"This interesting day, crowned with the history of Truth's idea, —its earthly advent and nativity,—is especially dear to the heart of Christian Scientists; to whom Christ's appearing in a fuller sense is so precious, and fraught with divine benedictions for mankind."

As I pondered these words of Mrs. Eddy in her article entitled "Christmas" found in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 120), I was reminded of how much more spiritually significant Christmas is to me now than it was before I became a student of Christian Science. This fuller sense of Christmas has appeared to students of this religion the world over. They are glimpsing something of the same light which, nearly two thousand years ago, shone from the Bethlehem star and guided the Wisemen to where the young child lay.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, who demonstrated the Christ in such full measure. To Jesus, matter was but a lie of the carnal mind, and to him nothing that material sense portrayed was ever real. The healings he performed were all evidence of the Christ's infinite possibilities.

That these possibilities are here with us now is being realized daily by students of the Christ Science, who are proving for themselves the great potential of Jesus' promise (John 14:12), "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."

At this season of the year, when so much stress is laid on material gift giving, rituals, and festivities, it would be well to ask oneself, "What does Christmas really mean to me?"

We can give more heed to what our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, says it means to her (Miscellany, p. 262), "Christmas to me is the reminder of God's great gift,—His spiritual idea, man and the universe.—a gift which so transcends mortal, material, sensual giving that the merriment, mad ambition, rivalry, and ritual of our common Christmas seem a human mockery in mimicry of the real worship in commemoration of Christ's coming."

A troubled young mother who had been studying Christian Science but a short while called on a Christian Science practitioner. This mother said another student of this religion had told her it was wrong to teach her child to believe in Santa Claus, but the mother felt she would be robbing her child of one of the greatest of childhood joys to discontinue this tradition.

The practitioner asked her what it is that we are really supposed to celebrate at Christmas. She answered that it was the birth of Christ Jesus, after which the practitioner replied, "Then how can you possibly associate the birth of the one who brought the Christ, Truth, to mankind with a myth, or a lie?" She told this young mother to go home and study all that Mrs. Eddy has to say in her various writings about Christmas.

After doing this, the mother began to realize how wrong it would be to teach her child anything but the true sense of Christmas. She learned through further research that the tradition of gift giving during Christmas had nothing to do with the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh which the Magi took to the infant Jesus. In the East in those days it was the custom to approach rulers of countries with costly gifts.

There is nothing wrong with giving gifts any time of the year, provided they are given through love, generosity, and goodwill; but if they are given at Christmastime, they serve as a reminder of "God's great gift."

I recall a healing which I received during the Christmas holidays several years ago. It served as an early reminder in my study of Christian Science that the eternal Christ is with us today as in Jesus' day.

My family and I were at the time experiencing a limited sense of income, and as Christmas drew near we began to wonder where we were going to get the necessary funds to finance a trip into another state where we had planned to spend the holidays with loved ones. I was a new student of Christian Science, but I knew that God provides necessary means when there is a right motive and a proper application of the truths of Science, which we were learning.

After I had spent several days in study and prayer, divine Love's provision came to us in such an unusual and wonderful way that it seemed almost as miraculous to us then as it must have seemed to Peter, when he obtained money from a fish's mouth. How grateful and close to our heavenly Father I felt! I was so spiritually uplifted by this demonstration of the Christ, Truth, that Christmas began to take on a new meaning for me. Its real significance was appearing, for I truly felt that the Christ was being born in my consciousness.

In the midst of the hustle of our holiday preparation, when so much is made of the mere symbols of Christmas, may we see that evil does not deprive us of our time for praying to know that matter, with all of its mesmeric enticements and mortal disillusionments, does not take precedence over Spirit.

We can best celebrate Christmas by becoming more aware of the presence of the eternal "Christ," which Mrs. Eddy defines on page 583 of Science and Health as, "The divine manifestation of God, which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." And we become aware of the Christ as we exchange false material beliefs for spiritual ideas.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and cometh down from the Father
of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.—James 1:17.