Monday, December 04, 2006
hello everyone,
just in case youre BORED and to reduce your temptation for searching about all things EVIL, here's a history about CHRISTMAS! :D (have i ever told you i quite like history? HAHA)
from
here:
The First Sunday of Advent(Just some thoughts as the Christmas season kicks in and churches prepare for pageants, nativity plays, etc.)
If you follow the Church's liturgical calendar, you'll know that today is First Sunday of Advent and also the beginning of the new liturgical year. Happy New Year to all of you!
Advent is a four-week period that ends with the dawning of Christmas Day. For those of you who, like me, have grown up in very traditional churches, you'd remember how on each Sunday of Advent, the pastor would light one of the four Advent candles at the beginning of the service, so when you see all four candles lit, you know that Christmas Day is less than a week away.
I've always wondered why the Church has a sort of fascination with candles. Candles are used at Baptisms, First Holy Communions and most memorably at Easter, when all the lights in the main church are turned off and the hundreds of candles, held by every congregation member, create a somewhat quaint sense of joyousness. And it always made you feel proud, knowing that your little light contributed to the newfound brightness.
With regard to this Advent season, candles bring to mind two ideas -- watchfulness and hope.
Being the Church's official period of preparation for Christmas, Advent signifies the Jews' wait for the Messiah to come to this world. We, too, are waiting for the Messiah to come, albeit a second time. In this way, the symbolism of Advent is twofold: just as the Jews waited vigilantly for the Saviour, we should likewise stay watchful for Christ's Second Coming.
'Stand up and raise your heads' is Jesus's instruction to us 'because your redeption is drawing near'(Luke 21:28). 'Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly'(Luke 21:34), Jesus tells us. Let us keep our focus on Christ instead of earthly things.
It is perhaps at Advent that we are also reminded of John the Baptist's words, 'The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel!'. Our awaiting for Christmas Day seems inextricably linked to waiting for God's coming Kingdom and it is only right that, as part of keeping watchful, we 'repent and believe in the gospel'.
Repentance and believing in the gospel are, of course, intrinsic to our faith. I pray that the
Advent season renews in us our fervour to continue being responsible Christians, constantly asking for forgiveness and persistently living out the gospel.
Advent also speaks volumes on hope -- hope in God that He will fulfil His final promise of salvation just as He did by sending His Son to die for us.
Jeremiah 33 tells us 'The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah... In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety.' As we look back on the history of our salvation, we find hope in God who fulfils all promises He has made to us.
Hope is also, I daresay, universally represented by Light. While most of us know how Christ's birth into this world is connected to Light (John 1 says it all), looking at how the early Christians, who lived side-by-side with the Pagans, viewed Christmas gives rich insight into the Light of Christmas.
Just a few days back, I received an email about how it is our duty as Christians to prevent the secularisation of Christmas and bring Christ back to the Christmas season. Interestingly, the Christmas season first started out as a Pagan festival.
The Pagans viewed the world as being in the middle of a cosmic battle between the Light and the Darkness. Whenever the sun shone resplendently, the Light was said to be taking the upper hand in the fight. At nightfall, the Darkness seemed to be pinning the Light down until it broke free at dawn.
As winter set in, the Pagans grew worried because daytime grew shorter and nights were longer. This meant that the Light was getting weaker and weaker each day.
But lo and behold, it was found that around the 21st of December, the tables would turn and the Light would regain its glory and power over the Darkness. Hence, that period became the Pagans' celebration of Light.
The early Christians did not know the exact date of Christ's birth, but were anxious to designate and devote a day in the calendar to celebrate Christ's birth. Familiar with this Pagan festival, it is no surprise that they found the Pagans' concept behind this festival of Light akin to their Christian beliefs. The only difference was, of course, that to them (and to us, no doubt) the only Light was Christ and the only Darkness was the darkness of Sin. And this was not forgetting that Christ's coming into this world meant the triumph over all Sin. Hence the early Christians chose the 25th of December, which was around the date when the Pagans celebrated their festival. In a sense the Church then 'baptised' this Pagan festival, reinforcing the belief that Christ is the Light that has outshone the darkness of Sin.
The candles then remind me of the true Light of Christ and how we, as Christians, are called to be part of this Light. Holding a candle of light in church is not nearly as important as truly being a light to others outside of church. Only then will we truly be helping Christ light up the darkest areas of this world -- this is what Advent calls us to do!
God bless.
mele kalikimaka everybody! (merry christmas in HAWAIIAN)
<3PEARLEEEEEENZ.
