Christmas Message

The school holidays are approaching and it will be time for our students to take a very well-earned break. They will have time to wind down and spend some time to appreciate family and friends (without the lockdown restrictions – Yay!). But it will also offer the chance to appreciate Advent - waiting time before Christmas.

I am very big on the ‘why’ when approaching anything that involves a celebration or special event. We should know why we do things before blindly participating in anything. For instance, we should stop and think “why?” when we reflect on ANZAC Day. We should ask ourselves, “why?” if we partake in Halloween. And Christmas is definitely no exception. The trap is to go along with how everyone else is going along with a special event or celebration.

Everyone has a go-to tradition that they love to do every year. Some people love to listen to Bing Crosby carols. Many are decking out their front yards with a light show – so much so that they have loads of devoted visitors drive past certain streets to catch the presentation! Some love to go to town on a special recipe for glazed ham. There are lots of ways to celebrate Christmas.

But do we take enough time to stop and think about the ‘why’? If we are doing so many special things to celebrate Christmas but forget about the ‘why’ then what is the purpose of celebrating? What does Christmas mean to our family? Has Christmas morphed into something that is beyond our control? Does Christmas become stressful instead of joyful? If the answers to some of these questions raise more hairy questions, it’s time to re-evaluate. Reclaim Christmas for yourself and remember that Emmanuel is ‘God with us’ – Jesus is with us. That is the ‘why’ of Christmas.

For everyone in the St Thomas the Apostle community, relish in a joyful Christmas!