Tinsels of Christmas

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 “And she [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.” Luke 2: 7

                                                      


Tinsels are the decorative items which makes the Christmas tree or the house beautiful. Our Christmas celebration is full of it. Apart from the literal tinsels, we have figurative tinsels which were slowly added in due course in our Christmas celebrations. Among the several Christmas activities like the carols, presents, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, early morning Christmas service, family time and obviously the good food, we can easily spot what are tinsels and what is connected with the core of Christmas. Now that we are in England, we see a different type of Christmas tradition – the turkey, Christmas pudding, Holly wreaths, costly decorations, Christmas cards handed over to all friends, and the complete family gathering after almost a year. 

In each culture different traditions or tinsels have emerged in due course which becomes central part of their celebration. For a long time, my Christmas tradition involved listening to Jim Reeves’ Christmas songs, reading Charles Dickens’ Christmas Carols and the Christmas Biriyani. Every one of us have been brought with certain tradition of doing things around Christmas which we cherish. But when we compare these traditions with the story of the first Christmas, we come to know the core of Christmas – the baby in the manger! 

The biblical narrative talks of Mary giving birth to her first born, wrapping him in bands of cloth and laying him in a manger. Baby in a manger! That is the first and simple image of Christmas. All other things were added later to make the celebration of Christ’s birth meaningful. If we are understanding this core, we will treat all other traditions, including the extra images we have added in our Christmas story, as things which point to Jesus. 

What should we do with Santa, gifts, food etc.? Should we consider all these traditions as false and abandon them? 

No! Even if we try, it is not possible. We may end up destroying the very purpose for which they came into existence. 

But one thing we can do is to understand the reason behind these traditions and make these traditions point to the centre of Christmas: the Christ-child! Whatever we do for Christmas should point us ultimately to the baby in the manger. Let us do all our activities surrounding Christmas in a meaningful way. Let each aspect of our celebration point to Jesus. Let us recognise the tinsels of Christmas and strive to have a meaningful one. 

Merry Christmas!

Location: Durham, UK

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