At Christmas we are dazzled by the shopping lights of the season. We tend to forget that Jesus Christ, the true light of the world, is present – closer to us than we are to ourselves. Wishing each other a “Merry Christmas” helps us to recall and stay fixed on our true joy.
The English word “merry” did not originally convey a sense of “jolly, mirthful” as is often assumed today. It meant something more along the lines of “blessed, peaceful” – a deep down inner joy rather than revelry.
One gets a sense of its original meaning in the well-known carol, ‘God rest ye merry, gentlemen.’ As can be seen from the comma, the word is not used to describe jolly gentlemen, but rather was a blessing from God invoked upon them – “God rest ye peacefully, gentlemen.”
Thus, “Merry Christmas,” when spoken to one another, is a blessing. Let us greet one another often with this blessing to strengthen our certainty that the Lord came among us and continually renews his consoling presence of love and joy.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
LOTS OF RUM
SMOKE PORK
SORREL
SH MAN I GOING TO HAVE A GOOD TIME
come on we all know it is the end of the year,and the business community has to get reed of old stock,so they organize a business holiday in order to do just that,painting it with a christ like emotion to draw peoples heart,well thought of plan,christ had to be a leo by birth,how do get a leo to born in december?after all he is the lion of the tribe of judah right?.
ABU SULAYMAN – I applaud you faith, however, for me I prefer more scholarly sources of information than the internet. Where these sort of sites never cease to be interesting, they are anything but authoritative. You my brother should know this – Your faith teaching that the only true authority on the teachings of the Quran are found in the Quran and in their original Arabic form.
As for Jesus being the Son of God – well – you believe that the Prophet Muhammad was taught by the Angel Gabriel – are not both positions really just a matter of faith.
Here is the deal – one of us is right and one is wrong – lets let God decide that, and not in our life times spark the type of religious zealotry that cost hundreds of thousands their lives in the 1200’s. By now we should all be better than that.
Allāahu Akbar
I DON’T CARE whether (he) Jesus was born on December 25th or on the 1st full moon in June! My Redeemer LIVES!! I will celebrate his birth, his death, his resurrection, his ascension into heaven!!!
Yes! I am a Roman Catholic and I am Dominican. I say it proudly.
Well, if nothing else, at least we are having a good conversation about Christmas, one that should be had every year to remind Christians of the relevance of the day. This said – let keep it going – Sorry – Mohammad did most definitely exist, and like many in the non-traditional Church today, he developed his own views on God and spirituality, and preached them. Personally I disagree with his teachings but I would fight with everything in my power not to deny mankind the opportunity to compare and discern the ‘true faith’ for themselves. This said – where do people get all the nonsense from that suggest that Christmas was celebrated before Christ – JUST THINK – how could it have been. As for the early church embracing certain existing customs, why not – joy and happiness, are just that, joy and happiness, all the Church did was accept, not reinvent. As for Santa being Satin – what a laugh. Santa Clause is the Americanization of th word Sinter Claus, which are the Dutch word for Saint Nicolas. Old St Nick was a wonderful Bishop, kind, loving and giving. In that his feast day preceded December 25 but some number of days, the traditions that developed around his generosity just became part of the season. No big deal.
FD
It is not nonsense it is truth and you know it.
The prophet Muhammad peace be upon him did not preach his personal views on God. Have you read or researched about Islam from Islamic sources “Father Dave Conway?”
Firstly, the prophet Muhammad received revelation from God through Angel Gabriel peace be upon him. This revelation has been revealed in a pure Arabic language, memorized by millions of Muslims and has been preserved the same manner it was revealed. This is a 52 page document from a non Muslim legal site that confirms the Miraculous nature of the Holy Quran http://www.lawteacher.net/PDF/Quran.PDF.
Secondly the bible some has 72 books, some 66, Greek Orthodox has 80+ cannon and the Ethiopian Orthodox has 100+, as well as there are errors found in the bible. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44117239/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/t/scholars-seek-correct-mistakes-bible/#.TtP_ZrIk6so
Thirdly, the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him taught similarly to Moses and Jesus peace be upon them a pure monotheistic concept of God. Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29-31 as well as many other verses in the bible confirms this even if the bible has undergone many changes and alterations. The idea of the trinity was formulated and invented many years after Jesus peace be upon him left the earth.
Lastly “Father Dave Conway” the idea that Jesus is God, son of God, died for the sins of the world or one needs to believe in his blood for salvation goes against reason, spirituality and destroys the teachings of the prophets Jesus peace be upon him did not come to destroy.
christmas is wrong.santa is satan.
Some of you out there definitely don’t know the spirit even if the spirit is universal.Good thing I can find the spirit in my church! the one holy catholic and apostolic roman catholic church!!!!
Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.
It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.
To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.
The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.
In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.
When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.
What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate?
You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.
The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.
The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.
This was done long before the birth of Jesus.
It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.
These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.
Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.
This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.
In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.
The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.
Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana.
The holly wood was used by witches to make wands.
The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god.
Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.
These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.
The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches?
The word “Christmas”itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.
The word “Christmas” is a combination of the words “Christ” and “Mass.
The word “Mass” means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.
The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the “Host”, a word taken from the Latin word “hostiall” meaning victim!
In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.
A simple study of the tactics of the Roman Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.
In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, “Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.
When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome.
These reformers left Christmas intact.
In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.
The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.
Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas.
We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In both witchcraft circles and contemporary Christian churches, the same things are going on.
As the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 10:2-4, “Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not.”
So, what is wrong with Christmas?
1. To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie! The true date is sometime in September according to the Scriptures.
2. Trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and the like are strictly forbidden as pagan and heathen! To say that these are Christian or that they can be made Christian is a lie!
3. The Lord never spoke of commemorating his birth but rather commanded us to remember the sacrifice of His suffering and death, which purchased our salvation.
Think about it! Can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves with customs and traditions, which God Himself forbade as idolatry? Can we convince God to somehow “Christianize” these customs and the whole pretence and lie of Christmas, so we can enjoy ourselves? Can we obey through disobedience?
So what is right about Christmas? 1. Nothing!
“The Roman festival of Saturnalia, Dec. 17-24, moved citizens to decorate their homes with greens and lights and give gifts to children and the poor. The Dec. 25 festival of natalis solis invicti, the birth of the unconquered sun, was decreed by the emperor Aurelian in A.D. 274 as a Winter Solstice celebration, and sometime (later)…was Christianized as a date to celebrate the birth of the Son of Light.”
December 25th was not selected because it was the birth of Christ or because it was even near it. It was selected because it coincided with the idolatrous pagan festival Saturnalia.
The kokoski person whatever is their motive I don’t know or care, but it sure is getting all parties emotional about one aspect of the spirituality,Christ’ regardless to what one may think the fact that there is discussion on spirituality in the name of religion is a good thing.Because I am sure some who are in disagreement are in agreement with the celebration of carnival and some of the other religious celebrations, this is what good about this discussion it engaged the people in a spiritual debate.it would be better if people would agree to diagree and be respective to others opion, because we are all expressing what we were made to believe and we will know the answer when we die, but the discussion is good for the soul. So engage my people.
Seasons Greetings to All and a Respectful and Peacful 2012.
Hey lighten up now. People are just having fun, Christmas/Schrismas…can’t we all just have fun? make the kids happy, buy gifts for friends and family. Now allyou become priests, clerics, bible know-it-alls, pontificating little nothings.
For ages now bible and Quoran have become political free for alls with image and likeness of whoever has power. Some use images, others kill and maime in the name of whatever holly book.
Look wha happen to Jesus who was a North african. Eurpoeans, christians color him white like any guy from Mud Lick Kentucky, in their own image and likeness.
King james and other europeans preoccupied with enslaving African people did their darndness to remove all references to Africa from their scriptures (and they did).
They say it’s not about color, but still they refuse to take the pictures off their walls and publications, that’s as long as they hold power. People it’s a mess!
Let’s just have fun now, Merry Christmas.
This is just for Dominicans, celebrate Christmas, because it is a holiday and a holiday is always good, but take Christ out of Christmas, because that is bearing false witness. It is not Christ birthday. It is a a holiday developed by Europeans in the cold winter, to prevent them from committing suicide in the bleak mid-winter. So enjoy your christmas, eat, drink be merry and exchange your presents.Please dont think you are serving Jesus,because it is not about HIM.Christ want us to be kind everyday, all year, and to worship him daily and care for one another daily.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!
To all who do not care to celebrate Christmas, the answer is simple – DON’T but stop trying to lessen the significance of the day for those of who do, frankly it make you sound like a little child who says – If I can’t have it, then no one else should. You never hear a Christian speaking despairingly of Ramadan or Rosh Hashanah, but then we wouldn’t we are Christian. As for Christmas not being for black people – what a laugh – surely you must realize that Jesus was not a white man, no one in the area of Palestine where he was born was white. He most probably a medium to dark brown skin, with dark brown or black hair, and brown eyes – sound familiar. Do yourself a favor and stop looking at Italian renaissance paintings and assuming that you are seeing a picture of Jesus, all you are looking at is their impression of him
As for the rather odd and unscholarly views expressed regarding the origin of the date of Christmas, and the definition of the words ‘mass ‘ as meaning – death – well, as the poet wrote – ‘where ignorance is bless this folly to be wise.’ It is true that the date set for Christmas was selected and no doubt was not the actual date on which He was born – but then President Day in the US was selected – Victoria Day in England was selected – the fact that a day was selected means nothing, what matters is that he was born.
Merry Christmas Mr Scrooge
Could you please show me somewhere in the Holy Scriptures where he said to celebrate or observe his birth? Waiting.
Christmas has nothing to do with us as black people. That is a custom that we adopted from the Europeans as almost everything else. According to the scripture that Muslim shared, Christmas is Pagan in origin. The date of December 25 comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god Saturn, and the rebirth of the Sun God. This was done long before the birth of Yeshua or the Christian Christ. The word Christmas itself reveals who married Paganism to Christianity. The word Christmas is a combination of Christ and mass. The word mass means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church and belongs exclusively to the Church of Rome. A simple study of the tactics of the Roman Church reveals that in evry case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.
Ever since our fore fathers were brought to the Caribbean, we have adopted everything from the slave masters. When our fore-fathers were taken out of the Mother land, they were not even Christians. We were Christianised and were given the slave masters’ names, religion(Christianity),diet, dress code and language. English is not our original language. The slaves were forbidden to speak their language. We need to do our research and serve the true and living God, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the great Hebrew brothers who walked with God.
what fact?there’s no fact when it comes to jesus or anyone mention in the buy bull.like the first comment said everything we know was givin to us by our slave masters.and ur slave master will never give u something to benifit u
I see you read, unlike some people who just accept what is taught in the pultpit. so true brother.
One thing I know Christ death was celebrated.As a matter of fact,the night before He gave His life for the sins of the world(Jews,Protestants,Catholics,Muslims,Atheists and all the other ism etc,etc.)He told His Disciples.
“As often as you eat this bread and drink the contents of the cup, you are doing this in remembrance of Me.(My death for sinners).1 Corinthians 11:24-26
When Muslim_Alw said,”Unfortunately Christendom is totally far away from the teachings of the Messiah”.
If he is referring to the Messiah of the bible, he maybe right.But Christians believers in the Messiah is in perfect harmony with His teachings.HE CLAIMED to be God Almighty,John 8:57-59 and 10:30.If you notice the Jews knew the Messiah was claiming to be God.
Jesus Christ said only God is to be worship Matthew 4;10 and yet Christ (Messiah)acknowledging He is God accepting worship from human beings.Just a few examples Matthew 8:2,9:18,15:25,20:20,John 9:38 and God Almighty called Jesus God, Hebrews 1:8.
in closing, Christians believe their Master’s teachings.
If you can show me just one scripture where the Most High spoke of a son dieing for the sins of the world.I will give you a hundred dollars
Jon 3:16 For God so loved the world,
that He gave his only begotten Son,
that who so ever believeth in him should not perish, but HAVE EVER LASTING LIFE.
itg is time you all stop fooling all you selfs of christmas. Educate and do researches to better understand that christmas is a pagan festival. The bible NEVER mentioned any christmas being celebrated and he definately was not born of the 25th of december.All condeming allu selves with those very same carols all you sing.”while shepherds watched the sheep at night”. Oh how stupid how can anyone tend flocks in the winter with all that coldness. Jeremiah 10:3-4 talks of the christmas tree that people worships. so christmas should not be entertained.
Generaly speaking, there should be no chrismas celebration. At that time of the year Jesus does not receive the praises and gifts which is due to him.
Come on – How could Christmas have been celebrated during Jesus’s time on earth, it was not clear to anyone but Peter that he was the Messiah until after his death.
The word Christmas come to us from both Greek and Latin – Christos menaing Christ and Mass meaning gathering. So Christmas is ‘a gathering for the Christ.’ I am sure he would approve, particurlalry given that he was quoated as saying ‘Whenever two or three gather in my name – well – how about 1.3 billion.What I am fairly sure he would not approve of is the drunkeness that to often accompanies our celebration of his birth.
Merry Christmas.
Are you really a priest? At least Christ and his disciples should have done so, or even his mother while they were alive.
When the prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was alive, ramadhan was observed, the Eid that marks the end and the commemoration of Abraham peace be upon him were celebrated.
Thus “Father Conway” Christmas has nothing to do with the Messiah peace be upon him. Unfortunately, “Christendom” is totally far away from the teachings of the Messiah peace be upon him.
muhammad never lived you fool,stop beliving in storys u can’t prove.i can tell u is a field nigga claming a religion that has nothing to do with u,you’re africa not a arab.dont get mix up
The anti-christ himself!!!!
Paul Kokoski is simply a source of material meant to stir up anger or admiration to a general public. He/she/it sends these messages to a wide variety of news websites; most of them are designed to be about currently sensitive issues so as to spark trouble. This particular issue is more relevant to the USA, to be fair, where there is an ongoing debate (mainly from the morons at FOX and the right-wing theocrats) about “taking ‘Christ’ out of ‘Christmas.'” Unfortunately, Dominica is not sufficiently secular for this to potentially even be up for debate as yet.
My point: Kokoski will most likely not see anything you type directed at him, so don’t bother. I thought he was a local person until I googled his name and realized what he appears to be doing.
Mr Kokoski, could you kindly direct me to any scripture where “Christmas” was practiced during the life of the Messiah peace be upon him and his disciples? Please state clear verses and by the way please do not use the birth of the Messiah peace be upon him as an excuse. Thank you very much.
Jeremiah 10:3-4 states: “For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.”
And they hold big machine guns and go kill people after praying…..