The ChristMaterialisation of Christmas & It's ChristLessness.

Was this part of meal plan guys?

Bah, Humbug! It's that time of the year again when we all flutter about like a brood of confused spent hens vying for attention from the only cockerel on the farm; flapping and fluffing about until the eggs are laid golden.
The bells are ringing, beckoning all from East to West,North and South: to shamelessly dip into our purse stream strings and unearth all it's worth to acquire earthly possessions for our loved ones in "remembrance and celebration" of  Christ's birth: born amongst cow and horse dung in a stable with a manger for a bed two thousand and ten years ago.(I went horse riding last year and apart from the excruciating pain felt in my thighs for striding a horse so long: the "radiating" smell from the stable was enough to make one week old rotten fishes smell like sweet roses).To imagine the Son of God starting life amongst such conditions: his first whiff of earthly air mixed with the perfume of  cow and donkey urine is in stark contrast to how Christians celebrate this period. (Probably the air in the stable wasn't so bad after the Three Wise Men visited with Myrrh & Frankincense. Did Mama Maria burn them later to neutralise odour? She possibly couldn't have without consulting Health & Safety regulations surrounding that period). Placing Jesus in a manger?...Did the cows moo, the sheep bleat and horses neigh at human interference on their meal plate? The wonders of The Almighty who started so lowly...


The shameless materialisation of Christmas by Christians have reduced the period which Christ's birth is commemorated into days of epicurean gluttonous activities with an eclectic mix of senseless shopping sprees indulged by both shopaholics and Christmas induce spenders who suffer from such yearly attacks in the run up to the festive period. I wonder what Christ thinks as he watches his flock take the main attention away from HIM to indulge in the  accumulation and adoration of earthly goods he spent his thirty years on earth admonishing them about? The sale bonanza frenzy,specially released limited edition Christmas toys,books,DVDs, Christmas special travel discounts; in fact the huge commercialisation of Christmas etc all serve in diverting attention away from the Mass celebration of Christ.


Of what symbol is the Christmas tree that adorns most christian homes this time of the year ? Over centuries, it has come to represent and symbolise Christmas. There are various stories circulating the world wide web as to its origins but non bear a particularly strong Christian hallmark with most sources being largely unverified. I have however picked on two stories for lack of time:
The Prophet Jeremiah forewarns against pagan practises of bringing trees into our homes adorning them with decorations. "This is what the LORD says: Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them.For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter." Jeremiah 10:2-4. Make what you wish of this.Given that I am by no means overtly religious as my sins could burn the Empire State building in a jiffy...I found this doubly interesting.

Abu Dubai - $11mlln tree decked in gold.

Another story traces it's use as far back as 722 AD, when St Boniface of Germany cut down an oak tree to interfere with a pagan sacrifice of a child and in its place grew a Fir tree. The Fir tree thus came to represent new life from God and his promise of eternal life.(If this were the case, shouldn't Christians have this Fir tree all year round?). I came to the conclusion that if Christians wished to  lovingly remember and celebrate the birth of Christianity's founder; perhaps a figurine of him laid in a manger in a stable surrounded by animals could be more apt and hold a much more religious significance? What better way to be reminded of His lowly start to life as we indulge in weeks of extravaganza. Figurines detailing such are usually found in churches. Christians are anything but lowly instead opting for the more glamorous version of huge Christmas trees decked in ostentatious ornamental pieces.Of course if you are in the dominant Muslim country of  Abu Dubai, you can currently find a $11million Christmas tree at the Emirates Palace Hotel.Trust Muslims to show these Christians how to enact true glamour during religious celebrations.


The birth of Christ which is meant to signify a religious celebration of hope,rebirth, renewal and God's promise to save the world with his own flesh and blood; has been reduced to mass commercialisation of human wants.It is all about the large scale materialisation of seasonal wants because the last thing on our minds as we flap about is the image of Christ starting his life among animal dung. It should be a reflective period for Christians to take in the enormity of God's message to his flock: the earthly  things we aspire for have no value in his kingdom. Humility should be the yard stick of measurement in our life.Humble beginnings make great endings. Alack! the word humility amongst Christians during this period is as remotely foreign as an ipad to Bushmen in the Kalahari desert.
It isn't Christmas anymore: it is a conglomeration of sales institutions who come together to mark the end of the year whether triumphant or not: by releasing new materials(Exclusive only Christmas items) and getting rid of the old(Sales!sales!sales!) in accordance with the human "scripture" of feeble wants and unsatisfactory acquisition of earthly goods which have no connection to what Christmas is meant to be: The reflection of the birth of the Son of God who was made man; conceived by the Holy Spirit- born of a Virgin in a stable-laid in a manger amongst animals and who from such humble beginnings; saved you, me and the whole world.