A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Taupo Times, Volume III, Issue 152, 24 December 1954, Page 4

A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Today the nations of the earth are being more and more sharply divided into two groups, the one grimly regimented under the banners of Communism, the other comprised of a mixed bag of countries more or less successfully, and ; more or less sincerely, following ■ the ideals of Western democracy. In such an age the meaning of the Christpas celebration may perhaps be worth a little thought. To very many, even perhaps to a majority, Christmas may mean no more than a time of holiday and jollification, observed largely, as a social custom. To others it is a religious commemoration, one of the great days of the Christian year, the day when those who profess and call themselves Christians commemorate the birth of One whom they believe to have been,' and to be, more than man. To still others it is a day identified merely with some ancient heathen observances taken over by the followers of what they term the "Christian myth." Whether the Christmas festival is regarded as the anniversary of the birth of the Christian's Son of God, or merely as an outworn pagan survival, one thing about it is worth pondering. It is the fact that it has persisted for the long ages of the Christian era solely by virtue of its Christian associations. It speaks of the birth of a Man whose teachings, and whose significance, have been interpreted by theologians in varying ways and with diversities of emphasis.

One thing only, perhaps, in cohnection with the significance of Jesus, has remained clear and unchanging through the years, the fact namely that he taught a brotherhood of man based on the Fatherhood of God. In that particular teaching lies the only justification for believing that Man is a being of infinite worth and value. When that teaching is thrown down and trodden under foot of man, as it is in the grim fanaticism of the Communist world, the last hope of preserving Man's essential freedom is lost. In view of the grim menace of Communism, and of our own need of a more deeply realised faith wherewith to withstand it, it would be well if the meaning and teach1 ing of the Christmas season came home more deeply to our minds and hearts. Lately there have been movements of thought in the country aimed to emphasise the connection of Christ with Christmas, and there can be no doubt in the mind of any thoughtful man, whether he call himself Christian or not, that such an emphasis on the essential character of Christmas would, incidentally, increase rather than lessen our sense of the joyfulness of the day. With which thoughts we tender to our readers, to our advertisers, and to all who have assisted us in our attempts to serve and inform our community, our best wishes for A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.