Sunday, Nov 24 2024  

THE MAGIC OF CHRISTMAS - 27 DECEMBER 2004

Our Humble Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Swami.

Sai Ram uncles, aunties, brothers & sisters. I am Sharmini from Group 4 and my topic for today is, "The Magic of Christmas".

The Christmas season is a time of great joy. Children like to get gifts from Santa Claus. Many of us forget that Christmas is not only about collecting gifts. Today I would like to tell you the true reason why we celebrate Christmas, what Swami says about Christmas and how we should all celebrate Christmas the right way.

Christmas is celebrated on the 25 th of December when Lord Jesus Christ was born. That night, Mother Mary and Father Joseph stopped to rest from their journey in an animal shed. It was in this animal shed that Lord Jesus was born. At the time of his birth, the stars were shining so brightly. Angels visited him to provide him with gifts. The Gods in Heaven were so happy that they even sent three shepherds to pass the message that the new King was born. During Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Lord Jesus and must remember him for his teachings.

Many people nowadays use Christmas as an excuse to have a party, receive gifts, take a day off from work, spend money and overeat. Swami said that it is not right to celebrate Christ's birthday in this way. He says that the lessons taught by Jesus should be put into practice. Lord Jesus taught people many lessons through His many teachings. One of the teachings that I want to share with you today is a lesson I learnt from the life of Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus was determined to make the giving and sharing of Love his main objective in life. He met with many obstacles. Christ considered a true man to be one who could face many obstacles and still move forward in life. He was a living example for all of us. From this I have learnt that no matter what difficulties we face in life, we must believe that we can overcome it with God's Grace.

Christmas serves as a reminder that we should show love to people around us and practice it throughout the year. Lord Jesus declared that there is nothing great about returning good for good. We should do good to even those that have harmed us. I would like to share a personal experience to illustrate this point. Two years ago, my best friend and I had a misunderstanding. Unfortunately, it affected our friendship. I tried my best to apologize to her but it did not help. After a while, I decided not to interfere in her life anymore but it hurt me a lot to see her in school everyday and yet could not talk to her. On her birthday, I wanted to do something special for her without her knowing. So I organized a party for her. The party was a success and she was very happy. I was glad that I was able to make her smile even though she did not know who had organized the party.

With this I would like to end my talk by asking you to think about how you would like to brighten up someone's day and share the magic of Christmas. Call them and wish them a Happy Christmas. I'm sure you will make that person and yourself smile!

Jai Sai Ram

Sis Sharminee
SSEHV Group 4