Article December 15, 1951 Issue

"CHRISTMAS FOR THE CHILDREN"

WILLIAM MATTHEW COTTERILL

In "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," under the heading "Christmas for the Children," our beloved Leader, Mary Baker Eddy, writes (p. 261): "Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood. To mould aright the first impressions of innocence, aids in perpetuating purity and in unfolding the immortal model, man in His image and likeness."

Christian Scientists who are parents, and those who teach the children in our Sunday Schools, find it advisable to direct the thought of the children not only to the joyous story of the nativity, but also to the statement made by Luke (2:52), "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man," and to that made by Matthew (4:23), "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people."

Christmas for the children can be lifted higher than the pleasure and material gift giving which have become associated with Christmas festivities. Christmas comes to emphasize the appearing in human consciousness of the Christ, which Jesus taught and demonstrated. Children nurtured in Christian Science understand that Christ is the spirit of Truth reflected in Christ-like qualities, such as gentleness, kindness, and spiritual power, which were so much in evidence throughout the human life of Jesus. The truth which he demonstrated has been made available for the whole world through the teachings of Christian Science.

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