by Greg Mundis

Dear Friends:

Christmas

Where did the term Christmas come from? It literally means "Christ's Mass."-"The annual feast held by the Christian church in memory of the birth of Christ."

Was Christ really born on December 25? "As to whether our Lord's birth really occurred on December 25 ancient authorities are not agreed." * The Orthodox Church in the East and the Catholic Church in the West eventually came to adopt the day without much contradiction.

Has not Christmas been corrupted by other elements? In a word-Yes. "Several non-Christian elements have crept into the observance of Christmas. The use of lighted tapers reminds us of the Jewish feast of purification. The giving of presents was a Roman custom, whereas the Yule tree and the Yule log are remnants of old Teutonic worship."* In addition, the modern materialistic interpretation and exploitation of the day has left a clouded view of the birth date of Jesus at best.

I remember celebrating our first Christmas in Austria. (Yes, it is the home of 'Silent Night.') We lived in a little town called in English Chicken Village. It had about 3,000 inhabitants and we were the only Americans living in the town. It was a great event when we erected our tree early in December. Why? The custom in Austria was to erect the tree on December 24 with real candles being lit. Imagine the shock of the town when our tree with electric lights appeared in our second story huge living room window. The townspeople came out in droves to look.

Christ's birth was not being celebrated . . . the Mundis' early tree and electrical display was being celebrated.

Years have passed, and some customs have changed, and some celebrations have been short-lived. Fortunately the Christ of Christmas is still being celebrated in spite of the aberrations and corruption of society and well-meaning people.

I pray that this Christ who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, sits on his throne in heaven and will soon return, will be your strength and hope during this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

Greg Mundis

AGWM Europe Regional Director

*Unger's Dictionary

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