Silent Night, Holy Night : Essence of Christmas
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 25 2015 -

Silent Night, Holy Night.

Christmas is here and like the previous years, the people of Manipur too will join other countries in heralding the birth of Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the beauty of Christmas.

The secular character of this festival need not be over emphasised here but it is more than clear from the past that people cutting across religious divides have been coming together to celebrate this festival.

The important question however is whether the people have been faithfully following the teachings of Jesus Christ or not.

This question is particularly important for those who come under the Christian tag.

To make Christmas all that more meaningful it should go beyond merely making December 25 a calendar date.

Make the birth of Jesus Christ more meaningful and some distance towards this end can be achieved only when people learn to shed violence, bitterness against each other, do away with jealousy and yes learn to live with sobriety.

This is where Christians really need to sincerely search their souls.

For the others, that is the non-Christians, this should also be the time to introspect and study their conduct.

Hatred, jealousy, the propensity to judge others cannot be the prerogative of anyone, but disturbing to note that a number of people have come under this impression and this is all that more unacceptable when it is done under the name of a religion.

Can the Christians of Manipur say that they are free from this ?

Time right to make Christmas more meaningful now.

Manipur is going through numerous issues, issues which could have been resolved amicably if only the people had the wisdom to agree that there can be differences but this does not necessarily put anyone in the wrong or the right.

Accommodating different opinions and view points can go a long way in cementing ties and co-existence but why has this universal truth refused to dawn on the mentality of the people ?

One simple answer will lie in the fact that while the people of Manipur have been celebrating different religious days, not much thought seems to have been given to the intrinsic meaning of observing such a day.

It is this which needs to be addressed to make the celebration of Christmas all that more meaningful.

2015 has not been a pleasant year and it is right that no efforts are spared to ensure that there is no repeat of the ugly incidents of this year in the coming year.

Celebrating Christmas with this in mind may just be the right start.

Merry Christmas to all the readers, well wishers and patrons of The Sangai Express.