The Real Celebration of Christmas..What does it truly mean?

Asking anyone today how and why they celebrate the festival of Christmas, many of them say, ‘it is the best time of the year to have the family over for a nice get together and dinner, considering that children are on school holidays and no one has to wake up early on boxing day to go into work.’ Some say that it is the time of the year to really enjoy the holidays and relax at home and watch a couple of movies and snuggle up to some hot chocolate and marshmallows with a warm blanket around you. And then there are some that really take Christmas for what it should be, a religious holiday celebrating the birth of their Saviour, Jesus Christ. But what does it mean to really celebrate Christmas?

Christmas as we all know is the Christian Holy day where they all come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who they believe to be the Son of God.

BUT THAT IS PRETTY BASIC AND WE ALL LEARN THAT FROM PRIMARY SCHOOL!!!

Advent is the period which leads up to Christmas. It starts on the Sunday nearest to November 30th. Many Advent customs involve counting the days until Christmas begins. Some churches have an advent wreath with five candles, one for each of the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day and one for the day itself. Many Christians engage in the advent retreat which is selected number of hours of utter silence in the name of the Lord who gave us all. They speak of the Nativity play and in some cases are found acting out the story or keeping it on display in homes and at the church. Mass is sung out loud for everyone nearby to hear. The story of Jesus' birth (the nativity) is often retold by children through 'Nativity Plays' Church services often include carol singing - these are happy songs which tell the Christmas story. Some Christians start Christmas Day with a midnight communion service (midnight mass). The celebration of Christmas is often accompanied by the giving and receiving of presents and cards. This reminds Christians of the gift of Jesus, the son of God, beginning his earthly life.

In the world that we live in today, we forget the importance behind the religious celebration that we see being celebrated on a yearly basis. We get so caught up in the make shift reasons behind a festival that we fail to realise that there is in fact a deeper meaning than one anticipated there to be. It is interesting that with social media at its peak and with everyone busy in their lives, that we forget those aspects which actually derive meaning and purpose to what we do and why we do it.

Religion is slightly forgotten in our busy lives that we live so fondly, but thank you to these festivals that come up, that can remind us that we are not alone in this world, that there is a God named figure out there looking over us and that there is more to the world than just money money money. Next time you celebrate a religious festival or see one coming up, take out some time to really enjoy it for what it really means.