Having dragged myself up early on Christmas morning - after returning home at 1am after Midnight Mass I was ‘Musical Director’ for - I managed to survive on just about 6/7 hours sleep, until I finally crashed out half way through the evening.
The Solemn Morning Mass opened many things for me, even if it was amazingly cold and the prospect of going home to sit down was immense.
‘All the ends of the earth, shall see the salvation of our God’
I mixture of thoughts have filled my day; from thinking to myself how I can get annoyed when in close proximity with people for a whole day, to the deep sorrow at the finding of the body of a young woman here in Failand, Bristol, when Joanna Baxter has been missing from here home in Clifton for the past week with no lead on her whereabouts. Also the tragic bombing in Pakistan that have taken the lives of many and the landslide in south-western Colombia, that was triggered by weeks of heavy rains, has killed at least 12 people thus far.
Today, many religious leaders have given us ‘food for thought’ in our world and lives.
The Pontiff called ‘for an end to conflicts around the world’ and for ultimate peace, especially in the Middle East in his Christmas message.The Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, with whom I share a name - Dr Rowan Williams, has used his Christmas sermon to question ‘whether the richest people are bearing their share of the economic downturn,’ and the social divisions in common sharing, with the Archbishop of York echoing this same thought.
The Archbishop of Westminster, + Vincent Nichols, has urged people struggling with faith to "reach out" to the extended hand of God and not shun faith in his Homily during Midnight Mass.
It is important we allow ourselves not to be completely taken over by the flashing lights of **CHRISTMAS** and remember those far from and those close to us in our everyday lives, and allow ourselves to be shown by others, but also within ourselves how we can help through using the many personal gifts we share and our time and thoughts.
Ergo qui natus die hodierna. Jesu tibi sit gloria. Patris aeternae verbum caro factum.
Venite adoremus Dominum.
Saturday, 25 December 2010
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Christmas Debate
Earlier, by the joint effort of myself and the Chaplain, a debate with the title ''Christmas should not be celebrated by non – Christians'' was meant to take place at lunchtime in Trinity Hall. To my dismay it didn't happen, but here are my thoughts anyway.
I was to speak in favour of this motion as a Christian, and the ever atheist Alex was speaking against me.
As it came to preparing what the hell I was going to argue (and yes it was last minute), I had no idea where to start. Personally, Christmas is primarily about remembering and celebrate not Christ's birthday, but the doctrine that the Son of God was made Man and born into our earthly world to take away our sin.
For me, non-Christians are very welcome to celebrate Christmas - as long as they know why it happens each year, and not see it as just the time we mindlessly buy presents.
I knew Alex's argument, which was the fact that December 25th was originally a Pagan festival called Saturnalia that Christians started to take over in about the 4th Century.The day that we now celebrate Christmas was the last day of this Saturnalia festival.
There is no record of when Jesus was born, just the fact that the Gospels tell us Jesus was 30 years old in the 15th year of Tiberius reign, and therefore lived for 15 years in the reign of Augustus. Something interesting is that Christmas was banned by Puritans for 22 years from 1659 because of its origins.
Saint Nicholas of Myra (born 270 CE, died 345 CE) won't mean much to a lot of people. But this Bishop, named a Saint in the 19th Century, was the original 'Santa Claus' (Saint Christmas). He took the idea from 'The Grandmother' or 'Pasqua Epiphania' who used to give gifts to children in their stockings.
Saint Nicholas was then the inspiration for a cult in 1087, that exchanged gifts on the anniversary of his death, December 6th. This cult spread. Its members worshipped the God Woden - Father of Thor, who had a long white beard and rode a horse through the heavens in the Autumn. Nicholas was then merged with Woden to create Santa with heavy winter clothing, the beard, presents and flying about the sky.
The Catholic Church then took this over to quash the pagans and moved the date to December 25th.
Since that, Christmas blew up, and now we exchange gifts that put us back a good £50 and concentrate of the tree, decorations and the food. A somewhat Victorian-created perspective.
I agree its a bit rich for Christians to say other can't celebrate Christmas, as it isn't really ours in the first place, but now has such a important part in the life of the Faith. As we go on, other stuff gets added - the snowmen, the reindeer and the red nose, but other things like the Nativity plays, in which I always played a black Joseph, live on whatever the mix of ethnicity and views.
Christmas won't go away over night, but it is important that we regard it as a feast with significance, rather than the period of time we aren't at school.
p.s. Hi Christina and Unity
p.p.s. My finger hurts
I was to speak in favour of this motion as a Christian, and the ever atheist Alex was speaking against me.
As it came to preparing what the hell I was going to argue (and yes it was last minute), I had no idea where to start. Personally, Christmas is primarily about remembering and celebrate not Christ's birthday, but the doctrine that the Son of God was made Man and born into our earthly world to take away our sin.
For me, non-Christians are very welcome to celebrate Christmas - as long as they know why it happens each year, and not see it as just the time we mindlessly buy presents.
I knew Alex's argument, which was the fact that December 25th was originally a Pagan festival called Saturnalia that Christians started to take over in about the 4th Century.The day that we now celebrate Christmas was the last day of this Saturnalia festival.
There is no record of when Jesus was born, just the fact that the Gospels tell us Jesus was 30 years old in the 15th year of Tiberius reign, and therefore lived for 15 years in the reign of Augustus. Something interesting is that Christmas was banned by Puritans for 22 years from 1659 because of its origins.
Saint Nicholas of Myra (born 270 CE, died 345 CE) won't mean much to a lot of people. But this Bishop, named a Saint in the 19th Century, was the original 'Santa Claus' (Saint Christmas). He took the idea from 'The Grandmother' or 'Pasqua Epiphania' who used to give gifts to children in their stockings.
Saint Nicholas was then the inspiration for a cult in 1087, that exchanged gifts on the anniversary of his death, December 6th. This cult spread. Its members worshipped the God Woden - Father of Thor, who had a long white beard and rode a horse through the heavens in the Autumn. Nicholas was then merged with Woden to create Santa with heavy winter clothing, the beard, presents and flying about the sky.
The Catholic Church then took this over to quash the pagans and moved the date to December 25th.
Since that, Christmas blew up, and now we exchange gifts that put us back a good £50 and concentrate of the tree, decorations and the food. A somewhat Victorian-created perspective.
I agree its a bit rich for Christians to say other can't celebrate Christmas, as it isn't really ours in the first place, but now has such a important part in the life of the Faith. As we go on, other stuff gets added - the snowmen, the reindeer and the red nose, but other things like the Nativity plays, in which I always played a black Joseph, live on whatever the mix of ethnicity and views.
Christmas won't go away over night, but it is important that we regard it as a feast with significance, rather than the period of time we aren't at school.
p.s. Hi Christina and Unity
p.p.s. My finger hurts
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