Noël, know well?

I forgot where exactly i read this (i thought that it was in the ST this morning but now i can't find the quote, perhaps it was a dream?) but well it said something to the effect of "around 2 billion Christians around the world celebrate Christmas, along with millions of other people". That was quite a striking statement, as evident as it is. I mean, already among those 2 billion, i wonder how much of the seemingly elusive "true meaning" of Christmas is actually reflected upon, rather than it merely being an opportunity to take a break from work, eat possibly copious amounts of unhealthy food, and catch up with friends and/or family. Not that these are not in some way (some more than others) linked to this true meaning, but perhaps at the end of the day the actual meaning is overshadowed by all these these peripherals and incidentals. And if it's like this among us 2 billion, what more for the millions more who observe/celebrate the holiday but (generally speaking) don't go beyond the commercial/social aspects of it. For example, how about how in some places Christmas is promoted for its perceived (and very real as well) commercial benefits but any religious bent on it is strictly out of bounds.

And as i normally do, let me make the disclaimer that perhaps i too sometimes fall into this trap. Perhaps year after year of celebrating Christmas since childhood has made me take it for granted to some extent, when it really has become at times nothing more than a time to take a break, pig out, and receive presents. Even the wide array of carols that we sing all become appreciated more for their melodies rather than the richness of what their lyrics mean to convey to us all.

But well, i guess the cool thing in this case is that the Lord has made it such that at least where religious holidays are concerned, Christmas is perhaps the most observed (or at least recognized) by non-believers, which is in a way a real neat opportunity for outreach, more so than perhaps any other holiday. Yup so while sometimes we may lament as to how Easter is perhaps more important to our faith than Christmas is and yet is lesser recognized, or as they do elsewhere, complain about how in the interests of religious freedom/sensitivities and what not, "happy holidays/season's greetings" has become the pc way to go rather than "blessed/merry Christmas", hopefully that will not get in the way of simply seeking to spread the message about what we believe Christmas to really be about...