Christmas has became commercialised. In most places we see a white-bearded man with a huge belly who is clothed in red rather than baby Jesus. Christmas songs start playing by late October and disappear off the airwaves immediately after the 25th of December, replaced by huge sales. Then some friends and acquaintances start saying: Christmas is nothing, it is just buying gifts, eating and relaxing.
It is easier to understand the meaning of Christmas when you look at other languages than in English, Finnish or Swedish. In Spanish, it is Navidad, which shares a root with the word nativity, the birth. Coincidently, in Chinese Christmas is 圣诞 (or sheng dan), which means “Holy Nativity”. That makes better sense: This day is dedicated to marking Jesus’ birthday.
Now I look back on my “pre-Catholic” days, when Christmas gifts were the protagonists of my Christmas time, and I know I prefer to have the baby Jesus as a gift rather than any other gifts.
Merry Christmas - Hyvää joulua - God jul - 圣诞快乐 - Feliz Navidad :)
About the Author
Yiran, or Maria Micaela. Born in China as a Protestant Christian but baptised in Spain (2015), being the only Catholic in the family. I came to Turku as an Erasmus exchange student and I stayed for my MSc studies. I'm also a participant of the Youth Weekends at Stella Maris. Cooking, running and photography are my hobbies. |