Editorial December 4, 1954 Issue

THE APPROACH TO CHRISTMAS

Harold Molter

With the approach of the Christmas season every student of Christian Science has the opportunity of contributing much to his growth spiritually as well as to the welfare of his fellow men. In recent years, as we all know, the true meaning of Christmas has been clouded by commercialism, the mad rush and fatigue of material activity, and the practice of mere gift giving. So great has become the emphasis on material things that in some communities the merchants themselves have adopted the slogan, "Put Christ back into Christmas."

The alert Christian Scientist does not become mesmerized by the rush and excitement which usually accompany the Christmas season. He begins to celebrate Christmas long before the day designated as the occasion of the Saviour's birth. In a statement entitled "Early Chimes, December, 1898," Mary Baker Eddy prepared the thought of her students for the season of the year by requesting that they send her no Christmas gifts. And then she added (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 256), "Thus may I close the door of mind on this subject, and open the volume of Life on the pure pages of impersonal presents, pleasures, achievements, and aid."

With this statement of our Leader's in thought Christian Scientists can perform a great service toward peaceful and joyful celebration not only of Christmas Day, but also of the period preceding and following this holiday. First, they should recognize that Christmas means more than the birth of a human babe. It represents the radiant appearing to mankind of the presence and power of God— the very nature of His being— through the pure consciousness of the Virgin-mother, and the Bethlehem babe. This appearing is Immanuel, "God with us," the Christ bringing to all mankind peace, good will, and the promise and fulfillment of salvation from all human ills.

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