The spirit of Christmas is upon the world once again with the people shopping for gifts, the stores full of Christmas Carols, and parties in every corner. It is a time to give and receive gifts as a spirit of friendship as well as an attempt to renew old friendships and reconnect with long lost family members.
It is easy to forget the true meaning of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus Christ. The time has come to tell the Christmas Story as a way to reinforce the reason people celebrate or should celebrate Christmas
On a cold night which is now Christmas Eve, the Baby Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph. It was not an easy first Christmas since Israel was part of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire as a result of a friendship treaty between the Jews and the Romans.
The Romans installed puppet governments such as Herod in the area of Israel and there were the religious leaders of the day who obeyed the conquerors of the day.Joseph and Mary [with Baby Jesus inside her womb] had to go to Bethlehem to be registered in the Roman census. They were unable to find a room at any inn and ended being housed in a stable. If this was occurring in our time, it is possible that we would have told Joseph and Mary: «There is no room at the house or inn».
In the background, there were Three Kings who were wise and they saw a star in their palaces. The star was a glimmer but the Three Kings [one from Ethiopia, one from Azerbaijian, and one from China] prepared their guards and gifts for the newborn King.
The Three Kings proceeded to follow the star by what their astronomers told them. We can imagine the difficult trek that the Three Kings from China and Azerbaijan took via the Silk Road. We can also imagine the King from Ethiopia in the difficult task of crossing what was to be modern day Saudi Arabia in search of the star. We can only imagine the thieves and terrorists of the time attempting to sabotage their way to the end of the star.
The Three Kings finally united in what was Jerusalem and decided to visit King Herod to ask of the star and the newborn king. Who could imagine the reaction of King Herod and his court of corrupt thugs ready to kill the newborn king? The people say that they will not be like King Herod yet the hearts of today’s humanity is the same as when Herod reigned in Israel.
When the Kings arrived and left their gifts for Baby Jesus, they returned to their countries via another way or did they is a question that will be left unanswered. Joseph, Jesus, and Mary went to exile in Egypt because King Herod decided to kill Jesus. Instead, Herod killed all babies less than two years old.
The end result was that Christmas is celebrated for the birth of Jesus Christ to save humanity from the powers of Satan and bring the people to new life or as the verse from «God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen» and «comfort and joy».
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 