By Hern. P. Zenarosa
TOMORROW at midnight church bells all over the Christian world will ring to announce in exaltation the joyous coming of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
It is an event of universal rejoicing and we will join in the celebration to express our thanks for the Lord’s will in our lives.
To experience the love of God in Jesus Christ is a need that is especially compelling at Christmastime.
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All these will be a repetition of the celebration of the first Christmas, although no specific date has been recorded when and where it took place.
It may even be possible that no celebration ever happened at His birth, considering that in the early ages, it is said that "the theologian Origen denounced the idea of celebrating Jesus’ birthday ‘as if He were a king pharaoh.’"
He said "only sinners, not saints, celebrated their birthdays."
Origen of Alexandria (c 185253) was a doctrinaire who theorized the "pre-existence of the soul and the probable ultimate salvation of men and the fallen angels."
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According to some accounts, the celebration of Christmas on December 25 as the birthday of Christ is merely a tradition, not the actual date of His birth.
Even so, all of Christendom observe it, as well as by non-Christians, highlighted by religious services, gift-giving, gathering of friends and family relations, featuring decorative ornaments heralding the coming of Christ.
The observance is related to Annunciation, Incarnation, Advent, and the winter holiday season.
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It is curious that while Christmas is widely observed all over with merrymaking and ceremonial functions, in the land of His birth, December 25 is just another day.
While in Tel Aviv some time ago, I was agog over the prospect of experiencing Christmas in the Holy Land so much so that early on Christmas day, I donned my best suit for the morning mass.
On the way out of the apartment house I greeted my host a "Merry Christmas!" but he just looked at me and asked where I was going; I told him I was going to the Church to hear mass.
"It’s Christmas," I said.
"Oh, yes," he said but I sensed there was hesitation in his voice. "You see, I have not told you, we don’t celebrate Christmas in Tel Aviv," suggesting that I go instead to Jerusalem or Bethlehem where Christmas is observed for the tourists!
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The fact is that Christmas is celebrated with fervor and piety and compassion and goodwill not in Jerusalem or Bethlehem itself (His birthplace) nor in Spain or Italy or Mexico.
Not even in the United States from where we learned all those American Christmas hymns and lullabies that we sing like crazy — dashing through the imagined snow.
The fact is that only in the Philippines could you experience the true spirit of Christmas like the Lord’s will in our lives.
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