From My Desk

Christmas is by far the most popular and most widely celebrated festival in the 21st century. It is a Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. The word Christmas is a derivative of the old English words Cristes maesse - “Christ’s Mass”. The present spelling of Christmas probably came into use circa the 16th century. The celebration of Christmas on December 25th annually is traceable to approximately the 3 rd century. It is however unknown exactly when the celebration of Christmas began. Reasons for establishing December 25th as Christmas is fairly obscure but it is held by some church historians that the birth of Christ as “Light of the world” was made akin to the rebirth of the sun to make Christianity more meaningful to pagan converts. Christendom does not claim that Jesus Christ was born on December 25th. The exact date of Christ’s birth is unknown. In the scheme of things, this is inconsequential. Pastor Rick Warren, famed author of ‘The Purpose-Driven Life”...

Image source: www.chiarotino.com “We need to celebrate this Christmas. Jesus’ birth was – and is – good news of great joy” -Rick Warren (Pastor/Bible teacher/Best-selling author).               Christmas is derived from the old English words Cristes maesse, “Christ`s Mass”. Christmas is a Christian festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Present spelling of Christmas probably came into use around the 16 th century. It is arguably the most popular and most widely celebrated festival in the 21 st century. Though celebrated by a large segment of Christendom, it has been bastardized by a minority within the Christian fold and outside Christian circles. Chief among the most vociferous critics of Christmas is the religious group called the Jehovah`s Witnesses . Their antagonistic views regarding the celebration of Christmas will be considered since to a very large extent, their views represent that of man...