Christmas Day is celebrated on the 25th December by Christians alongside people from other faiths, excluding cultures which traditionally celebrate Christmas on varying dates. Christmas is a festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, who was the son of the Virgin Mary and Joseph. Mary lived in the town of Nazareth and was engaged to Joseph, before becoming pregnant by the power of God. Later, Caesar Augustus (the ruler of the land) wanted to count how many people covered each land therefore instructed everyone to travel back to their own land. This meant that Joseph and Mary had to travel back to where Joseph lived- Bethlehem (City in Judea and ruled by King Herod), and search for a place to stay, which was strenuous. Whomever Joseph and Mary had encountered offered no place for them to stay for the night therefore, they rested in a barn where Mary gave birth to baby Jesus. Mary wrapped Jesus warm and placed him in a manger. Meanwhile, the three wise men noticed a star, brighter than usual and followed it assuming a great king had been born. This sparkling star had caught the attention of many others as well which brought fear and terror among them; an angel comforted them stating “don’t be afraid, I bring good news for you and all people. The messiah, your saviour is born this very day”. After a very long time, the wise men arrived at Jerusalem calling out ‘where is the new born king of the Jews?’ however no one knew where Jesus was. King Herod (the ‘king’ of Jews) was bothered with the birth of a new threat, a king who could replace him. King Herod instructed the three wise men to search for Jesus in the town of Bethlehem and to inform him so that he could also worship and praise him, however in reality wanted this threat killed. When the three wise men stepped into the barn and saw Jesus, they fell to the ground worshipping him with all of their heart. They presented him with costly gifts, fit for a king such as Gold, Myrrh and Frankincense. Afterwards, Joseph and the three kings were warned by God in their dream that King Herod intended to kill the Messiah which meant that God led them out of Bethlehem safely. As Jesus grew up, he raised the sick, healed the wounded and fed the hungry. For this reason, stars are placed at the top of our Christmas trees to remind us about the importance of Jesus to God and the world, for a powerful star shone in his coming. We give presents to one another as the three wise men gave to Jesus, revealing the importance of giving and sharing and; we keep faith that God will guide us the right way, just as God directed Jesus away from Herod by appearing in a dream.
