Whew! grabeha, nawagtang lang ko kadali, biyaan naman ko sa kadaghan mga posts.
And I just attended our office Christmas party yesterday. hehehe
Let me just give an analogy (pa-lingaw sad ba):
Suppose a remote pagan village has a god named "Mojacko". When the first rain comes after a very long summer, the villager will rejoice and feasted: "All Hail the god of rain!, Moja! Moja". They offer sacrifices in the altar and it has been a tradition for centuries. Now, comes the prophet of a true god saying: "Repent! you are worshipping a false god!, the provider of all things, the giver of life is none other than "Doraemon"!. Now the people started to get converted. What are they gonna do with the first rain? Tang-tangon ba nila? I don't think so. Since they already knew that the true god is Doraemon, they give him due credit all the provisions they receive. So when the first rain comes, they shout: "All Hail the true god Doraemon, the provider of rain, sunlight, which gives life to our crops!" From that, all people were converted to Doraemonism. No more altar sacrifices, but peace and love around the village.
Now, after 2 Millenia, curious modern historians try to find how the rain festival started and found out that it was a paganistic celebration for the rain god Mojacko.
I think mao na'y nahitabo karon. Kamo nalang mo-decide kung ipa-stop ba ninyo ang festival or padayonon. hehehe.
Ok, back to the topic.
Why we celebrate Christmas? Because the first Christmas was one of the grandest celebration of all! The heavens was filled with Angels singing "Glory to the new born King! Peace on Earth!". If we have time machine and warp us back to that date, dili kaha ka mag-lukso2x sa kalipay? and sing along with the angels? Bring the baby Jesus with gifts?
Why Jesus did not celebrate his birthday? Because it is not a Jewish custom to celebrate it. It's not that it is pagan, but they really don't give much significance on birthdays.
How do we celebrate Christmas? Celebrating christmas is not just loving, sharing, giving gifts, parties. The true meaning of Christmas is inside ourselves. As what John the Baptist is shouting in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord". We prepare our hearts for his coming, therefore let's get rid out the dark corners of our heart and put Christ, the light of the world. Commemorating His birthday is like warping back to the first christmas.
Mao nay murag nabalewala karon. I'm glad naa sad neh nga thread to make us realize what the true essence of Christmas is. I'm not a self-righteous person, but I at least I have shared these things for those who are not aware.
Ahak, mura naman ko ug pari aneh nag-sermon.
Merry Christmas nalang ninyong tanan!!
Note: It is not conclusive in the Bible that Christmas is NOT on December.
There are also biblical explainations that can point Christmas to December.