Christ, the Sole Purpose of the Season

Christ, the Sole Purpose of the Season

     Christmas is one of the greatest celebrations and annual holiday we have in our world. People from all over the globe celebrate it depending on their cultures and traditions. It is often celebrated with glee and love, thanksgiving and generosity, and devotion and gratitude. We celebrate Christmas when we are together with our family and loved ones. We celebrate Christmas because we want to reflect upon all the things, whether they were good or bad, we have experienced during the whole year that has passed. We celebrate Christmas to cherish all the good and happy memories that we had undergone during the months in the year. We celebrate Christmas to renew our relationships with one another and prepare ourselves for the incoming year that will eventually arrive.

     Nowadays, Christmas is often associated with gifts, bountiful feasts, money, and all forms of merry-making. People tend to forget even more what the true meaning and the focal point of Christmas is. Because of the fast-changing and transient cultures and temporary traditions our world has offered based on temporary and passing beliefs, people become more and more forgetful of how and why Christmas, as a celebration, started. The true meaning of the Christmas season is not about the gifts we receive from our family or give to the needy, the love that we share to each other, and the gratitude we offer. The true meaning of Christmas is the remembrance of the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ into this world. All the love that we share, all the gifts that we give, all the devotion we show, and all the traditions we practice are just effects of what happened more than two thousand years ago. Jesus, as the promised Messiah and the only begotten Son of God, came into this world for but two purposes: to show us the truth and lead us the way and to save all of us from our sins and give us life.

     Jesus humbly sacrificed Himself on the cross to liberate humanity and redeem us from eternal destruction so that we can be together with God and will gain the possibility to attain salvation through Him. Salvation is found in none other but Christ alone if we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior. Salvation is the free gift from God through Christ to us. Christ came into this world and saved us all from our sins. This is the true meaning of Christmas – to remember and commemorate the arrival of the Messiah in this world for the salvation and hope of mankind.

     Christmas will always continue as the world’s greatest celebration. But it should not be just focused more on the gifts and the abundance of feasts; it should be celebrated with commemorating love and endless piety to Jesus Christ and to God our Father. It should be celebrated for Him and in Him alone through our greatest thanksgiving for the free gift that He had freely and lovingly given us. Christ should be the center of the celebration. In order for us to celebrate it in adoration towards Him, we must also be more generous, kind, loving, and grateful to our fellow brethren. We must love each other as much as we love ourselves because it is one of Christ’s greatest commandments that we must love our fellow brethren as we love ourselves and as we love God. Loving our neighbors is one way to honor Christ during this meaningful, peaceful, joyful, and gratifying celebration. We ought not to forget that Christ is the sole purpose of this season above all else.