The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah is a festival of lights. It celebrates standing up for what you believe in and not remaining silent in the face of oppression. The most repeated symbol for God’s activity in the Bible is light. The lighting of the nine Menorah candles signifies the victory of religious freedom bringing a sense of hope. Blessings recited express belief in miracles, appreciation and the spirit of giving. One Buddhist holy day celebrates the birthdays of Buddha born 2500 years ago. His birthday is known as “Enlightenment Day.” Muhammad founded Islam which means submission to God. Muslim holidays celebrate Muhammad’s miraculous journey and his Divine words which simply mean “there is no god but God.” Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, “the anointed one.” Metaphysically, Christ is man’s highest self, the spirit within. Santa represents man’s desire to believe that there lives a spirit inside and in the world that is kind, generous, selfless, and leaves no one out.

We decorate with lights in celebration of the imagination which doesn’t depend on the things we have, instead the things we have depend on it. Christmas gives us the faith that life doesn’t have to be a “humdrum” experience, but is capable of unbelievable wonder.  James Dillard Freeman wrote a story called, “The Woman Who Learned to Love Christmas.” Much like Scrooge, she only saw the headaches, traffic jams, greed, overeating and commercialism in Christmas. Through a series of encounters with talking dolls, trees, characters in a manger and a ride with Santa through the human heart to deliver presents to the world, she awakens to the true meaning of Christmas.

The tree taught her to stay in the present and that the purpose of life isn’t to survive but to LIVE. Even though the tree’s life had been cut short, she’d been beautiful, admired, the center of great excitement and felt grateful to have become a Christmas tree instead of match sticks or yesterday’s newspaper. The plastic Santa came alive to teach her that before he was used to promote sales and entice customers, he represented the spirit of happiness and expectation for the children. The Holy Child in the manger told her that “Christmas is Spirit.” The virgin birth symbolizes the beautiful mystery that lies curled in the heart of All That Is- waiting to be born- the love that we are. The donkey reminded her that the only burden she had to bear is Love and “it’s not you who bears the love, it’s the love that bears you.” Joseph seemed to be the least important part of the story, but there are no unimportant parts. If the least didn’t do the little things that are theirs to do, great events would never take place. The star represents the light of truth, wonder- a light that may have not been seen before, but once seen, seems to be shining always. The wise men followed the star in search of the truth found everywhere in everything. We’ll always find it in our hearts.

The gifts we give without expecting anything in return don’t make us less, they make us more.  However we choose to celebrate the holiday season, let’s find our sense of wonder in the music, the hope and the joy all around us. Let’s let the spirit of love taught by all the great masters inspire us to shine our love in everything we think, say and do. Let’s pray for those who are fighting to find their peace and love within. Let’s celebrate our imaginations this holiday season, stretch our boundaries, and color outside the lines. Let’s wish each other a “Merry Christmas,” even if we don’t feel merry. Let’s believe that in the stable that is the human heart, God will always make an appearance. 

Please write to Dr. Sandy Islands at sandyislands@hawaii.rr.com and feel free to browse previous articles at www.sandyislands.com – publications.