Article December 22, 1956 Issue

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS?

ELIZABETH S. KENNELLY

Christmas marks the coming of him whose human birth ushered in the Christian era. To many, it is a day of festivity celebrated by family gatherings and the giving of gifts, commemorating the gifts brought by the Wisemen to the Bethlehem babe. Weeks spent in preparation and expectations sometimes terminate in as much unhappiness as joy because of unfulfilled human desires. These disappointments originate in a misconception of the true meaning of Christmas.

To the Christian Scientist, Christmas is more than a day of celebration. It is an inner conviction of the ever-presence of Christ. It is the understanding and acceptance of the presence and reality of good only. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 260), "In Christian Science, Christmas stands for the real, the absolute and eternal,—for the things of Spirit, not of matter."

The Virgin-mother's understanding of God as the Father of man made possible Jesus' advent in the flesh as the Messiah or Saviour of the world. He became known as Christ Jesus because he brought to light the Christly healing power of God. He promised that the Father would send another Comforter, which was to abide with us forever and lead us into all truth. The appearance of this Comforter was made possible in our age because of the purity and spiritual-mindedness of Mrs. Eddy. To her was revealed the motherhood of God and the completely incorporeal, spiritual nature of the Christ, God's spiritual ideal. In its second coming, the Christ appeared as the Comforter, made manifest to a waiting world as Christian Science.

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