reflection essay about christmas at home

Essays About Christmas: Top 5 Examples and 6 Prompts

Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the world. Discover our helpful guide that you can use to write essays about Christmas.

Christmas is known to many as the birthday of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. However, the festival has become more secular over the years and is celebrated by most people regardless of religion. Every December 25, something magical happens.

To most people, Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year.” People celebrate, gather at a friend or family member’s house, feast, and open gifts. Whether or not you celebrate it as a religious holiday, the feelings of warmth, joy, and nostalgia that Christmas evokes are universal and meaningful to all.

5 Top Essay Examples

1. the magic of christmas by erin, 2. the possibility of a merry covid christmas by sarah begley, 3. my christmas experience by elliot johnson.

• 4.  A personal reflection on Christmas by Jo Betz
• 5. ​​Christmas traditions around the world by Becky Such

6 Prompts for Essays About Christmas

1. what is christmas to you, 2. the history of christmas, 3. a christmas tradition, 4. christmas in your home country, 5. christmas in non-christian households, 6. why is christmas the most celebrated holiday.

“Although, a few years later, I found out that he was not real, the magic of Christmas still remains. I realized that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and this is something I hold close to my heart. With our family’s traditions and celebrating Jesus’ birth, the magic of Christmas will always be real for me.”

In this short essay, Erin reflects on her family’s Christmas traditions, particularly during her childhood. She recalls the food, music, and different practices of many Christmases ago; in particular, she remembers the magic of Santa Claus and how she wished to see him one day. She eventually found out Santa wasn’t real, but that did not take away the magic of Christmas from her. She still treasures Christmas and anticipates it yearly. 

“Maybe we will come roaring back with great excesses in the holiday season of 2021; it’s hard to imagine now, but who knows? Meanwhile, we can resolve to do something together. We can seize this unwanted opportunity to reimagine everything — to tell a new story about what the season of togetherness means for our country, our homes, and our relationships. In a time that requires distance, we can find new modes of closeness. In a year of austerity, we can rethink the purpose of wealth. And in a period of great uncertainty, we can decide what’s most meaningful about shared rituals.”

Begley discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic affects the way we celebrate Christmas. We cannot have big family gatherings, travel, or attend big religious services as we used to, as guidelines discourage us from doing so. In addition, the declining economy is leaving more families with fewer resources to celebrate Christmas. This Christmas, it may be hard to be happy and celebrate for some, but Begley encourages us to use this time for introspection and to hope for better. 

“In the end, although every family has flaws, and always seems to have a political divide in it, the family is the most special part of Christmas, just like it is for Thanksgiving. Family is one of, if not the most important things in life, and it is very important to stay close to one’s family and all of its members, and that is what Christmas is, and always will be to me.”

In his essay, Johnson gives a brief overview of Christmas and discusses his attitude toward the celebrations in his household. He remembers how as an introvert, he had to interact with many people and how he needed to give up his room for guests to sleep in. However, Johnson greatly appreciates Christmas for being able to unite and bring together a family of very diverse views and perspectives. 

4.   A personal reflection on Christmas by Jo Betz

“My daughter and I purchase a Christmas decoration each year for my husband to put on the tree. It’s something that brings us joy as we select the decoration we think he’d love. But there are other ways you can honour your loved one too – light a candle, write them a letter, purchase them a present, share stories about them on Christmas day. Find a way to honour the person you are missing so much.”

Betz reflects on how the death of a loved one, in this case, her husband, can make it difficult to enjoy Christmas. However, being with her daughter allows her to appreciate the holidays through all the pain. She gives people in a similar situation tip on how to cope, including not keeping such a big “to-do” list, honoring your loved one, and allowing yourself to grieve. You might also be interested in these essays about autumn .

5. ​​ Christmas traditions around the world by Becky Such

“Christmas trees were decorated with candles and topped with an angel or star, to remind children of the angel that brought ‘news of great joy’ to the shepherds in the fields, or the star that guided the ‘Three Kings’ to Bethlehem. In modern times, we’ve kept the star or angel topper, but dropped the candles. Covering a dry tree in lit candles was, of course, a massive fire hazard. Pretty silly of those Victorians if you ask me.   Today, Christmas trees are decorated with tinsel, fairy-lights and small, hanging ornaments – the joy and brightness of the Christmas tree is still a great reminder of Jesus as the ‘Light of the World’.” 

In her essay, Such describes some Christmas traditions from different countries, including different pastries and sweets, fireworks, lanterns, and the iconic Christmas tree. Then, she explains the differences in Christmas celebrations worldwide and how these traditions have evolved. 

Christmas has a different significance for each person. First, reflect on the meaning of Christmas; think of what your family and friends have told you, what you learned in school, and your thoughts. Next, discuss any religious, cultural, or family traditions that have influenced how you view Christmas. Finally, open up to your readers about the true meaning of Christmas. Perhaps Christmas means spending time with family and friends or giving back to the community. Whatever your viewpoint, share it in this essay.

For your essay, research how Christmas originated and how the festival has changed over the decades. Explain how it came about and the differences between Christmas celebrations over time. As with all historical essays, cite credible, well-researched sources for an accurate essay. 

Think about a tradition you have practiced for many Christmases with family, friends, or the greater community. What does it entail? Explain your chosen tradition in detail and reflect on its significance. 

Christmas is celebrated differently from country to country, with climate, religion, culture, and demographics affecting its importance in each. Based on personal experience and research, write your essay about how Christmas is celebrated in your country. Explain the traditions, the food eaten, and the history behind the Christmas celebration.

Early Christians originally conceived Christmas as a festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but it has become more secular over the years. A large number of non-Christians celebrate it. Based on research, write about how non-Christians celebrate Christmas and why they do so. If you have personal experience with this, incorporate what you know into your essay.

Whenever the word “holiday” is mentioned, Christmas automatically comes to mind for most. In your essay, look into what makes Christmas so popular: Why do people treasure it so much, and why do more people celebrate it than other holidays? Be sure to use credible sources as the basis for your essay.

Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays .

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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Home / Comment / In brief

A series of short reflections for christmas.

Members of the Theos team reflect on the relevance of the Christmas story in 2020. 18/12/2020

Comfort, Not Nostalgia

Until the mid–nineteenth century, nostalgia was understood as a form of psychosis. In his Dictionary of Music , Rousseau records that Swiss mercenaries were forbidden from singing their folk songs because they induced a painful yearning to return to their country. In 1688, Swiss physician Johannes Hofer had coined the term ‘nostalgia’ for this mal du Suisse (the word combines the Greek for homecoming – nostos – and pain – algos ). The condition was connected not only with a liability to desert but also with all kinds of physical symptoms, up to and including death.

Strange then, that we actually quite enjoy a mild version of this dis–ease. More recently, psychologists have identified the ways in which “nostalgia, once evoked, re–establishes psychological equanimity. It elevates mood, self–esteem, and a sense of social connectedness; it fosters perceptions of continuity between past and present; it increases meaning in life; and it “fights off” death cognitions”.

Christmas of course is peak nostalgia, and 2020 peak, peak nostalgia. We are truly experiencing a painful longing for home – and so we eagerly console ourselves with Christmas movie re–watches, festive playlists, tastefully decorated trees, and (if I may be so Scrooge–like) the false catharsis of seasonal charity.

We are searching for a home to which we have not yet been, and by heading in the wrong direction. It can’t be found by hiding from the chaos or bedding down in an invented past.  Nostalgia is a siren, diverting us from our necessary journey through the world as it is. Too often, the religious collude, knowing that nostalgia gets a few extra bums on seats. The carols, the plays, the midnight Masses, can be the religious equivalent of a shopping centre Santa’s grotto, drawing eager spiritual shoppers – that is, if they’re not combined with the disruptive politics of the real nativity.

What real nativity? Think of that nativity story that could never be acted in a primary school. It’s the one in Revelation 12, memorably depicted by William Blake (how would that look on a Christmas card?) A woman waits to give birth to a child who will rule the nations with an iron sceptre. A seven–headed dragon stands in front of the woman, ready to devour the child as soon as he is born. It’s creation, the Herod story, the crucifixion, rolled into one – along with every moment that the beautiful, fragile, good looks like it’s going to be strangled at birth.

The child and the woman escape, but the dragon – destined for defeat though it is, goes on to trouble the world for a while. The birth isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning of the end.

I don’t know what this really means for Christmas. It just doesn’t square with what we generally have; that heady combination of nostalgia, hedonism and sentimentality, both sacred and secular. I know that it’s impossible to leave 2020 without knowing that we are still waiting for the hungry to be filled, the rich to be sent away empty, and the powerful to be thrown down.

Paul Bickley is Research Fellow at Theos.  

An anthem for Christmas systems angels

I’ve been thinking about that most Christmassy of themes – systems and processes. As I write, there have been 137,997 vaccines administered in a single week since the UK started its COVID–19 vaccine programme. It’s astonishing, and yet we take everything behind the scenes utterly for granted. The scientists who developed it (rightly) get a lot of glory, and the medics who administer it, but what about the logistics geniuses who have made all this possible? We have clapped for carers and supermarket workers, but I’m also raising a glass this week to the bug–fixers, project managers, data professionals, systems–mavens and tech designers. Those whose jobs look to their families, working from home at the other end of the kitchen table, like they are staring at spreadsheets, but who are in fact building and maintaining the infrastructure of our society and making our corona response possible.

As now, so in the ancient world. There is a hanging thread in the nativity narratives, one of many blanks in scripture we are left to fill in. What happened about the census?  Caesar’s desire for better data, a clearer understanding of whom he was governing, was the reason for the mass mobilisation of people which ended in an out–house in Bethlehem. Did Mary and Joseph drag themselves – wrung out by a labour who knows how traumatic, exhausted by a newborn and all the random and unexpected visitors – to a desk in the town square, to register? Did some quiet clerk, with accuracy and attention to detail, write their three names in his ledger and wing it off to join thousands of others in a mass first–century spreadsheet, in Rome? We will never know. Not narratively significant.

Goodness knows data and systems can be used to make oppression more efficient, but they also are the unglamorous building blocks of a better world. And yet these vital underpinnings of our lives are always overlooked and those who give their lives to using them for good the least celebrated. We call them boring, bureaucratic. They are anything but. With characteristic insight Chekhov wrote, in exasperation at the mystic–leaning spirituality of other writers like Tolstoy, that “there is more love for humanity in electricity and steam than in chastity and vegetarianism”. Christmas has a world–changing, life–upending message which is a deeply spiritual one. But this year, I’m also giving thanks for spreadsheets.

Elizabeth Oldfield is Director of Theos

Darkness. Light.

Christmas markets, Christmas dinners with friends, secret Santa, mince pies, mulled wine, carol services, and time with family and friends: these are my fondest memories of Christmas. They are what brought me joy and solace in a time of year where I often felt lonely, low and disheartened.

While people worried about the presents being just right, who is going to invite whom for Christmas dinner (and speaking of Christmas dinner, it must be perfectly cooked with approximately 17 sides for the turkey and ham), and what they would wear, I worried about the long dark nights that enveloped me into a pit of sadness, the time spent missing family and, ultimately, pining for what Christmas used to be when I was younger.

Youthful Christmases were full of exciting presents that Santa brought me, like my bicycle or trampoline, about joy, parties, and most of all family. As time marched on, our family became smaller and the presents were no longer what I wanted for Christmas. I wanted those who could no longer be there.

This year, it feels that this is what the whole nation wants for Christmas, a few days or even hours with their loved ones, whether they are Tier 1, 2 or 3, locked–down, or whether they are no longer with us at all. We are together in our desire to be with those who are apart from us.

Unfortunately, for many of us, that’s not possible. The hope and joy that we are ‘supposed’ to feel at this time of year seems harder to grasp.

I have been reminded, in this dark year, that it is in the darkest night you see the stars shine most brightly. In the depths of the dark nights, the shepherds and the Magi followed the brightest star. And it was this star that guided them to a new beginning and a new hope.

It may feel superficial in our current world, to look to the brightest star, the true shining light of Christmas – Jesus the new born, the infant, the child. But I believe it is because of the state of the world we must look to Jesus.  It is in the coming of Jesus we find a new beginning, a new life, and a renewed hope. Jesus, the brightest star in the darkest night helps us to fix our eyes on the future with an expectant hopefulness that comes with the morning light.

Hannah Waite is a Researcher at Theos

God with us

“No love that in a family dwells,  

No carolling in frosty air, 

Nor all the steeple–shaking bells 

Can with this single Truth compare – 

That God was man in Palestine 

And lives today in Bread and Wine”

This December perhaps feels like a ‘careful what you wish for’ sort of moment. For years, the season has been accompanied by a call to remember the real meaning of Christmas. We’ve all heard those messages easily trotted by earnest preachers, suggesting we might ignore the lure of consumerism, resist all the shiny trappings and remember instead that little baby in the manger.

And yet, here we are in 2020, with little choice but to strip back our celebrations. It is months since I ventured anywhere near a crowded high street and I have missed watching the Christmas lights brighten up the streets around the Theos office in central London. Singing along with carols from the solitude of my bedroom isn’t quite the same as the frosty air of a cold church building, without being swept along by other voices who can carry a tune much better than I can. Enforced or not, this truly is the ‘simpler’ Christmas for which many of us might have longed.

It might be easy to point out glibly that the baby in the manger is one of the few things to have stayed the same in all the turmoil of this year, or that the physical reality of the first Christmas was as messy and imperfect as 2020. But, as John Betjeman reminds us, if it is true that the message of Christmas is of a God who came to be with us, Emmanuel, then nothing else is enough.

Hannah Rich is Senior Researcher at Theos  

Keeping Christmas Open

Many of my childhood Christmas memories include being dragged along by my parents to volunteer at Thanet Open Christmas . Open Christmas operates in our local community centre and involves hearty, Christmas–jumper–wearing volunteers cooking up a feast and providing community and friendship for those for whom Christmas would otherwise be a bleak and lonely day.

Picture the chaos of hundreds of people from all walks of life packed into an overheated hall, ‘karaoke carols’ being bawled tunelessly from the front followed by round after round of bingo. Every child has a present (or two) to open, and every person is made to feel welcome and included. I expect the first Christmas had a similar atmosphere. A teenage mum, her new–born, shepherds and wise men rubbing shoulders in a stuffy stable was not the most natural or glamorous of gatherings. And yet this was the seemingly unlikely group God chose to bring together to reveal himself to.

Jesus would have felt very much at home in the joyful messiness of our community centre. But like many things this year Open Christmas won’t be able to run as normal. For most of us Christmas 2020 will be lacking in some respects, but the loss of Open Christmas at a time of year when almost all other essential services are closed will leave a profound hole in the lives of some of the most vulnerable in our community. Finding ways to include everyone in Christmas this year will be more challenging than ever, and will require more creativity – Open Christmas is doing ‘Christmas in a box’ to deliver some of that joy in a hamper to over 90 households. But if Open Christmas proves anything, it is that joy and hope can be found in the unlikeliest of places.

Abbie Allison is Communications and Events Officer at Theos  

The theme of royalty, true and false, runs through the nativity scenes in Matthew and Luke’s gospels like writing through a stick of rock.

Both evangelists locate Jesus within a royal genealogy. Both locate their story by dating it “in the time of Herod king of Judea” (reader take note). Joseph is identified as “a descendant of [king] David”, that being the reason for the family’s journey to Bethlehem. The Magi come looking for the “king of the Jews”. The present king, Herod, is perturbed by this news. Zechariah celebrates the birth of his son by saying “God has raised up a horn of salvation for us/ in the house of his servant David.” And the angel tells Mary that God will give her child “the throne of his father David” and that “he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever”, his kingdom having no end. (Luke 1.32–33) You would have to be obtuse beyond measure not to hear what the evangelists are saying. This is a story about royalty and authority.

Tales of which we seem to love. According to Netflix, the new (fourth) series of The Crown was watched in 21 million homes in its first four weeks this autumn, taking the programme’s overall viewing figure to 73 million households since its release in 2016. Sovereignty fascinates.

One of the many reasons for The Crown ‘s success is the breadth of its appeal. Conservatives like it because it immerses them in a world of tradition, obligation and ceremony. Liberals like it because it shows how, behind the dignified façade, there is something altogether more human, fragile and troubled going on. And feminists like it because pretty much every important, interesting and strong character is female.

Perhaps that’s the success of any good royal story. The one in Matthew and Luke reeks with history. Tradition, prophecy and the past crowd the stage. Zechariah belongs to the ancient priestly division of Abijah in the Temple. Elizabeth is a descendant of Aaron. The words of the prophets – Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Hosea – structure the script the characters play. The genealogies of Matthew 1 and Luke 3 string the event into a chain that disappears in deep history. The present only makes sense in the light of the past.

But that past is then subverted. The official king of Israel turns out to be the usurper; the refugee child wears the true crown. The royal court is corrupt; the real royal family forced to flee. It is outsiders – foreign magicians and Temple hangers–on – who see most clearly what’s really going on. And, of course, the new king’s reign turns out to be very different from what anyone expected, as Simeon’s prophecy intimates.

And the lead character is a woman. Indeed, with Elizabeth and the aged prophet Anna, three leading characters are (admirable) women. Elizabeth recognises God’s favour (as against her husband who questions it) and insists on her son’s name. The octogenarian, ever–worshipping Anna, arrives just as Simeon is delivering his soul–piercing prophecy and reassures everyone the child will be responsible for “the redemption of Jerusalem.” And Mary, magnificent in her courage, faithfulness and ‘magnificat’, steals the show and steels herself for the future.

We should not, of course, push comparisons between the series and the scriptures too far. After all, the ancient Israelites probably didn’t slaughter quite as many animals as the English upper class, and what modern crowd would go berserk chanting their praise for the great Artemis?

But themes do resonate, nonetheless. Structures of authority and the exercise of power are ineradicably built into the creation, but both invariably rub up against the frailty and fallibility of humans who try to exercise them. Human history, then as now, is one big long quest to work out who should be in charge, and why.

Nick Spencer is Senior Fellow at Theos and hosts the Reading Our Times podcast

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 Photo by Hert Niks on Unsplash

The Theos Team

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Posted 18 December 2020

Christianity , Christmas , Coronavirus

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Essay on Christmas

Here we have shared the Essay on Christmas in detail so you can use it in your exam or assignment of 150, 250, 400, 500, or 1000 words.

You can use this Essay on Christmas in any assignment or project whether you are in school (class 10th or 12th), college, or preparing for answer writing in competitive exams. 

Topics covered in this article.

Essay on Christmas in 150-250 words

Essay on christmas in 300-400 words, essay on christmas in 500-1000 words.

Christmas is a joyous festival celebrated around the world to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a time of love, warmth, and togetherness. On this day, people exchange gifts, decorate Christmas trees, and share delicious meals with family and friends.

The festive spirit is evident in the vibrant decorations that adorn streets and homes. Colorful lights twinkle, wreaths hang on doors, and stockings are hung by the fireplace in anticipation of Santa Claus. Christmas carols fill the air, spreading cheer and goodwill.

Children eagerly await the arrival of Santa Claus, hoping to find gifts under the tree on Christmas morning. Families come together to exchange presents and share heartfelt moments. The true essence of Christmas lies in the spirit of giving and showing gratitude for the blessings in our lives.

Religious ceremonies take place in churches, where believers gather to remember the significance of the birth of Jesus. It is a time for reflection, prayer, and finding solace in the message of hope and redemption.

Christmas is a time when people set aside their differences and embrace the values of love, compassion, and forgiveness. It is a celebration that brings people closer, fostering a sense of unity and goodwill that extends beyond religious boundaries.

In conclusion, Christmas is a cherished holiday that encapsulates the spirit of love, joy, and generosity. It serves as a reminder of the importance of family, faith, and spreading happiness to those around us.

Christmas is a widely celebrated festival that holds deep cultural and religious significance for millions of people around the world. It is observed on December 25th each year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, who is considered the central figure of Christianity.

The preparation for Christmas begins weeks in advance, with homes and streets adorned with colorful decorations. Christmas trees, covered in lights, ornaments, and tinsel, become the centerpiece of many households. Wreaths, mistletoe, and holly are hung, adding a festive touch to doors and windows.

One of the most exciting aspects of Christmas is the exchange of gifts. People carefully select and wrap presents for their loved ones, keeping in mind their interests and desires. The act of giving gifts symbolizes the love and appreciation we have for one another, mirroring the gifts brought by the Three Wise Men to baby Jesus.

Another cherished tradition is the gathering of family and friends. Christmas is a time for loved ones to come together and share in the joy of the season. Festive meals are prepared, with feasts consisting of roasted turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, and various other delectable dishes. The dining table becomes a hub of laughter, conversations, and bonding.

Religious ceremonies are an integral part of Christmas celebrations. Churches hold special services, including midnight Mass, where believers gather to worship and reflect on the birth of Jesus. Hymns and carols are sung, evoking a sense of spirituality and creating a serene ambiance.

For children, the highlight of Christmas is the anticipation of Santa Claus. They eagerly hang stockings by the fireplace, hoping to find them filled with gifts the next morning. The myth of Santa Claus embodies the spirit of kindness and generosity, encouraging children to be well-behaved and considerate.

However, beyond the festive decorations, gift-giving, and feasting, Christmas holds a deeper significance. It is a time for introspection and reflection, reminding us of the values of love, compassion, and forgiveness. It serves as a reminder to extend a helping hand to those in need and to appreciate the blessings in our lives.

In conclusion, Christmas is a cherished and widely celebrated festival that brings joy, love, and unity. It is a time to come together with family and friends, exchange gifts, and express gratitude. While it holds religious significance, its essence of spreading happiness and goodwill transcends religious boundaries, making it a festival that is celebrated and appreciated by people of diverse cultures and beliefs.

Title: Christmas – Celebrating Joy, Love, and Togetherness

Introduction :

Christmas, a widely celebrated festival around the world, holds immense cultural and religious significance. It marks the birth of Jesus Christ and symbolizes love, joy, and the spirit of giving. This essay explores the traditions, customs, and symbolism associated with Christmas, highlighting its impact on individuals and communities.

Historical and Religious Significance

Christmas has its roots in Christianity and commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. According to biblical accounts, Jesus was born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary and Joseph. The nativity story of the baby Jesus in a manger, visited by shepherds and the three wise men, forms the core of the Christmas narrative. For Christians, Christmas is a time to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus and the message of hope and salvation that he brought to the world.

Festive Preparations and Traditions

The celebration of Christmas involves a range of customs and traditions that vary across cultures. Weeks before Christmas, people engage in festive preparations, including decorating homes and public spaces with lights, ornaments, and Christmas trees. Exchanging greeting cards, hanging stockings, and displaying Nativity scenes are also common traditions.

One of the most cherished traditions is the Advent calendar, which counts down the days leading up to Christmas. Each day, a door or compartment is opened, revealing a surprise or Bible verse.

The Joy of Giving and Sharing

Christmas is a time of giving and sharing. The exchange of gifts symbolizes the gift of love and generosity that Jesus brought to the world. Families and friends exchange presents, expressing their love and appreciation for one another. Many also engage in acts of charity, donating to those in need, volunteering at shelters, or participating in community service projects. The spirit of giving fosters a sense of compassion, unity, and goodwill during the Christmas season.

Culinary Delights and Festive Feasts

Food plays a significant role in Christmas celebrations. Traditional dishes and festive feasts are prepared, reflecting regional and cultural preferences. Roasted turkey, glazed ham, Christmas pudding, cookies, and cakes are popular culinary delights associated with Christmas. Families gather around the table to share a bountiful meal, fostering a sense of togetherness and gratitude.

Cultural Celebrations and Customs

Christmas is celebrated with diverse customs and traditions around the world. Carols and hymns are sung, portraying the joy and significance of the season. Community gatherings, Christmas markets, and parades are organized, featuring music, dance, and festive performances.

In some regions, such as Latin America, the celebration extends beyond Christmas Day to include the nine-day novena leading up to Christmas, known as Las Posadas. This tradition reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for a place to stay in Bethlehem.

Reflection, Faith, and Hope

Christmas is a time for reflection and renewed faith. It provides an opportunity for individuals to contemplate the spiritual aspects of the season, reconnect with their beliefs, and find solace and hope in the message of Jesus’ birth.

Conclusion :

Christmas is a time of celebration, love, and togetherness, transcending cultural and religious boundaries. It reminds us of the importance of compassion, joy, and the spirit of giving. The customs and traditions associated with Christmas foster a sense of community, strengthen family bonds, and inspire acts of kindness. Beyond the festivities, Christmas holds a deeper meaning, inviting individuals to reflect on their faith, seek peace and unity, and embrace the message of love that resonates throughout the season.

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Christmas Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on christmas essay.

Christmas is a well-known Christian holiday set in December, celebrated the world over and famed for its decorations and Santa Clause. The Christmas means  “Feast day of Christ”.It is a yearly celebration marking Jesus Christ’s birth; it is observed on the 25th of December as a cultural and religious celebration among a lot of people all over the world. Christmas is celebrated in all Christian countries but there are differences in the way each nation celebrates this date.

History Behind Christmas

The history of Christmas is one that dates back to a very long time; the first Christmas was celebrated in 336 A.D. in Rome. It played a very important role during the famed Arian controversy that took place in the 300s. During the early years of the middle age, epiphany overshadowed it.

Christmas was brought back to limelight around 800 A.D. when the emperor Charlemagne received the crown on Christmas day. During the 17th century, the Puritans had Christmas banned because it was associated with drunkenness and different other misbehavior.

It was made a proper holiday around 1660 but was still quite disreputable. Around the early 1900s, the Oxford movement of the Anglican Communion church started and this led to the revival of Christmas.

Preparations for Christmas

Christmas is a cultural festivity that entails a lot of preparations. It is a public holiday and so people get a Christmas break to celebrate it.

Preparations for Christmas start early for most people so that celebrations begin on the eve of Christmas. Preparations for Christmas involves a lot of activities. People usually buy decorations, food, and gifts mostly for children in the family and friends. Some families shop for matching Christmas outfits for everyone.

The common preparations include decorations of the place with Christmas trees, lighting. Before decorations begin, the house must be deep cleaned. The Christmas tree brings the Christmas spirit in homes.

Presents are placed under the Christmas tree in wrapped gift boxes and are not to be opened until Christmas day. The church is also decorated for the special event. Thorough cleaning of the churches is also done to usher in Christmas. Songs and skits to be performed on Christmas day.

People usually spend a lot on Christmas and so saving money for these plans should be the earliest preparation among all these. Families also plan to travel to stay together during this celebration period. Traditionally turkey is the common meal across the world in this day. Cards are also written to friends and family to wish them a happy holiday and to show love.

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Christmas Day Celebration

Christmas carols are played on radios and televisions to mark the day. Most families start by going to church where performances and songs are done. Then later, they join their families to exchange gifts and celebrate with food and music. Happiness during Christmas is like no other.

Homemade traditional plum cakes, cupcakes, and muffins are the special treats on Christmas. Kids are showered with lots of presents and new dresses. They also get to meet the ‘Santa Claus’, dressed in a fluffy red and white costume, who greets them with hugs and gifts.

Conclusion:

Christmas reminds us of the importance of giving and sharing with friends and family. Through Christmas, we know that Jesus birth is the beginning of great things in the world. It is generally an opportunity to think about nature and the reason for our existence. Christmas is such a festival which people from all religions and faith celebrate worldwide despite it being a Christian festival. It is the essence of this festival which unites the people so much.

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Spiritual Reflections for the Christmas Season

The Christmas season can be one of the most stressful times of year. Whether you’re making travel plans, or you’re making preparations for friends and family members who will be traveling to you, you probably spend a pretty large portion of the days leading up to Christmas trying to check things off your to-do list so you can ensure that everyone around you has a good Christmas.

It’s easy to let the chaos, stress, and consumerism that Christmas has become turn into the most important part of the holiday season for you. However, as children of God, we understand that the Christmas season is truly about the birth of Christ, and how His arrival changed the course of our eternities.

There’s certainly no way to completely wipe out the amount of stress associated with the holidays. However, there are some steps that you can take to allow yourself to better focus on what this time of year is truly about. While it’s easy to get caught up in food that needs to be prepared, gifts that need to be purchased, and everything else that goes along with this time of year, it’s important to take a step back and reflect on what the story of the first Christmas truly means.

There are multiple people involved in the story of the first Christmas, and the values that they displayed give us a great starting point when we want to spend time meditating on the story of Christ’s birth. Today, allow the Holy Spirit to help you slow down so you can take some time to begin reflecting on the events of the first Christmas, the men and women involved in the story, and what that day meant for you. You will quickly realize that God is still reaching out to humanity just as strongly as He was when He sent His Son on the first Christmas.

Reflection #1: You Are Chosen Luke 1:28-33 (NLT) Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, “Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end.”

Months before Christ was born in a barn and laid to rest in a feed trough, an angel appeared to a teenage virgin girl to let her know that God had chosen her for the most important mission in human history. The same God who chose Abraham to be the father of the Jewish nation, the same God who hand-selected Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, and the same God who chose David to be the King of Israel had just hand-selected Mary to be the vessel that would bring His Son into the world.

Can you imagine what Mary must have felt like in that moment? As part of our Christmas reflections, spend some time putting yourself in the shoes of this young lady who just found out that she was going to give birth even though she had never been with a man. Not only was she going to give birth, but she was going to provide life to the Son of God! Mary could have refused. God would not have forced her to take part in His plan. However, Mary chose to go with God’s plan.

No, God is not going to ask you to be the vessel that His Son comes into the world through. He has already done that, and the next time Christ comes to the world, it will be to take His Church to Heaven with Him. However, we are still called to be carriers of Christ to everyone that we come in contact with. Reflect on ways that you can be more receptive to God’s plan for you to be a bearer of His Son to the people that you interact with every day.

Reflection #2: Being an Encourager Luke 1:42-46 (NLT) Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.”

Once Mary had received the news that would forever change her life, she went off to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, had just received some life-changing news of their own. Even though they were both well past the age of having children, God also miraculously blessed them with a child. Their child would grow up to be John the Baptist, who would serve as a forerunner for Christ.

For the sake of this Christmas reflection, look at how Elizabeth reacted when Mary showed up at her home. She immediately started praising God for the life that was growing in Mary’s womb. Elizabeth knew that God had promised her a child, and she was equally as confident that God had blessed Mary. Undoubtedly, Mary was scared. However, Elizabeth saw an opportunity to encourage her much younger cousin, and she took advantage of it.

The Christmas season gives us a wonderful opportunity to encourage others. While it’s a time of joy and celebration for many of us, there are millions of people who see this time of year as a time of pain. Maybe they dealt with abuse as children, or perhaps they’re spending their first Christmas without a loved one. Whatever the source of their pain is, look for opportunities to be an encourager to those who are hurting.

Reflection #3: Every Day Matters Luke 2:6-7 (NLT) And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Finally, take a moment and reflect on the fact that the first Christmas came without any sort of fanfare. While we count down to December 25 and all of the things that the day brings about, there was no one anticipating the first Christmas except for Mary and Joseph. They weren’t even home to celebrate the birth of their first Son with their families, because they, like everyone else, had gone into Bethlehem to be taxed. On the surface, it looked like another ordinary day.

With that in mind, reflect on the fact that every day is a day that is a prime opportunity for the miraculous. The first Christmas came and went without any fanfare, so every day doesn’t have to seem important to be important. On the day that the entire world changed forever, no one heard about it other than some shepherds who the angels appeared to. Today, just like every day, is an opportunity for God to change your life and the lives of those around you through the gift of His Son.

A Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for what the Christmas season really means. Help me to focus more on the true meaning of Christmas in a time where it’s easy to get caught up in the consumerism. Help me to be a better vessel of Your glory, an encourager to others, and to realize that every day is a chance for a miracle. In Christ’s name, Amen.

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• Reflections for Christmas

The Advent season is my favorite time of year in my church’s liturgical calendar. I believe that when Christians celebrate the Incarnation they acknowledge the fact that their lives are hidden with Christ’s life . Moreover, this holiday seems to do more to draw people’s attention to God and the things of God than any other time of year.

I also appreciate that Christmas offers opportunities for families and friends to gather together. As you prepare for your holiday celebrations, I hope these articles and podcasts help you value all the more Christ’s first coming to Earth.

Happy Advent to you and yours!

Reflections

• “ Three Reasons I Love the Christmas Season ” — The Advent season brings a time of joyful festivities and reflection to remind us of the value of family and the unity within our culture. Above all else, the season calls us to remember Christ’s first coming to Earth.
• “ Thinking about the Incarnation: The Divine Word Became Flesh ” — At the heart of Christianity is the doctrine of the Incarnation, a truth-claim celebrated all over the world at Christmas. This paper explains the Incarnation and responds to critical and frequently asked questions about this mysterious yet incredible event.
• “ Creation Anticipated the Incarnation ” — In this brief article I discuss the idea that by creating mankind in His image, God anticipated the Incarnation of Christ.
• “ Biblical Eschatology and the Good News of Christmas ” — I explain one of my motivations for writing a book on the end times, namely a desire to point people to the hope Jesus offers us through His life, death, and resurrection.

Straight Thinking

“ Three Reasons I Love the Advent Season ”— My colleague Dave Rogstad and I discuss our personal reasons for taking part in the spirit of the Advent season. My hope is that the values and meaning of the Christmas season will influence our thoughts, faith, and actions throughout the year, not just in December.

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“ No Christmas in the Bible? ” — A listener questions the Christian practice of celebrating Christmas in light of pagan influences on the holiday. I argue that there is a biblical basis for upholding this popular festival.

In a special edition of I Didn’t Know That! Hugh Ross, Jeff Zweerink, and I review a popular explanation for the Christmas star featured in The Star of Bethlehem , as presented by lawyer Rick Larson.

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Friday essay: Christmas poetry – a reflection

Professor of Creative writing, The University of Melbourne

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Kevin John Brophy does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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I see finches blown by a gale from the roof of my house onto the road outside this window. They crouch there on the sand facing into the wind, hoping not to be tossed again into the wild air.

From haiku masters to romantic bohemians, poets pay attention to the seasons. Often poets are drawn towards the time between seasons, the time when both death and life, endings and beginnings, merge into each other and confuse us. Christmas, too, has its seasonal place deep in winter or deep in summer when the old year fades and a new one beckons. It seems fitting that we celebrate the birth of a famous baby at this time, a baby born in poverty as the story goes, born under a star that promised celestial light for everyone – but only through an ultimate sacrifice. Birth and death are entangled here too.

No surprise, then, that poets write so much about Christmas. At this time of year there seems to be nothing but Christmas to think about. Streets are festooned with it. Airwaves, the internet, televisions and the Google logo have all gone christmasy on us. The beauty and delicacy of the Christmas story become in our consumerist hands a recipe for crassness and sentimentality. No surprise that poets might be sickened by it and be drawn to try to rescue it.

The mid 20th century New York poet, Marianne Moore might have been a grump, but she had good reason. “I, too, dislike it,” she wrote in her famous poem, Christmas. She went on to say, as we know,

there are things that are important beyond all this tinsel. Celebrating it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one discovers in it after all, a place for the genuine.

In seeking that place of the genuine she wished, enigmatically and unforgettably, for a Christmas of “imaginary elves with real noses on them”.

So many of our poets have suffered Christmases that go like nightmares through them. T.S. Eliot put himself into the shoes (slippers?) of one of those Three Wise Men and reported,

There was a birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death, But had thought they were different; this Birth was Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death. After that, there could be no easy return to the usual Kingdoms and their old dispensations.

We do need the poets to bring us back to awareness of Christmas as a time of change, after which nothing can ever be the same again. We long for these kinds of moments and dread them, and that’s why we drain Christmas of its bitter truth. When the poor jaundiced Philip Larkin put himself into the rough cloaks of those shepherds on a hillside on Christmas Eve, he made them speak of the troubles this birth brought to them and all the poor to come:

They fuck you up, those holy saviours. They may not mean to, but they do. They light you up with promised favours, and add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By Holy fools and raving prophets Who prayed for every bush to burn and took the coins from shepherds’ pockets.

Gerard Manley Hopkins, possibly one of the most original poets to write in English, was also a poet of the seasons, of nature, of the times when change comes upon the world, when everything is doubtful, dappled, rung upon the rippling of dawn-drawn light or down-dropped dusk. His Christmas was a lighter one, a more celestial celebration, but no less desperate than other poets when it comes to making Christmas a deeper shade of Christmas. He too has his famous Christmas poem, much loved and much recited along the streets of bright-lit scenes of nativity after nativity in our city’s Christmas suburbs:

Glory be to Christmas for wrapped-up things— For cellophane pocked parcels ribboned as a matron’s corset; Toppling over angels, young pine trees bucketed; stippled lights In neon windows sungstrung on star hung boulevards that bring The red-eyed tourists in to see reindeers run a red nosed orbit, Dazzled, dim, stable birthed blessedness. Praise Him—and all the little mites.

This fascination with the paradox of a saviour born in the muck of a stable to a teenage mother who was wise beyond her years, the fable-like arrival of a criminal who was a king, the oxymoronic wanderings of a carpenter-philosopher and someone called Santa coming in late on the scene like a bear from the woods, continues down into the late 20th century via that American grandfather of the bizarre, John Ashbery:

This Christmas is concerned with packaging on a soulful level. Look at it waving to you from a department store window Where gadgets fidget with tinsel and stardust. You have it And you miss it. It is here and always gone. You love each other. The angel is plastic because it wants to be you, and cannot. What’s a soulful level? It is plastic and other things, Bringing boxes, piles of them, into play. Play? Well, actually, jingles, yes, but I consider playing jingles A deeper winter thing, a dreamed soul-pattern, As in the divisions of grace these long December nights Without whiskey. Star-suspended. And before you know It gets to be Christmas here in the fog and tatters of types of writers.

We don’t need to know what this means to know what this means. Famously Ashbery described Christmas as “unknown quantities”. It is enough to know he said this; and what it meant and whether he meant it, are merely questions outside the question of the structure and architecture of reality. The point here is that poets have not been able to keep away from Christmas, from its world changing moment on the cusp of a year that will be gone forever and a new one not yet invented.

We know Santa actually did lean in Frank O’Hara’s open window one Christmas Eve and Frank scribbled down his conversation with the great man (O’Hara being only the second poet ever to have a conversation with Santa), who said to him,

I like your poetry. I see a lot on my rounds and you’re okay. You may not be the greatest thing on earth, but you’re different.

That was enough for Frank — he asked Santa in to stay a while and talk some more. But Santa said that others were calling him. He didn’t say exactly who these others were, so Frank was able to leave a mystery at the end of that tiny poem in his brain.

The last word on Christmas must be given to Elizabeth Bishop, that perfectionist of privacy and sublime poetry. Her Christmas poem was almost lost more than once, and if it had been it would have been (Write it!) a disaster. You know it well, I am sure, but I will reproduce the whole poem here nevertheless. I know no one sings the whole of the national anthem. The beginning seems to stand for the rest of it perfectly well, but somehow this anthem of a villanelle refuses to have even one part of it lost to implication or intuition:

The art of Christmas giving isn’t hard to master; so many boxes filled and wrapped with intent to be posted, or tossed across a room faster. Give something every Christmas despite a flutter of your heart at money badly spent. The art of Christmas giving isn’t hard to master. Then practice wrapping faster, tossing faster: aunts and uncles, siblings and others you meant to placate with baubles, ignore the disaster. I gave my mother’s watch away once or twice, or did I offer it, with my house, for rent? The art of Christmas is sometimes hard to master. I gave away something pretty once, and some pasta got from Italy, two gingers and a continent -al sausage or two. I miss them, what a disaster. Even giving Christmas the boot (what a gesture, I loved it) is still some kind of giving it is evident. The art of Christmas giving isn’t hard to master though it may look like (take that) someone’s cruel laughter.

Christmas is the ritual we succumb to at the same time as we rebel against it in our souls. The poets know this and have said it better than any of us could have. Yet they have no answers, only these ironic questions they perfect on our behalf as we swing from one way of being to another, always hoping everything will change this time.

I see heavy clouds draped across the horizon out there. Crows complain about something in the air. The wind is at rest out behind the hills, camping quietly by itself, waiting for a sign.

This the last Friday essay for the year. It will return in late January.

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A Short Christmas Reflection

Image credit: “Establishment of the Manger at Greccio”, Benozzo Gozzoli, 1452

In the thirteenth century, Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas in a new and profound way, as a liturgical celebration of all creation awakened to the indwelling presence of God. His biographers tell us that three years before his death, Francis decided to celebrate the memory of the birth of the Child Jesus with the greatest solemnity, in order to awaken devotion to the splendor of God among us. He petitioned Pope Innocent IV for permission to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the small mountainous village of Greccio. Francis wanted everyone to see the drama of Christ’s birth, so he had a manger prepared and hay carried in; an ox and an ass were led to the spot of the manger. Two things about the Greccio story are significant: First, Christmas is a present reality for Francis, the act of God becoming flesh. It is a drama, a dynamic reality that we are invited into. It is the story of the great marriage between heaven and earth. Second, we are to awaken to this reality and respond to God’s overflowing love with an outpouring of love. As Francis himself sang: “The love of him who loved us is greatly to be loved.”  His biographer, Bonaventure, wrote that as the people of Greccio arrived at the manger, all creation sang with joy: the forest amplified its cries, the night was rendered brilliant and solemn by a multitude of bright lights and by resonant and harmonious hymns of praise. The man of God stood before the manger, filled with piety and overcome with joy.  He had an altar built over the manger to celebrate the Eucharist, the sacrament of the cosmic Body of Christ.  Francis, dressed as a deacon, chanted the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made flesh and dwells among us” (Jn 1:1). Hence, our third lesson from Saint Francis is that all creation is made holy by the celebration of Christmas. The biographers tell us that Francis was “bathed in tears” as he stood by the manger because he believed wholeheartedly that God was present in the trees, the stars, the ox, the ass and the people gathered. All of heaven and earth were brought into a unity of love in the celebration of Christmas, symbolized by the Eucharist.

Perhaps this Christmas we can reflect on the way Francis of Assisi celebrated Christmas and be attentive to how we are celebrating Christmas.  Are we too worried about the dinner meal?  Or the gifts we did or did not buy for another?  Are we too focused on ourselves? Or are we bathed in tears at the profound mystery of God bending low to embrace us, to become one of us. Christmas is the celebration of deep relationship. We are invited to realize that we are not alone in the universe.  God, who is a trinity of love, swirls amidst the galaxies and stars searching for human hearts, where God seeks to dwell. Bonaventure wrote:  “God bends low in love and lifts us up so that we may be where God is.”

We do not have to worry about things going right on Christmas day, or any day for that matter. God has come to us, is with us, and will forever be born in us as our future, if we make space for God in our lives.  Let us celebrate this Christmas with song and dance, for all creation is bubbling with the Spirit of Love, alive with the presence of God.

Image credit: “Establishment of the Manger at Greccio”, Benozzo Gozzoli, 1452

The “Great Marriage”, the hieros gamos, the union between the goddess and god, the Mother and Father, the One, the union between heaven and earth all with the energy of kenosis flowing, with so much attraction that only love could possibly exist. I have been changed. I have been moved. Blessed Yule. Blessed Incarnation.

So very helpful to my mind and my heart! Thank you, Ilia! Love, Jan Heckroth

There are so many evolutionary errors exemplified by church theories. The church evolved philosophically from Hebrew, to Greek, to Roman and finally to a European or German tradition. Of course, this is what we see in the marriage tradition, the Eucharistic theory and practices and of course our present religious celebrations. Where we have failed is the tradition a of love and service to the poor typically exemplified by the washing of the feet. Why has that tradition never become a sacrament? The evolution of the church has driven us farther from Jesus’s gift of love and understanding. Our name for the founding of what became Christianity doesn’t even use his actual name! Jesus remined his listeners when they challenged his idea that they should look at the signs. He pointed to natural signs. We have failed to recognize those signs of evolution because the church fought to prevent the earth from falling from the center of the universe but today Astronomers has exposed us to a recognition that the universe is beyond anything that humans can recognize and explain fully. Our human experience has been much to limited and we fight to recognize the truth of our own existence. The earliest traditions about the concept of God lies in early Hebrew traditions. “He” was perceived to be beyond anything comprehensible. “His” name was not even spoken. The evolution of Astronomy has confirmed this understanding!

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A reflection for Christmas Day

25 December is Christmas Day 

Christmas is marketed in fluffy and tinselling ways – in pastel colours, lots of emphasis on here today and gone tomorrow presents, chocolate and bubbly, friendly faces and cute children. The domestic reality, of course, is more mixed than that. It is certainly about showing children love, celebrations, and families coming together. But it is about real families and relationships. Christmas has its fair share of tensions, tantrums, jealousies and unspoken harsh words, as well as of love, generosity and affection. It needs rich and deep colours to describe it, not just soft blues, yellows and pinks.

It is not surprising that each year Christmas is so celebrated in the midst of deep anxiety. Last year was Bushfire Christmas, with fires tearing through Australia in November and peaking in January. This year is a COVID Christmas, celebrated at a time when the virus is largely controlled in Australia but ravaging many other parts of the world. It is a time for family Christmas, but also one of anxiety for the future as we face economic pressures in addition to the threat to our health.

This is serious, not fluffy, stuff. It poses serious questions to us about what matters to us in our lives. When we think of the story of the first Christmas, that element of seriousness is appropriate. The question underlying the Gospel stories of Christ’s birth asks where we might look to find God in our world. The answer given in the stories is that we might expect to find God in unnoticed people, in marginal and poor places, in simple human realities like giving human birth, in danger from paranoid rulers, in flight from home, in intimations of a troubled future. The stories address the deep realities of human life and not just the surface. That is where we find life in our work at Jesuit Social Services: in the reality of young people’s lives, in their failures as well as their successes, in their resilience as well as their fragility.

The Christmas stories also say that where God is found, joy can also be found. Like fire, it spreads first unnoticed through the social undergrowth. It does not break out in the cities nor even the villages, but outside them in grotty fields, and from them to shepherds on the hills grazing their sheep, to old women and men who spend their declining days in the temple, away from public life. And of course, as this theme was picked up in the later legends, the joy was shared by animals in the stable and servant boys tending to Mary in flight to Egypt.

The direction of the stories also illuminates where God and life might be found in the experience of the coronavirus. Here, too, we might look outside the decisionmakers to simple places and human actions. The joy associated with freedom from restriction grows out of the grind of wearing a mask, of staying at home, and of sacrificing our own freedom and interests for the good of the larger community. The restrictions of a COVID Christmas, cheerfully borne, are the seedbed of joy.

As at the first Christmas, joy is built with the bricks of unselfish love, the straw of unexpected growth in times of solitude, the mortar of conversations that happened because there was nothing more interesting to do, and the sharp eye that notices and responds to the joys and sorrows of others.

Madonna magazine, published by the Australian Jesuits, has accompanied Australians in their daily prayer and spiritual growth for more than 120 years. It is an ideal prayer companion and thoughtful gift in this time of isolation and disconnection from parish and community. Subscribe, or give a gift subscription, and help keep our prayer community going in 2021. Go to  www.madonnamagazine.com.au  for more.

Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ writes for Jesuit Communications and Jesuit Social Services.

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Christmas Vacation - About Celebration in the Philippines 

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