in our Christian heritage filled with the joyful and soothing sounds that is unique to the season.
Their joyous themes, wonderful words and lyrics with their heart-warming messages of praise and joy, make everyone feel the Christmas spirit with love and good cheer every year.
Silent Night, Away in a Manger, O Come, All Ye Faithful and Jingle Bells invoke happy childhood memories of special times of everything that Christmas stands for and they will always have a special place in the hearts of young and old.
Beauty of Christmas
Victorian Christmas
Victorians celebrated Christmas with family-oriented festivities that included gift-giving, Christmas cards, and the traditional Christmas feast with family.
Christmas Carols like "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Away in a Manger," "O Come, All Ye Faithful" "The First Noel" and "We Three Kings" were sung alongside enduring favorites like "The Holly and the Ivy" and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen".
Wassailing
Groups of people sang carols door-to-door (or tavern-to-tavern) in exchange for drinks and food.
Victorian children visited homes on Christmas Eve singing Carols door-to-door in exchange for treats such as food, drink or money that turned communities into a festive atmosphere of goodwill and cheer.
Town Musicians (Waits)
Musicians played carols on fiddles, pipes, and organs on the streets.
Church
Christmas Carols entered church services with the choir and congregation singing.

Father Christmas (Santa Claus)

Beauty of Christmas
Children all around the world look forward with anticipation and begin the count-down for Father Christmas with his big bag of toys to arrive with his sleigh and reindeer in the early hours of Christmas morning to deliver their presents in Christmas stockings or by the family Christmas tree.
Father Christmas is a symbol of the spirit of giving who brings joy to children at Christmas time.
Beauty of Christmas
Is There a Santa Claus?
Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of the New York Sun.
"Dear Editor, I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, If you see it in THE SUN it's so. Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?"
Newsman Francis Church wrote The Sun's response to Virginia on September 21, 1897.
It has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial.
"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus.
It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.
We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight.
The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."
Beauty of Christmas
Saint Nicholas
Santa Claus serves as a symbol of gift-giving and generosity is rooted in the historical figure of Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century Greek Saint known for his secret acts of charity and gift-giving to poor people and children.
Saint Nicholas (His feast day is December 6th), Greek Orthodox Bishop of Myra, was born about 270 AD in Patara, Asia Minor, when the region was Greek in its heritage and culture but, under Roman occupation.
Born to wealthy parents, he used his inheritance to assist the needy and dedicated his life to serving God.
One of the best known stories of Saint Nicholas' generous gift giving involved a pious Christian with three daughters and not enough money to provide them with dowries which meant they could not marry.
Nicholas walked by the house on three successive nights and each time threw a bag of gold through the window thus providing them the opportunity to marry.

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