Christmas what?

So, it's nearly Christmas... the silly season?

You know what I think is silly about it? The fact that every time some politician on tv tries to talk about it they only say these pointless things like "Seasons Greetings" and so on. Is everyone too scared these days to talk about the real meaning of Christmas?

Here in Australia, on Australia day, people become citizens. More so than any other day. It is almost a badge of honour for residents of Australia to become citizens on that day. Why is that? Because the day represents something more than the next one. Why? Because on Australia Day we remember... you guessed it... the settlement of Australia in 1788.

Why do we have a public holiday celebrating the Queen's Birthday? Ummm... is it that hard... it is to remember the Queen - our head of State (whether we like it or not).

Now for some reason ( I will explore that in a moment), Christmas has almost become a taboo topic. No one wants to talk about what it means, only that it is a holiday, a time off work, a time to spend with family, Santa's arrival, ham eating, shopping, watching cricket... yadda yadda yadda. Anything but what it actually means.

So what does it actually mean then? Well Christmas is a time for us to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, some 2000 years ago now. Our dating system itself is based on this event! It is a time for us to reflect on the significance on the event, and how it affects us today. Do not be fooled, friends by the deceptions of our secular society, that is so full of misleading comments and inane remarks. Christmas time is a time to celebrate the past and to hope for the future.

Jesus is not just any baby. Jesus is God incarnate, come to save us from the punishment our actions in this world deserve.

Why not make this Christmas the time to think harder about who this baby is, a baby born in a dirty manger in a backward town, a baby that changed our history forever.

The Bible of course has much to say on this topic, why not check it out, Christmas is a great time to do so. Of course, if you want to hear someone talk about why we celebrate Christmas you should head to a local church on Christmas morning. Everyone else around us seems to conveniently forget the true reason we celebrate, perhaps the relentless drive to consume that seems to cloak most of our materialistic society today is the reason behind it. Then again maybe they just don't like the truth. maybe our politicians might lose a vote or two for actually standing up for something.

Go on guys, say Merry Christmas this year, let's keep it real.