Get it right, the true meaning of Christmas.

In the western countries, Christmas is associated with Santa Clause and Christmas Tree. In Africa, mainly in Kenya, Christmas is traveling upcountry to your folks to slaughter that goat you've been fattening the whole year, drink a lot of booze and catch up. Christmas is actually the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Its mainly celebrated on the 25th of December but I am meant to understand that some Christians celebrate it on 6th of January. Imagine having Christmas holidays in the month of January? It is possible since we have the new year and from there we could probably carry on maybe till the month is over. Wouldn't that be just fantastic? There would be no holiday blues like I already have as I had to yank myself from receiving some massive TLC away from the hustles and bustles of the City.

I remember most Christmas days since I was 4 years old like it was just yesterday. The Carols, the psyche throughout the month, the decorations in our homes and outside, the shopping, the receiving and giving of gifts (it happened, I kid you not), the bonus my parents always got just before Christmas, etc. You had to know Christmas has arrived even if you did not know how to count the days, weeks or the months. New clothing had to be worn, a lot of food had to be cooked, a lot of visitors had to visit (genuinely) and the merry making would go on until way past new year. On the material day, if you happened to be taking a walk, you would smell all kinds of delicious foods coming from various homes, meet jolly people on the way or even bask in the fantastic weather that would strangely change to not too hot or cold. In fact, to this day there is always rain on Christmas day, mainly in the afternoon or at night. Kids especially always looked forward to that Day as an opportunity to show off their new clothes and eat all the food and candy they wanted. People attended church mainly early so they were able to get back to their homes and start the preparations of the day. There was this one movie that a certain TV station faithfully aired every Christmas that used to spook, intrigue and amaze me everytime I watched It. I wonder what happened to that tradition. This is from the book of Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol http://www.stormfax.com/1dickens.htm (part of the script) quite a nice read. The ghosts, this Ebenezer Scrooge fella and the happy ending, I tell you, nothing beats all the emotions running around there.

The present Christmas has become more of an excuse for people to visit the parents they have deserted for a whole year, party till they drop, make a kill in business by doubling prices (watchu gonna do about it!), have that getaway you've been planning to have but cant get time or just have some alone time as everybody else scurries around. No pun intended but seriously this is the season that people get into all kinds of immorality and escapades with no apologies. The most saddening part is they seem to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, more so the time to thank the Lord for the blessings He has bestowed on them throughout the year. Actually most of them talk about how they are going to spend the upcoming year without giving it a second thought that God actually is the one who decides about every one of our fates. However, there are places where people still give Christmas the celebration it deserves to the letter and I believe that is something that keep people tied together no matter what they have been through during the year.

The true meaning of Christmas is love. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love.

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