Jesus is born - 12 December 2024

Long ago, I read a striking poem by Eveleen Castelyn. It is in Afrikaans, but I will do my best to translate it. I would have liked to use the complete poem, but due to limited space, will only use the part about Christmas. The poem is called From Christmas to May.

“in December Jesus was born and they wrapped him in wrapping paper and laid him down in the supermarket – I decorated a tree with lights and little angels and invited him to a Christmas dinner of turkey and wine but he ran away to the desert.”

In the poem, Castelyn gives us a view of the commercialisation of Christmas. Years ago, the music in shops started around the middle of December. These days, you can already hear the music telling about the birth of our Saviour from the middle of November, blaring ever more loudly out of every loudspeaker, even in the smaller shops. The shops try to outdo each other with decorations. The celebration of the birth of Christ is the most profitable time for the supermarkets. The sad fact is that we are all responsible for this state of affairs. If we do not buy so royally, Christmas would not be such a festival of excess.

We, as a family, love Christmas. We like to buy presents for each other. We also decorate our home and make a very special Christmas dinner. I also like the beautiful stories about Christmas, like the one that I read in Dutch about a Christmas father called Karel Kerstmis. I am not against all “worldly” things around Christmas time; but to us, Christmas still has a very special character.

Christmas should be a festival of joy, however, there should always be a certain restraint to help us never forget the true reason for celebrating Christmas. As mentioned in a previous Verse-a-day devotional, the Christ in Christ-mas is none other than the Son of the Living God.

Prayer: Lord, we pray that you will help us to celebrate your birthday with the necessary homage. Use us this Christmas to bring some joy to those who have less than us. Amen