The True Meaning of Christmas

by Reverend Mildred Best,
UVA Health System Chaplaincy Services

What is the true meaning of Christmas? A question often asked by many.   From a Christocentric and biblical perspective,   the true meaning of Christmas is the Advent, the birth of the Christ Child. It is the beginning of the Christmas story “for God so loved the world…”. It is a story that begins with Love for human kind that God would humble God’s self to become one who dwelt among us both fully human and fully divine.

For others the answer might be a combination of the biblical story and gifts from Santa Claus. This is the day for giving gifts,   family gatherings, big meals and happiness with “lots of toys and goodies”. For others it might include remembering those who are less fortunate by serving Christmas dinner at a homeless shelter or providing meals and gifts to a needy family by giving to one’s local faith community. It is a time to sing sacred and secular Christmas songs about the season.

No matter where you stand between the sacred and the secular celebrations, Christmas becomes a time to remind ourselves to love unconditionally and to have a spirit of gratitude for our blessings in life. It is also a time to love and remember those who will have an empty seat at the dinner table,   for those who did not live to celebrate Christmas this year and those who are a way at war.   It is a time to remember,   in the words of Roberta Bondi (To Love as God Loves), “True humility is knowing that God loves others just as much as God loves me.”   It is a time to remember to love. In the spirit of love, I wish you a Merry Christmas.