When I was in my third year of studies at the University of Costa Rica, I took my first course in classical Greek, for which we had a grammar book and a book of exercises or practices. Towards the end of the semester, the book of exercises presented us with a paragraph to translate that, for the first time, was not something composed for didactic purposes by the authors of the book, but a real text of ancient Greek literature. What surprised me was that this text was nothing less than a paragraph from the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 2. It was surprising because, in a classical Greek course at a secular university, the first thing we were asked to translate was a passage from the Gospel.
Of course, it is understandable that such a text was included, since the Greek in which the New Testament was written (the so-called Koine Greek, from the last few centuries of antiquity) is considerably simpler than the classical Greek of the philosophers and poets, and therefore more accessible to students taking a first course in Greek. Still, this passage was proof and testimony that the culture of our time, however much it may boast of being totally secular, cannot, if it is honest, rid itself of the Christian heritage that gave it its origin and foundation. And this is especially the case with a passage like this, whose content makes it clear that the birth of Jesus Christ has consequences for all humanity and for all time. The passage is as follows:
In that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!”
Luke 2:8–14
What is the true meaning of Christmas?
I’m not intending here to give an in-depth analysis of the passage, although I would love to do so. I’d just like to mention two details that caught my attention when I reflected on this passage: When the angel calls the Messiah “Lord,” he is clearly making an affirmation of Christ’s divinity. And then at the end of the angel’s address, he literally says “peace among men” and not “peace to men” as we have learned to say. These two details could also be the subject of extensive commentary. But what I mainly want to focus on here is the core of the angel’s announcement: “Today a Savior has been born to you.”
What we celebrate at Christmas is precisely this event: that “a Savior has been born to us today.” This is the “great joy” that has been announced to us. In the original Greek text, the angel literally says: “I am evangelizing you with a message of great joy.” Indeed, this great joy is the good news of the Gospel. It is the best news that humanity could possibly receive: A Savior has been born to us today, and that Savior is the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ; he is God made man.
Some misconceptions of Christmas
Without going into the much-discussed topic of the commercialization of Christmas, I want to briefly review three things that are frequently said in our time and that, even if they are said with good intentions, end up weakening or distorting the true meaning of Christmas. Many people define Christmas as “Jesus’ birthday.” Other speak of “the magic of Christmas” or simply “feeling the magic” – even without using the word “Christmas.” It is also common to pray that “Christ be born in our hearts” or “in your heart.”
Saying that Christmas is “Jesus’ birthday” might be fine for a very young child who is just learning to talk, or a one or two-year old who has attended a birthday party of a sibling, cousin, or friend. But very soon (say, shortly after a child’s third birthday) we will have to help young children broaden the meaning of what we celebrate at Christmas, and help them discover that the meaning is much deeper. If a child sticks with this reductionist idea of Christmas, in a few years the time will come when he or she will completely discard the birthday and even the “Birthday Boy,” similar to how children as they grow discard the idea that there is a small animal or “tooth fairy” who brings them a gift when a tooth falls out. The same happens for belief in a Santa Claus dressed up in red or three Wise Men who bring presents each year at Christmas time. Because after all, what is a birthday? What is the birthday of a friend or a cousin, or his or her own? It’s remembering a date from the past, which by repeating and accumulating makes the person bigger or older, and nothing more. If that’s what happens with Jesus, why should everyone want to celebrate his birthday throughout the course of human history? What is so special about people all over the world celebrating Christmas as the birthday of someone named Jesus who lived so many centuries ago?
Something similar happens with the idea of “the magic of Christmas.” A “magic like event” filled with festive decorations and customs – like a Christmas tree with bright lights and ornaments, Christmas music and carols, special celebrations, meals and lots of sweet goodies to eat, and the bustle of people buying gifts, hosting parties, exchanging gifts with one another, etc. All of this certainly fosters a feeling of “excitement” and anticipation in children, and in many adults a vague romantic feeling that, depending on the case, can lead to emotional exaltation or melancholic sadness. It may not be inaccurate to call all of this the “magic” of Christmas. But reducing Christmas to “feeling the magic,” or even removing the word “Christmas” from it and simply replacing it with “magic,” ends up leaving us empty-handed. What comes next? Perhaps a kind of “hangover,” a feeling of having been celebrating something very intense but that does not change us at all and that forces us to very soon resume the routine and tedium of work, study and other occupations of life.
The situation is not improved by this exhortation or prayer, undoubtedly coined by a very well-meaning Christian, which asks that “Christ be born in our hearts.” Frankly, I think that this is a corny phrase that makes no sense from a Christian point of view. To begin with, it is based on the false assumption that every Christmas “Christ is born.” I remember how in my childhood my sister, and perhaps some cousins or uncles, used to say that on December 24th, “at 12 midnight the Christ Child is born.” As if Jesus was born every year! What nonsense! Jesus was born once, and that’s a fact. God the Son became man once, and that’s a fact. It’s not as if “Jesus is born” (again and again) every Christmas. Instead, Christmas consists of the recognition that Jesus was born some two thousand years ago, and we are celebrating that unique fact. The same happens during Holy Week and Easter and on all liturgical feasts. It is not that every Good Friday “Jesus dies on the cross,” but that we celebrate the historical and eternal reality of that unique time when he died on the cross.
Of course, celebrating is not simply remembering; it is not like commemorating Columbus Day. “Celebrating” in a liturgical and Christian sense involves contemplating, opening ourselves spiritually to that reality of salvation and allowing ourselves to be transformed by it, individually and communally. Secondly, this idea that “Christ is born in our hearts” is, yes, a truth – in a certain figurative sense – but it also happens only once, when we become Christians. To those who are not Christians, I can wish that Christ be born in their hearts, and then I evangelize them and pray for them. But if you are already a Christian, then it is because Christ has already been “born in your heart”; and if this hasn’t happened yet, then you should give your life to God and receive new life in Christ. For all these reasons, the idea that “Christ is born in our hearts” every year seems to me to be nonsense. It is better to say: “Have a very Merry Christmas and enjoy your holiday break.” And that’s it.
In short, each of these three statements mentioned above (without being totally false) can easily distort, weaken and reduce the meaning of Christmas.
Instead, the angel comes to us and says: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: for to you has been born today a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord!” Christmas is the major historical event that transforms the reality of the whole world and transforms our lives, if we open ourselves to receive this gift. It is news of great joy “for all the people”: the people of Israel, yes, but also all the nations of the earth, all the Gentiles. All human beings can benefit from this great joy, this great gift: For us a Savior has been born! As the angelic choir has already proclaimed, the birth of this Savior is what gives “glory to God in the highest.” Why? Because through this birth, the plan of love and salvation that God has always had for all humanity can now be fulfilled. It is through this birth that there can be “peace among men,” namely, that human beings can relate to one another in good order, in love, in respect, and in solidarity, and thus this plan of God can also be fulfilled in each one of us. All this is possible because the One born for us is a Savior, who is the Messiah, the anointed King, and who is also the Lord. In that birth, God himself became a human being, was born as one of us, and placed himself within our reach to save us from evil and sin, to impart to us the very life of God!
So Christmas is not simply a matter of commemorating a “birthday” or “feeling the magic” or “Christ being born in our hearts” (whatever that means). It is rather a matter of celebrating that transforming event that God has become man, that he has come to live among us to save us, and to bring us close to God. And as we have already said, celebrating, in the Christian sense, is much more than commemorating or remembering an event. It is rather appropriating that historical and spiritual reality, making it our own, “getting into” that event, that mystery, and making the most of what God has for us and can do in us. And if we truly appropriate that reality, if we immerse ourselves in that mystery of God made man, we will be able to thank God, praise him like the angels, give ourselves to him, worship him, obey him, live life as he wants us to live it. All of that is included in the act of celebrating.
So yes, let us celebrate, let us rejoice, let us give gifts, let us sing and dance, let us dine with the family, let us pray together, let us go to church, let us celebrate in community! Since the best news of great joy has been announced to us, let us worthily celebrate with the best we have to offer. A Savior has been born for us, who is Christ, the Lord, a great joy for all the people!
This article © by Carlos Alonso Vargas is an adapted English translation of the original Spanish version «Les ha nacido hoy un Salvador». See more essays by Carlos Alonso Vargas (in Spanish) on his website blog at https://carlosalonsovargas.medium.com/
Top image credit: The angel announces good news to the shepherds at Bethlehem, watercolor illustration by James Tissot, from the Brooklyn Museum, New York, USA. Image in the public domain.
Carlos Alonso Vargas is a long-time leader in The Sword of the Spirit, who has served mainly in teaching and community building. With studies in philology and linguistics, he works as a translator and editor. He and his wife Dora have three adult children and five grandchildren and live in San José, Costa Rica.