Catechetical Newsletter

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The True Meaning of Christmas
By Daniel S. Mulhall

In his 1843 story “The Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens explores the meaning of Christmas through the eyes of a miserly old man, Ebenezer Scrooge. You know the story:  Scrooge hates Christmas. On Christmas Eve night he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, who show Scrooge how he used to be, what he is missing now, and who he will become if he continues down his current path. These visits bring about a change in Scrooge’s hard heart, and he ends up being filled with the Christmas spirit.

Christmas is the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Christ. It marks the beginning of a two week period known as the Christmas season. It celebrates Jesus’ birth, his revelation to the world (the Epiphany, the coming of the Magi bringing gifts, from whose example we give gifts at Christmas), and ends with his Baptism. As the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” makes clear, we are to celebrate every day of the Christmas season, not just Christmas day.

But what exactly are we celebrating during this festive period? Let’s take a look.

Jesus Is the Light of the World: No one knows the exact date, month, or year of Jesus’ birth. We celebrate on December 25 because the winter solstice—the longest night of the year—has passed and we welcome the growing amount of daylight each day. For Christians, this is a sign of Jesus bringing the new light of salvation into the world. During the Christmas season we are reminded that we, too, are to bring the light of Christ into the world through our lives.

Generosity of Spirit: During the Christmas season we celebrate God’s generous gift to us, the Incarnation—God becoming man in Jesus. No greater gift has ever been given, no greater display of a generous spirit is possible. God gives this gift to us freely, no strings attached, and with no expectation of repayment. It is pure gift. That’s why gift giving is such a big part of the Christmas season: we are encouraged to develop this same generosity of spirit, giving to others freely because we want to give, and not because the gift is earned or expected.

Ultimately, this is the message at the heart of Dickens’ story. Scrooge’s conversion experience changes his miserly heart. As we prepare for the Christmas season, perhaps we could benefit from examining our own consciences—what the ghosts helped Scrooge to do—and see how we might change our own hearts so that we can better share the light of Christ with the world in a generous spirit.