The Light of Christmas

A recent trip over the Thanksgiving holiday to Gatlinburg was a beautiful display of what we call Christmas lights. It seemed that every display was designed to be grander, more elaborate, more beautiful than any of the other displays.  I looked with eager anticipation to see what the next display would be, what colors would be used.  The color blue was used more than I've ever noticed before.  Beautiful lights, bright lights, colorful lights, the lights of Christmas -- I began to think, are they really the lights of Christmas?  Is this what Christmas is all about? Is this the spirit of Christmas?  Is this the message to the world?  What is this message to unbelievers, to the unsaved, the lost, the weak, the weary, the poor, the lonely, the sick, the children?

As I continued to ponder these questions, it seemed that a good study would be on "the lights of Christmas."  Study began.  Important lesson quickly learned.  The biblical study would not be on "the lights of Christmas" but on "the Light of Christmas." Please look closely and see the difference between "the lights of Christmas" and "the Light of Christmas."

What and where is the most logical starting place for the study? Christmas, the who, what, why, when, where, how of Christmas were the questions to be firstly answered.  Its all so obvious that the name Christ makes up most of the word Christmas. When did the holiday get started? Possibly as early as the third century with dates and specific practices defined over the next two centuries. Throughout the Roman Empire, many festivals were celebrated.  In Rome, the Feast of the Unconquerable Sun celebrated the beginning of the return of the sun. When Christianity became the religion of the Empire, the church either had to suppress the festivals or transform them. The winter solstice seemed an appropriate time to celebrate Christ’s birth. Thus, the festival of the sun became a festival of the Son, the Light of the world (see Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary).

Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birthday, a festival of the Son who is the Light of the World, and the Light of Christmas.