This website is being maintained
in memory of Tom Hennessy
who
made the site possible
DECEMBER
“RE-PRINT FROM DECEMBER 2016”
The Meaning of Christmas
by Connie Riter
What is the true meaning of Christmas? It is a question heard often during this season, year after
year. It seems a little strange, that as popular as this holiday is, we should continually have to ask
this question. Perhaps we do this so we DON’T lose the answer in the shuffle of our daily lives. We
search for the true meaning of Christmas amid the sentimentality, the comfortable traditions, the
frantic Christmas sales and Santa-dressed bell ringers. These are important, but they do not hold
the answer. Certainly we can immediately say that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, but exactly why is that fact so significant?
How should the meaning of Christmas impact our daily lives?
From ancient times, people celebrated this season of the year as a rebirth and a return to light. The
days will soon be getting longer – a new year is beginning. Hanukkah, the corresponding Jewish
holiday is known as the “festival of lights.” Hanukkah is celebrated this year from December 6 – 14.
It is an 8-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the
Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC. While many family traditions abound with this holiday,
the principal symbol is the Menorah, a 9 branched candleholder. One light is added each night until
they are all lit on the 8th day. The 9th candle is used to light the others each day. In Christianity, the
birth of Christ perhaps can also be a symbol of our own rebirth as messengers of the “light of the
world.”
As children we were caught up in the excitement of waiting for Christmas to come—counting the
days before Christmas vacation, searching for the perfect Christmas tree, waiting to open all our presents, enjoying special times with
family and friends—JOY abounded. But as the Christmases come
and go, this can become a very difficult season for many people, a sad and lonely time. Someone
said to me last week, “I can’t wait until the holidays are over.” Families are separated, family members may have died, the wonderful
memories of past Christmases can increase the loneliness, and
even seeing other people enjoying themselves, in person or on TV, can increase the sadness.
There are some people who cope by “getting away” on a trip at this time. Perhaps we can try to
make everyone we meet happier because they have met us.
Each of us, I am sure, feels a little apprehension as a new year begins. Will it be better than the
last? Will my health return? Will my family members be safe and well? Will we ever be at peace in
the world? Will we ever defeat Isis? A somewhat unknown Christmas carol (written during WWII)
continues to haunt my memory with its prophetic lyrics: “Through the sounds of war and woe, our
hearts will still be singing…” There is hope, there is joy, there is love encompassed in a babe so
long ago. Let us try to help one another not to explain the meaning of Christmas, but to live it in our
daily lives. Let us be personal messengers of light and love.
IT'S COMING.
BE PREPARED
in memory of Tom Hennessy who
made the site possible
DECEMBER
“RE-PRINT FROM DECEMBER 2016”
The Meaning of Christmas
by Connie Riter
What is the true meaning of Christmas? It is a question heard often during this season, year after
year. It seems a little strange, that as popular as this holiday is, we should continually have to ask
this question. Perhaps we do this so we DON’T lose the answer in the shuffle of our daily lives. We
search for the true meaning of Christmas amid the sentimentality, the comfortable traditions, the
frantic Christmas sales and Santa-dressed bell ringers. These are important, but they do not hold
the answer. Certainly we can immediately say that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, but exactly why is that fact so significant?
How should the meaning of Christmas impact our daily lives?
From ancient times, people celebrated this season of the year as a rebirth and a return to light. The
days will soon be getting longer – a new year is beginning. Hanukkah, the corresponding Jewish
holiday is known as the “festival of lights.” Hanukkah is celebrated this year from December 6 – 14.
It is an 8-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the
Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC. While many family traditions abound with this holiday,
the principal symbol is the Menorah, a 9 branched candleholder. One light is added each night until
they are all lit on the 8th day. The 9th candle is used to light the others each day. In Christianity, the
birth of Christ perhaps can also be a symbol of our own rebirth as messengers of the “light of the
world.”
As children we were caught up in the excitement of waiting for Christmas to come—counting the
days before Christmas vacation, searching for the perfect Christmas tree, waiting to open all our presents, enjoying special times with
family and friends—JOY abounded. But as the Christmases come
and go, this can become a very difficult season for many people, a sad and lonely time. Someone
said to me last week, “I can’t wait until the holidays are over.” Families are separated, family members may have died, the wonderful
memories of past Christmases can increase the loneliness, and
even seeing other people enjoying themselves, in person or on TV, can increase the sadness.
There are some people who cope by “getting away” on a trip at this time. Perhaps we can try to
make everyone we meet happier because they have met us.
Each of us, I am sure, feels a little apprehension as a new year begins. Will it be better than the
last? Will my health return? Will my family members be safe and well? Will we ever be at peace in
the world? Will we ever defeat Isis? A somewhat unknown Christmas carol (written during WWII)
continues to haunt my memory with its prophetic lyrics: “Through the sounds of war and woe, our
hearts will still be singing…” There is hope, there is joy, there is love encompassed in a babe so
long ago. Let us try to help one another not to explain the meaning of Christmas, but to live it in our
daily lives. Let us be personal messengers of light and love.
IT'S COMING.
BE PREPARED
“RE-PRINT FROM DECEMBER 2016”
The Meaning of Christmas
by Connie Riter
What is the true meaning of Christmas? It is a question heard often during this season, year after year. It seems a little strange, that as popular as this holiday is, we should continually have to ask this question. Perhaps we do this so we DON’T lose the answer in the shuffle of our daily lives. We search for the true meaning of Christmas amid the sentimentality, the comfortable traditions, the frantic Christmas sales and Santa-dressed bell ringers. These are important, but they do not hold the answer. Certainly we can immediately say that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, but exactly why is that fact so significant? How should the meaning of Christmas impact our daily lives? From ancient times, people celebrated this season of the year as a rebirth and a return to light. The days will soon be getting longer – a new year is beginning. Hanukkah, the corresponding Jewish holiday is known as the “festival of lights.” Hanukkah is celebrated this year from December 6 – 14. It is an 8-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC. While many family traditions abound with this holiday, the principal symbol is the Menorah, a 9 branched candleholder. One light is added each night until they are all lit on the 8th day. The 9th candle is used to light the others each day. In Christianity, the birth of Christ perhaps can also be a symbol of our own rebirth as messengers of the “light of the world.” As children we were caught up in the excitement of waiting for Christmas to come—counting the days before Christmas vacation, searching for the perfect Christmas tree, waiting to open all our presents, enjoying special times with family and friends—JOY abounded. But as the Christmases come and go, this can become a very difficult season for many people, a sad and lonely time. Someone said to me last week, “I can’t wait until the holidays are over.” Families are separated, family members may have died, the wonderful memories of past Christmases can increase the loneliness, and even seeing other people enjoying themselves, in person or on TV, can increase the sadness. There are some people who cope by “getting away” on a trip at this time. Perhaps we can try to make everyone we meet happier because they have met us. Each of us, I am sure, feels a little apprehension as a new year begins. Will it be better than the last? Will my health return? Will my family members be safe and well? Will we ever be at peace in the world? Will we ever defeat Isis? A somewhat unknown Christmas carol (written during WWII) continues to haunt my memory with its prophetic lyrics: “Through the sounds of war and woe, our hearts will still be singing…” There is hope, there is joy, there is love encompassed in a babe so long ago. Let us try to help one another not to explain the meaning of Christmas, but to live it in our daily lives. Let us be personal messengers of light and love.
by Connie Riter
What is the true meaning of Christmas? It is a question heard often during this season, year after year. It seems a little strange, that as popular as this holiday is, we should continually have to ask this question. Perhaps we do this so we DON’T lose the answer in the shuffle of our daily lives. We search for the true meaning of Christmas amid the sentimentality, the comfortable traditions, the frantic Christmas sales and Santa-dressed bell ringers. These are important, but they do not hold the answer. Certainly we can immediately say that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, but exactly why is that fact so significant? How should the meaning of Christmas impact our daily lives? From ancient times, people celebrated this season of the year as a rebirth and a return to light. The days will soon be getting longer – a new year is beginning. Hanukkah, the corresponding Jewish holiday is known as the “festival of lights.” Hanukkah is celebrated this year from December 6 – 14. It is an 8-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt in the second century BC. While many family traditions abound with this holiday, the principal symbol is the Menorah, a 9 branched candleholder. One light is added each night until they are all lit on the 8th day. The 9th candle is used to light the others each day. In Christianity, the birth of Christ perhaps can also be a symbol of our own rebirth as messengers of the “light of the world.” As children we were caught up in the excitement of waiting for Christmas to come—counting the days before Christmas vacation, searching for the perfect Christmas tree, waiting to open all our presents, enjoying special times with family and friends—JOY abounded. But as the Christmases come and go, this can become a very difficult season for many people, a sad and lonely time. Someone said to me last week, “I can’t wait until the holidays are over.” Families are separated, family members may have died, the wonderful memories of past Christmases can increase the loneliness, and even seeing other people enjoying themselves, in person or on TV, can increase the sadness. There are some people who cope by “getting away” on a trip at this time. Perhaps we can try to make everyone we meet happier because they have met us. Each of us, I am sure, feels a little apprehension as a new year begins. Will it be better than the last? Will my health return? Will my family members be safe and well? Will we ever be at peace in the world? Will we ever defeat Isis? A somewhat unknown Christmas carol (written during WWII) continues to haunt my memory with its prophetic lyrics: “Through the sounds of war and woe, our hearts will still be singing…” There is hope, there is joy, there is love encompassed in a babe so long ago. Let us try to help one another not to explain the meaning of Christmas, but to live it in our daily lives. Let us be personal messengers of light and love.
BE PREPARED