Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas All,
And what does that mean? I've been hearing a lot about how Jesus wasn't really born at winter solstace and Christmas is just a made-up holiday and the "true meaning" of Christmas is: _________. Yes, I know that Easter (another holiday with a name stolen from a pagan festival) is the true high holy week of the calendar. But Christmas is HOPE. We sing many Christmas carols that tell many different faces of the celebration of Christ's birth. Easter is even more complicated and includes the death of that baby of hope. Christmas was the start on earth of God's new covenant of peace. Easter put the seal on it.

However you chose to celebrate it, may the darkest days of the year be lit with love. O Come, O come Immanuel!

This has been quite a year, but God was leading all the way.