The Christmas tidings
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: December 25, 2013 -
Joy to the World, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing...
Christmas is here again, and everywhere one looks at it is buzzing with activities to welcome and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Eternal God who came to earth in the form of man in order to save His own creation.
While, it is undoubtedly one of the most important times of the year for the Christian community around the globe to recall and celebrate the birth of Baby Jesus in a humble manger in Bethlehem; the message of love, forgiveness, hope and sharing that Christmas spreads has an equally universal appeal to all other non-Christian communities as well.
Christmas represents an amazing time of hope and redemption in the heart and mind of everyone and Christmas season or holiday provides that the rare moment of celebrating tenderness, kindness and forgiveness with family, friends and neighbours not only among the faithful Christians but also to all other non-Christian communities around the length and breadth of the world.
In another word, the message that Christmas brings along with it is something which is understood by people of all faiths, and the lights, sounds and colours associated with Christmas are purely universal in appeal.
So, such is the joy and infectious spirit of Christmas that even one who does not ascribe to the beliefs of the Christian faith or does not understand the true meaning of celebrating Christmas experienced an surging feelings of doing something good to other fellow beings in a manner which far transcend materialism during this festive season.
They go out of their way to exchange greetings and gifts to one another, and to wish everyone not just joy and happiness in their heart and hearth but also peace, harmony and prosperity in the society.
But living in a place like Manipur where there are more conflicts than any possible understanding even between two groups of people, more destruction than any construction or suffering rather than succour, it may sound almost absurd to wish for peace and harmony to each other during Christmas or any other festive occasions, even though exchanges such wishes have become a fad today.
Yet, the fact still remains that this is the kind of society that everyone in Manipur always yearns to live in and prosper.
While rejoicing over the birth of Prince of Peace and preparing room in our heart to welcome Him, perhaps, would be more appropriate and befitting to think over why the message of 'peace', ‘harmony’, 'forgiveness' or 'brotherhood' that Jesus Christ exemplified and preached have come to be reduced to some meaningful words that exist in lexicon only. Anyway, Merry Christmas to all.
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