People all over the world, even non-Christians celebrate Christmas. Giving gifts, overeating good food and spending time together with loved ones, is what people do at Christmas. Of course, many people go to Church and observe the religious aspects of Christmas also.

Photo Credit: Phaedra Wilkinson

The commercial aspect of Christmas is so overwhelming that often the deeper meaning of Christmas seems lost. Is Christmas a socio-cultural event or does it have a religious or spiritual message? The buying and selling of Christmasware all over the world drives economies, produces jobs for millions of people in places like China and Vietnam, where there are few practising Christians. Most of the Christmasware consumed all over the planet is made in China, where 25th December is not even a holiday.

There is an astonishing variety of Christmas customs from Australia to Norway, from Tahiti to Canada. Yet globalization has standardized commercial Christmas products. Cheap Made in China Christmasware has flooded the markets everywhere.

Christmas is a major annual festival affecting the lives of about 3-5 billion people all over the globe. It is a holiday in many countries of the world, excepting a few like China, Iran, Japan, North Korea and Afghanistan. Even in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 25th December is a national holiday (officially to celebrate the birthday of Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan). Christmas is actually forbidden in North Korea. In the UK, Christmas was abolished from 1647 to 1660. In the USA, the Puritans made Christmas illegal in Boston from 1659 to 1681. In Russia, Christmas was also banned from 1917 to 1992.

Christians Who Do Not Celebrate Christmas

Christmas is said to have originated from the pagan Roman Saturnalia feast. Christmas means entirely different things to different Christian faiths. The Jehovah’s Witnesses do not celebrate Christmas at all. The Mormons celebrate Christmas though they believe that the actual birthday of Jesus was April 6th.

Instead of feasting, the Amish people in the USA actually fast, meditate and pray during Christmas day.

In Israel, a Jewish state, where Christmas is not a holiday, over 350 000 Jews belonging to Messianic Judaism celebrate Christmas as the birthday of their Messiah. The Russians celebrate Christmas according to the old Julian calendar, on 7th January.

Two Aspects of Every Religion

Every religion has two aspects: an exoteric aspect, which focuses on traditions, observance of rituals, social structures and communal activities etc. The second aspect of every religion is esoteric. This is the hidden message, the deeper significance and attempts to answer existential questions.

In all Christian traditions Jesus spoke of love and spiritual life as being more important than money, power, recognition. An opening of the heart or a spiritual awakening is shown as the way of becoming a happier, better person and reaching heaven. Jesus’s actions support this choice by showing a joyful and willing participation in the sorrows of the world. Going to the cross voluntarily, liked a bridegroom going to the bride shows an acceptance of life without judgement, lived by higher principles of love, honesty and truth.

So, the hidden message of Christmas is really is about a spiritual birth in each person rather than a historical birth a long time ago.

Is spiritual birth different from biological birth?

Photo credit: Ajay Kumar Singh

As far as we know, no one remembers asking to be born. Spiritual birth, however, requires a wilful commitment, a desire to grow beyond one’s tiny ego. When this spiritual birth happens, strict external observance of rituals becomes secondary and the esoteric aspect of the spiritual path takes on a new meaning. The darkest day of the winter solstice is over and we move towards the light of redemption and atonement (at-one-ment).

In fact, this is the common ground of all religions. A person who experiences a spiritual birth becomes more than just a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Sikh or a Mormon.