borneopedia.com

Happy Christmas!

THE light that shines on the true meaning of Christmas is slowly but surely growing dimmer and dimmer. It seems to fade away, heavily clouded by the frills of commercialism and the “thrills” of parties.

Sadly, this is the case not only in Malaysia where Christians are in the minority, but appears to be a global trend.

For a start, it has become more and more difficult to find Christmas cards that truly reflect the meaning and significance of this religious event.

Some merely have the words “Merry Christmas!” (photo right) sort of declaring that the season of merry making is here again!

And there are others that avoid mention of Christmas altogether and simply say, “Season’s Greetings” or “Have a Joyous Holiday Celebration”, often adding the words, “and Best Wishes for a Happy New Year”.

Christmas Trees

Christmas tree is another wrong idea about this Christian festival. This practice has its roots in pagan celebrations, later became an important part of Christmas celebrations in Germany, and the same idea arriving in England around 1841.

It has nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ, nativity, the true and actual meaning and purpose of Christmas celebration.

JOE LEONG

At this modern age of globalization and consumerism, Christmas season has, by and large, become an opportune time for sales of goods and services. From London to New York, Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and other cities, stores and supermarkets, boutiques and restaurants all make the best of it to promote extra sales, individually and collectively.

Some cities have their main thoroughfares brightened up with display of Christmas decorations and colour lights to signal the start of Christmas promotions from as early as second half of November, others first week of December.

Sounds of Christmas carols, like Jingle Bells and Santa Is Coming to Town, fill the air at these stores, evoking a strong Christmas sales atmosphere, but hardly striking the right note that heralds the story of Jesus’ birth that has inspired millions in devotion and faith.

Since the 9/11 incident and the so-called “war on terror”, many Christians in the western world have started to shy away from any outwards signs of celebrating Christmas.

Many have refrained even from putting up Christmas decorations for fear of causing “religious offence”.

Nativity scenes have also been dropped from shop window displays that used to prop up in western cities and towns to promote Christmas shopping. Many city councils in Britain have, in recent years, also stopped their customary switching of Christmas lights to herald the arrival of the season.

“X’mas” or Christmas?

When I see the word Christmas appearing in the print media as X’mas, it might be reflective of the global trend to have the figure “Christ” taken out of the religious context of this festive occasion.

It would depict a Christmas devoid of Jesus Christ, the very reason behind the celebration.

Perhaps unconsciously, the trendy “X factor” has even been imposed on a deeply religious feast like Christmas. Isn’t it a little Xtreme?

Strangely, none of the Christian organizations have publicly voiced objection to this abbreviation or distortion of the name of their holy feast day.

Make no mistake about it, Christmas traditions are on the wane.

They might be waning, but are not really dead.

Preserving True Traditions

There are indeed families, groups and even entire villages in Malaysia and on Borneo Island, who are steadfast in preserving the true traditions and stay true to the spirit of Christmas, minus the distractions of lights, the pine tree, decorations, and Santa Claus.

These Christian communities have learned to hold firm to the traditions of Christmas, encouraging families to prepare a nice Christmas crib (photo right) at a central place in the living room, in place of a Christmas tree during the season.

Significance of Occasion

Like other Christians who believe in the deep significance of the occasion, they refuse to follow the common practice of wishing each other “Merry Christmas”, and insist in wishing one another, “Happy Christmas!”

Prior to partaking in a special Christmas lunch or dinner, the family would gather round this crib, that has a model of baby Jesus in the manger in the presence of Virgin Mary and husband Joseph, surrounded by models of animals like sheep, goats, donkeys and camels.

The head of the family would proclaim the Christmas story from the bible, taking the relevant passages from the Gospel according to St. Luke.

Christmas Carols

Then, the entire family, young and old, would proceed to church for the Christmas Eve mass to celebrate the occasion with the whole congregation. The service is richly interspersed from beginning to end with joyful singing of Christmas carols, such as O Come All Ye Faithful, Mary’s Boy Child, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, which reflect the true meaning of the season.

They, in fact, take a step further by staging a play based on the Christmas story on the feast of Epiphany (Jan. 3).

I have had the opportunity to witness the children of these communities, usually aged 12 years and below, fully participate in the play (photo left), doing the narration, singing the songs, acting the various parts – the shepherds “who watch the flock by night”, Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem, angel Gabriel and other angels making the annunciation.

A newborn baby would be picked to play the role of Jesus and young boys would each year vie to act as “The Wise Kings” who come from the Orient to pay homage to the new born Jesus.

The parents undertake this task of staging the Epiphany play as a means to highlight the rich traditions of this religious event. At the same time, they regard this as an effective means of passing their Christian faith to the young ones.

The true spirit of Christmas is alive after all.

This year, I celebrate this joyous occasion in Kuching with family members and friends.

Happy Christmas!