A thought at Christmas

I shared this write up last year on Facebook and felt my dear readers who didn’t know me back then would like to see it. I have an elaborate article on Christmas but this year, I decided to go with this very short piece:

A crazy friend walked into my office last year and lamented on the Christmas frenzy in Nigeria. To my surprise I found his line of reasoning fascinating. Most appalling to him was the carrying of live animals about, the hike in transport fares and other food items, the rush in the marketplace, and might I add, the hustle for Christmas songs via CDs/online media. According to him, some questions had become fashionable such as “What are you killing for Christmas?”, “Are you traveling?”, “You dey town?” even if the person is obviously in front of you. It’s funny how we Africans and Nigerians in particular celebrate Christmas.

We put ourselves through unnecessary stress and forget the reason for the season. It is actually to celebrate the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ, and his unique entrance into the world. Over the years, feasting has replaced reminiscing; activity has replaced reflection and even the act of love has overshadowed the person of love himself. Now songs of his birth are being replaced with lovers’ songs to each other, songs of the weather and gift giving culture of the season.

Let’s not lose sight of what’s really important this season - the celebration of our Messiah who left his riches, glory and throne in heaven to partake of our humanity. This Christmas, I hope we’ll have a better understanding the significance of what we are really celebrating which is our life in Christ. I’ve bought my Christmas hat, ready to dress up in red and white, symbolic of His blood and holiness to me and I’m ready to give God all the praise he deserves because He is truly worthy.