I've been thinking of how far off we are on our celebration of Christmas. How did we manage to lose the meaning of Christmas and turn it into something it's not? The word "Christmas" means "birth of Christ" and yet, most of the television specials and the decorations in the stores and the stories we read don't mention Christ once.

You have some that say Christmas is a time for giving. As for that, we cannot possibly top the gift God gave us--His Son. "But when the right time came,  God sent His Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as His very own children." (Galatians 4:4-5) So when we say Christmas is a time for giving, I have to ask "for giving what?" What can we possibly give that would be any where close to what He has done for us?

Some say that Christmas is a time for family. True enough, but more so for Christians, who are a part of God's family. "And because you Gentiles have become His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, and now you can call God your dear Father." (Galatians 4:6) By extension, all Christians are then brothers and sisters in Christ. So even our definition of family differs from the world's. The world may define family as people related genetically (blood ties it used to be called, until DNA was discovered),  or people with close relationships. These days any group of people can live together and be considered family. However, with followers of Christ it is different. We are related because we have been saved into the Church. We are His children; part of His flock.  That's another reason to celebrate Christmas.

When we celebrate Christmas, what we should be celebrating is God's plan for the salvation of His chosen people. All of us who are followers of Christ have been chosen by God to choose to follow Him. The birth of Christ was only a beginning. And the word beginning is a misnomer because God's plan was actually in place before the world began.

It has also occurred to me that a main difference between Christianity and Judaism is that Christianity is a public faith. It is meant to be shared with the world. In Matthew 28:180-20 Jesus says to His disciples: "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." We are to share our faith with others, whereas many Orthodox Jews tend to keep to themselves. (Of course, thousands of years of persecution and harassment will tend to make one insular as well). But you don't see too many trying to convert people Christians do, although many forget that our job isn't to covert people, it's to tell others about Jesus. When we celebrate Christmas, we should be mentioning Christ in our dealings because that is what we have been told to do.