A story is told of a girl who was looking forward to her best Christmas ever. You see, her family was not rich. Her dad was a teacher and they had gotten used to the words, “we can’t afford it” This time, however, it was going to be different. Her family was for the first time going to take their first Christmas vacation ever and she and her two brothers were going to receive their dream Christmas presents! Moreover, they were going to this vacation spot with their first family car! Nothing could beat this. Unfortunately, their plans were not to be. On their way, they were involved in an accident. Her mother broke her legs and her small brother was not moving. The girl and her dad were the only ones who could move and she was the one to go seek help. As the little girl braved through it all, she realized, with a growing sense of urgency that nothing mattered apart from having her family around and in good health, for Christmas. The family eventually managed to get help and go to hospital. While in hospital, they got visited by a brotherhood who gave them company, gifts and a Christmas tree. According to the little girl, the tenth Christmas was her best of all time as she received the best Christmas gifts ever: - Kindness from the hospital visitors, a greater appreciation for life and family relationships, faith in her parents and faith in God. Others seem to agree.According to Pastor Andrew Mukinisha of Christian Life Assembly in Nyarutarama, the true meaning of Christmas is about commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. He elaborates by saying Christ’s birth, which was a fulfilment of Messianic prophecies, was unique and it happened, according to the Holy Bible, to bring hope and salvation to all mankind. “He came to preach the Good News to the poor, bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, release prisoners from darkness and to comfort all who mourn,” Mukinisha paraphrases from the Bible. Regarding how lots of people celebrate Christmas today, Pastor Charles Mugisha of New Life Bible Church in Kicukiro believes that it has been over-commercialised and that many have forgotten its true meaning. “Almost everything at this time has been commercialised. Many are more interested in showing off what they have gotten for Christmas while the poor get lonelier as they are unable to afford these comforts, which is quite opposite of the reason why Christ was born. ”Pastor Mugisha regards Christmas, a season when people should get to learn about the reason Christ came and respond to this Christ’s love by having a relationship with him. According to Pastor Mukinisha, people should use the Christmas season to reach out to the poor, comfort the mourning, be with the lonely and lift up the broken-hearted and share Christ’s love with all, as these were central to Christ’s missions on earth. Doing this means following the acts modelled by Christ and it spreads the true Christmas spirit as it was intended by Christ. J_kiregu@yahoo.com
