Christmas: Atmosphere of Thanksgiving

Christmas is the time set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the time when Christians around the world especially American, Asia, Africans and other races of various color have implemented a tradition of giving thanksgiving to God for a peaceful year and above all praying for peace in the new year ahead. It is therefore important that as we begin this season of giving thanks, we should also be on a lookout for opportunities to give thanks as we must always remember that it is not by chance that our reality has been shaped this way in the world. These are their victories over our forebears. These are their success stories in their minds only.

Christmas is a time to be grateful to God for all the blessings we have received over the past year. It is generally understood that the birth of Jesus Christ was a blessing for mankind. A cursory reading of the Old Testament gives a clear picture of how much humanity had lost its way on its journey from paradise to the earthly city. The plot and sub-plots of humanity’s fall from grace is recorded for posterity in vivid detail.

The account of salvation starts when God sends angels to announce the birth of Christ to his friend, the prophet, whom we know as Joseph, who was well respected by his community and by society at large; a descendant of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. He was married with a family and was known to have been a responsible and dutiful man ever ready to help others. In other words, Joseph was what social scientists would call as ‘an ideal citizen’.

Christmas has forever been celebrated by millions of Christians from all over the world. It commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into the world. Divine providence, and not human planning, was responsible for this event. To Mary, God sent an angel to command her: “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28).

In contrast with the traditions of men, God does not desire that we give presents to please each other on this day. Rather, He wants us to remember His love for us and our love for Him. He wants us to behave in a way that will encourage others to do likewise. In the words of Benin artist, Edo Nyamebe: “Seek not so much to be loved as to love.

It is already Christmas time. To all my friends and families as we await the celebration at the beach, let us not forget to count our blessings and be grateful for what we have. We live in a world where there are many people who wished to be given the chance to see this day but are now resting in peace.

Say thanks for the opportunity to witness this day. Say thanks for the life you are leading. Say thanks for the little things that you do not notice at first but which turns out to be the main reason why you are alive… There is so much to be grateful of, if we only take a moment to stop and think about it. Of course, there is a lot of joy and blessings in this season. This is a time of celebration as we remember Christ’s birth and also a time of joy and togetherness as families get together in anticipation of Christmas. But it is not true that happiness must be accompanied by sadness.

Merry Christmas and Happy New year in advance coming adereign family...