These days I enjoy the Christmas Carols piped through the speakers at the grocery store and in the malls. Here in Malaysia, there is “no problem” with acknowledging Christmas and no one seems to replace that word with “Holiday” or “Season”. It’s refreshing.
On the flip side, the grocery stores and malls are “equal opportunity” places, so we also listen to Hindu music during the Hindu holidays and Chinese music during Buddhist holidays, and Islamic music during Ramadan.
Our little island is full of people who are, if nothing else, a spiritually-seeking lot.
Christmas & CNY
Chinese New Year is right around the corner. So right next to the Christmas decorations, in the stores, are the “CNY” decorations. The aisles of red and gold decor blend nicely into the Christmas reds and greens. Lanterns, shimmering garlands… beautiful. And then a startling glossy pig cutout appears, announcing that you have ventured into the New Year aisle. 2019 is the Year of the Pig.
What do you know?
I don’t actually know a lot about the holidays of the other religions here, only the activities I see in town and the items displayed in the stores, along with a quick Google search when I’m trying to decipher some strange ritual I’ve witnessed (like throwing coconuts on the ground, burning stacks of paper in the street, wearing silky pajama-looking outfits… I mean, you’d Google that too, right?)
So, it would make sense that those who are not true followers of Christ may not understand what Christmas is all about either. If they only learned what they see in the stores or around town, they’d think Christmas is about snow, gifts, fun music, and that somehow pine trees are involved.
This is the perfect time to explain. And here is what we share with many of our friends…
What is Christmas?
God created the world, and it was beautiful. But people sinned by disobeying God and broke their relationship with him. For thousands of years men sacrificed animals to have their sins forgiven because God said, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
When Jesus was born, he lived a perfect life on earth. No one before him or after him has ever lived a life without sin. Only Jesus. Jesus showed his power over nature by calming the storm; over sickness by healing the sick; and over death by raising people from the dead.
Some people were jealous of Jesus and they arrested him and killed him, shedding his blood. But God has power over death and three days after they buried Jesus, he came to life again.
Jesus never sinned. When he shed his blood, he became the perfect sacrifice for anyone who believes in him. When Jesus was dying, he said, “It is finished,” because he knew his sacrifice would save anyone who believes and turns to him.
This is a beautiful, true story because it means that anyone who confesses that Jesus is the One True Sacrifice, can receive forgiveness for their sins and can restore a broken relationship with God.
Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus’ birth. When followers of Jesus give gifts at Christmas, it reminds them and others of the Most Precious Gift: Jesus the Savior.
Merry Christmas!
If others only learn the meaning of Christmas by what they see in stores and around your town, what would they think?
What can you do to help those around you know the TRUE GIFT of Christmas?