THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

It is significant that Christmas, the festival of lights, comes at the darkest time of the year, the winter solstice. The days are short and the winter night is long. In ancient times, this was a time of dread, a time of cold, darkness, hunger, sickness and death. They never knew who would survive the winter.

The present winter solstice is attended by warmth, generosity, plenty, peace, brotherhood and light. It means that all the horrors of the cold, cruel winter have been overcome. We have plenty of food, light, warmth and generosity. Humankind, for the time being, has triumphed over the cruelties of Nature.

But Nature also brings us the harvest and the symbols of it include the abundance of food and drink, and the Christmas tree. It is as if we take pity on the cold fir tree and take it indoors. We are not killing the tree, we are making it immortal by adorning it and remembering it forever. We sing to it, "Edelweiss, edelweiss" and it glows with happiness.

On top is a star. In primitive times the night was black and the stars shone, and their constancy was reassuring that the universe was in order. On top may be an angel, symbolic of God and heaven and the promise of everlasting life. The Christmas story is the story of humankind's conquest over Death, which is why it is called, "The Greatest Story Ever Told."

The best reason that Christmastime is about "The Greatest Story Ever Told" is that it is the story of God coming down to earth in the form of a human babe, the Son of God who would prove to be a Savior, The Messiah. The music of "The Messiah" is the most glorious music ever written, and we never tire of it, because of its beauty and message. It is good to know that when we die, we do not entirely dissipate. Our spirit will rise and go to heaven (if we are good) and we will reside in the house of the Lord forever. We will be taken back to the bosom of our Maker.

The most important part of the Christmas story is the wonderful relationship of the Virgin Mother and Child. Sigmund Freud himself was electrified by the vision of the madonna and bambino which he saw for the first time in his travels in Italy. The vision of the many beautiful paintings by the Renaissance masters fixed in his mind the power and beauty of the mother-child relationship.

The greatest message for us today is to treat each child as the son or daughter of God. We are all God's children. The message in the story is that "the child is the father of the man" and "a child shall lead us". In order for this child to grow and develop into a god-man like Christ, the child must be valued and adored. He is the hope of the future. We bring him gifts. We would never scold or abuse him. We must love and nurture him as if he truly is the most important person in the world. That is how our child will grow into self-confidence and self-esteem, those attributes we admire and value.

It is often said that the spirit of Christmas seems to die after the holiday season is over, that we are back to destructiveness and competition, rather than creativity and cooperation. As the years go by and the millenium approaches, and we are well aware of the horrors of war and the dangers of living in a nuclear age, perhaps we will at last come to our senses and live a life more in line with our ideals and highest aspirations, rather than the daily compromises which devalue our lives and lead to a corrupt society.

Evil will triumph only if good men do nothing. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. It should be our goal to leave this earth a better place for our having lived in it, and the spiritual values of Christmas are like a beacon that should lead us the rest of the year. Light triumphs over darkness, plenty over hunger, warmth over cold, generosity over selfishness, and life over death.