Local Leader Message
What is Christmas to You?
Christmas is about spending time with the Saviour and doing the very things He would do if He were here.
During my childhood, my family and I lived in a two-story building with six apartments, and every year all six families would join together to celebrate Christmas. As a young man, that was one of my favourite times of the year.
A pine tree was placed in the centre of the yard and along with my brothers and friends, we would help decorate both the tree and the yard. After the adults had finished preparing the lights, they were painted in different colours and then used to decorate the tree.
One of the most beautiful moments was when we turned the lights on. The colour combination made the place even more cheerful, especially when the lights reflected the nativity scene.
As we learn from the verse of the hymn “With Wondering Awe”, Christmas is about “the old and hallowed story, and still is sung in ev’ry tongue The angels’ song of glory: Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!”1
I still vividly remember those moments and the joy that we felt year after year helping prepare for this glorious celebration. This Christmas Eve I want to invite you to ponder on the question what is Christmas to you?
Many people have asked, “What makes Christmas so special?” the answers often suggest that the significance of Christmas varies from person to person.
If that is the case, if the significance is different from person to person, are we all accessing the true blessings associated with Christmas?
In the book of Luke in the New Testament we read the following account of Christ’s birth:
“And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord ” (Luke 2:10–11).
The message of great joy brought by the angels came with an invitation to all people, to praise God in the highest; and on earth to have peace, and good will toward others. So, clearly there cannot be different reasons for celebrating Christmas but only one. One that is centred on the birth of a Saviour, a Redeemer for all mankind; He who by birth and life showed us the way to perfection and eternal life.
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) said, “There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection”.2
This invitation to celebrate is still valid today. When, during this Christmas season, we remember Him and fill our hearts and minds with gratitude for His sacrifice, the blessings of joy, peace and love become abundant in our lives.
So, what is Christmas to me?
It is about bringing family and friends together to spend time with the Saviour, celebrating His redeeming mission, and doing the very thing He would have done if He were here: to love one another, to share the precious message of God’s kingdom and to invite all to come and see, because He is the real gift—the Messiah, the son of God, of whom I bear witness, even Jesus Christ.