Matthew 1:21. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

From traditional viewpoint, Christmas is the festival of Christians. In modern times, Christmas is celebrated not only by the Christians, but also by the people belonging to different religions. It is celebrated every year on the 25th of December. On this day, Jesus Christ was born to Mother Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem. There is some ambiguity in the birthday of Jesus, yet this day has been widely regarded as His birthday.

Even before Christmas, people start decorating the Christmas tree. Especially children decorate the tree with much love, care and patience. Stars,  bells, cherries, sticks, colourful lights and such items are a major constituent. According to tales and fables, it is believed that in the midnight of Christmas Eve, Santa Claus comes on his reindeer sleigh and distributes gifts among children. The children attach socks to the branches of the tree for Santa to keep the gifts within. In the morning, eagerly they open the surprises. The finger licking dishes, puddings, desserts are an integral part of the festival. The celebrations begin with the Bible reading, singing hymns and offering prayers.

After that is the time for celebration Jesus Christ is believed to be the son of God. His birth is truly a holy event. It is said that angels had come to embrace the occasion of His birth. He was born to guide and lead the people who had gone astray to the path of righteousness. His life was filled with hardships and tough times, yet He did not give up even once. He had his goal in His mind and He acted accordingly. There are so many things we need to learn from Him. In every religion of the world, there is a similarity. All the religions hold the same ideology that ‘God is one’. This was what Jesus also preached. He stressed on the fact that God is one and we are all equal before the eyes of the omniscient Almighty. Then why are we busy in pulling the legs of others? We need to be united and not fragmented.

By now we all have realised that since childhood, our parents were the one who used to bring gifts for us in the name of Santa. Why can’t we become Santa in the lives of the needy and downtrodden? We too are so contented that we could attempt to bring happiness in someone’s life. We can donate books, copies, eatables, clothes and things of daily use to the poor. We can visit old age homes and spend some time with the aged folk so that we and they, both get a chance to enjoy each other’s company.

We all celebrate this festival with lots of joy and enthusiasm. The real spirit of ‘Indian’ lies in the fact that Indians partake in each other’s joys and sorrows. Let’s inculcate this spirit in ourselves. Why to wait for any further incarnation? From the inspiring life of Jesus, let us take lessons of compassion, sacrifice, sympathy, empathy and other righteous aspects which are now missing from the society. Every new day, let’s make ourselves a better person than yesterday and the world a better place to live in.

Wishing all of you a Merry Christmas.

Courtesy by : Apurva Raj

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

(Batch of 2017-21)