On
December 25 the Church celebrates the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity made man, Who taking flesh in
the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the power of the Holy
Spirit, was born nine months later in a stable in Bethlehem as
predicted in the Scriptures: "And Thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, art a
little one among the thousands of Juda: out of thee shall he come forth
unto me that is to be the ruler in Israel: and his going forth is from
the beginning, from the days of eternity" (Micah, 5:2). The
Gospels of St. Luke and St. Mathew cover the marvelous story. St. Luke
writes of Joseph and Mary traveling to Bethlehem for the census of
Caesar Augustus and Jesus being born there and laid in a manger. He
tells of the appearance of an angel to shepherds nearby announcing the
birth of the Child as the awaited Savior, Christ the Lord, and how these
same shepherds found Him in the humble stable just as the angel had
foretold.
In the account of St. Matthew, wise men follow a
mysterious star to Bethlehem and lay gifts at the feet of the Divine
Child. He also recounts the massacre, ordered by the envious Herod, of
all little boys two years old and under, and the flight of the holy
family into Egypt to save the Child Jesus. They later settle in
Nazareth.
Though there are records of the feast of the Nativity
of Jesus being celebrated as early as the third century in Egypt, the
celebration of this feast did not spread throughout the Christian world
until the middle of the fourth century. It was at first celebrated along
with the feast of Epiphany on January 6, the feast of the arrival of
the Wise Men or Magi. Little by little, Christmas became its own feast.
Many of the early Church Fathers regarded December 25 as the actual date
of Christ’s birth.
Historically and traditionally, Christmas is
deemed one of the greatest Christian feasts along with the solemn,
grateful remembrance of the Lord’s death on Good Friday, and the joyful
celebration of His Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
In all
Christian countries, Christmas gives rise to a multitude of cultural
expressions of colorful, sparkling joy, in remembrance and thanksgiving
for this most charming of divine gifts, a God made a babe for our
salvation. Countless songs, and ballads through the ages sing of this
Gift of gifts, and people, in turn, have recourse to gift giving as a
visible overflow of their gratitude and joy – or so it should be.
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