All of us present here will have received more than one Christmas greeting, many of us will even have wished a Merry Christmas to our loved ones. We celebrate these dates, everything is filled with lights, we fill our homes with decorations and we know that the family must get together. We did this last night, and somehow we sensed that this time of year is renowned for hope, charity, mercy and generosity towards others. We all know, beyond custom or what we have learned, that each one deserves and wants to experience Christmas. We are called to it. But what is Christmas?
The word “Christmas” comes from the Latin “nativitas, nativitatis”, which means “birth”. Every time we congratulate Christmas, we are formally demonstrating our joy and good wishes for the birth of someone, this someone being, as we all know, the Child of Bethlehem himself, Jesus of Nazareth.
It is true that the fact that this festival is celebrated on December 25 does not lie in the accuracy of the day on which this birth occurred, since the date is not specified in the biblical scriptures. The human means through which this celebration continued was through the replacement of the Roman Saturnalia, festivals celebrated at the end of December, like the festival of Sol Invictus. In it, the Roman Empire celebrated the “day of the birth of the Unconquered Sun”, related to the winter solstice and the rebirth of light.
This is the story behind it, and through which it was decided to compare that birth of light with the birth of another light more powerful than the sun. Thus, in the 4th century, Pope Julius I officially established December 25 as the date to celebrate the birth of Christ. Perhaps the explanation given above clashes with others that you have studied, these being of different interpretation. My study and my knowledge really extends this far, and surely the point of this writing goes far beyond what history can show us.
The stories may vary, the celebrations and the dates may vary, but the fact that does not change is what we can visibly see today. And for centuries, this date has been associated with the resurgence of light, with the hope-filled desires of each person and with believing again in explainable mysteries. And I say explainable, because even if they have an explanation, being mysteries they are not always within our finite and limited reach.
This day is also associated with the poorly known custom, which, more than this – pure repetition of acts – becomes a tradition: welcoming and understanding the value of what is witnessed, and maintaining it as a great treasure. Let us remember that treasures are such because we have found in them something valuable, incalculable and worthy of preserving, caring for and protecting.
I find it very difficult to believe that this festival is still alive because of custom, and not because of tradition. The Corte Inglés and school holidays may be very appealing, but if that were the case, we could live these days as just another eternal summer. You will think that there are many people who live this way, many of us have even fallen into this trap at some point. But don’t we see the value of what has been given to us beyond the packaging? Whether you believe or not, dear readers, that this Child born between diapers and poverty is or is not the Son of God, the undeniable thing is that he has been given to us all.
Those of us who, due to some family, personal, circumstantial or traumatic circumstance, have come to hate Christmas, can find comfort in it, ironically. The arrival of this small, vulnerable Child can make sense to even the most atheist in the room. If we don’t find shelter, company, a structured family or gifts on the other side of the tree, if we don’t even have a home to share this night, didn’t He experience all of that first? We all need the Love of that Child to give true meaning to our lives, because he lowered himself so that no one could stop saying “Merry Christmas.” If we hate Christmas, it is because we have not stopped to understand or reflect on what it is in its original essence.
The real Christmas is family, love, humility, gifts – not the ones that are wrapped – giving to others and simple adoration. And all of this that I just mentioned can be found in the Holy Family of Bethlehem. In Joseph, loving and selfless father; in Mary, strong, tender mother and bearer of love; and in Jesus, small and tender Child of flesh and blood, like you and me, who, in his smallness and making himself known in the most human way, keeps in his eyes the meaning of the entire universe.
So, Merry Christmas everyone. Thanks for the support and see you next Wednesday.
