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| Sunday, 25 December 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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May be you do not know what Christmas is. Perhaps you have heard that it is the celebration of the birth of Christ. It is a festival for Christians because they believe Christ was born to make peace between God and man. The story of Christmas, is written in the Bible in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. So, let us find out what it says about the first Christmas.... Long ago, there was a country called Israel in the banks of the river Jordan, in Arabia. This was a small country and the people who lived there worshipped Yahweh, whom they believed as the one and only God who created them. However, there was a problem. God was angry with them and had thrown them out of his presence. The Israelites believed this happened because the first man and woman whom God created disobeyed him. But, the people after them also loved wrongdoing. Sometimes, they worshipped other gods as well. Therefore, God was very angry and punished them from time to time. But at the same time, God felt sorry for them and promised that he will send a redeemer, someone who would be able to reconcile or reunite God and man and restore peace between them. Therefore, the people were waiting for their redeemer, the messenger of God. The king (the emperor) of Rome had conquered Israel as well, and people were finding it difficult to obey his hard rules. This made them look forward to a king of their own in Israel, who is powerful enough to free them from the Romans and bring peace to the country. It was during this time that Augustus Caesar, the emperor of Rome, ordered the people in Israel to go back to their home towns, the small villages where they were born and grew up. He was to take a census (a count) of people in Israel. People were hurrying back to their villages. There were hundreds of people on the road, most of them walking. The rich travelled on camels, ponies or in carts dragged by horses. Among the crowd was Joseph, a carpenter who was going back to his home town Bethlehem with his wife Mary. Mary was pregnant and was finding the long walk very difficult. When they reached the town of Bethlehem, Joseph was looking for an inn (hotel or rest house) so that Mary could rest comfortably. But all the inns were full, and a kind rest house keeper let them stay in the manger, where the rest house cattle were kept. There, in that cold night, baby Jesus was born. A star shone bright above the cattle shed, and the shepherds who were sleeping out in the open grasslands taking care of their sheep saw a bright light coming down from heaven. They heard a host of angels singing songs of praise to God. One of the angels spoke to them and announced that the prince of peace, the person who is able to reconcile God and man was born in a cattle shed. The angel asked the shepherds to go and worship the baby. They went to Bethlehem and found baby Jesus. At the same time, three wise men called 'Magi' from three different countries in the East had seen the star which shone above the cattle shed in Bethlehem. They were learned men who were involved in studying stars. They had calculated and found that a very powerful king is to be born in Israel, so, they had travelled far and long, and at last came to Israel. But, to their surprise no little prince was born in the king's palace of Israel. But that night an angel of God spoke to them in a dream and directed them to the humble place where baby Jesus was living. So, they had gone there with their gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh. And today, this little story of the first Christmas is acted out on stage during Christmas. The 'nativity' as it is called, brings out the meaning of Christmas, in showing how humble Jesus was. The Bible records the story of Jesus' birth and other events that are connected to it and his life. - Vimukthi |
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Christmas, what a grand time. It is a time, I am sure all of you love.
There is a lot of activity, and festivity all around us. Christmas trees,
Christmas carols, Christmas gifts, Christmas cake and Christmas
puddings... Well, it is a time for fun and gaiety for many of us. But,
what is Christmas? Why do we celebrate it? 
