Our culture has had a rich heritage of celebration at Christmas. Traditions spring out of giving and love. Many of the carols sung are a proclamation to the whole world of joy and peace, which is usually “music to the ears” of conflict weary folk.

A Newsweek poll of 1,009 adults found that 79 percent believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. The poll also found 67 percent affirm as historically accurate the entire Christmas story, and 82 percent believe Jesus Christ is God and/or the Son of God.

Another poll reports that 96 percent of Americans celebrate Christmas.

There’s so much to say about the depth of Christmas. There’s so much misunderstanding and so little time taken to just talk about it. There’s so much to discuss about legalities, and we are so tired of conflict of many kinds. Check out the Truth About Religious Expression at Christmastime at www.telladf.org/christmas.

Recently, I was at a meeting where an ISU faculty member was asking whether she could say, Merry Christmas. “Wow …We’re not in China,” I thought. Which reminded me of what is going on in China. Christians, especially pastors, are being imprisoned for their faith. Part of their labor is making Christmas lights 20 hours per day.

Most of the lights are being sent with a prayer that we would remember them.

For believers in the United States, I believe that singing Christmas carols together can express much of the sincere joy that we have in the hope of the Christ child. We sing not because we have a right to, but be cause it truly expresses the message.

As fireworks are to July 4, so are the carols of Christmas to this season. We sing because God has come in the form of love, not to condemn us, but to forgive us of our sin and to be enabled to forgive those who sin against us.

Lori Adams

Member

Christian Educators Network