By Dickson Tumuramye
OPINION | The end of the month of December always comes with a lot of expectations for merry making. During this season, that is where most people lost in towns remember to check on their people back in the villages. That is when churches are filled to the capacity with people remembering to thank their creator for keeping them.
Of course others do it for the sake of just going to church because the day is understood to be a Christian day to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
A lot of shopping, savings, clean-ups, sorting all the mess in the house, gift sharing, putting up Christmas trees and other more things are done. Most Christians look forward to this festive season to celebrate with their families in a very special way. And indeed it is very good to celebrate and have good moments with your loved ones that you have taken long without interacting with.
However, much as we like to celebrate this day, many people are so much absorbed into merry-making than the incense of the day. Christmas Day as we all know it is a public holiday in many of the world’s nations, celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it. The day is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born. His birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event.
The bible in Isaiah 9:6 tells us “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…” and we know that this Son of God came to save mankind from their sins (1Timothy 1:15). Therefore whoever believes in Him will never perish but have an everlasting/eternal life (John 3:16).
Unfortunately, during this festive season, a lot of bad things happen. These include high rates of criminality especially in urban centres, too much drinking and hanging out in ungodly manner. If you are a father and have failed to buy meat or new clothes for your children, things may turn against you.
It is good to enjoy this day and have all fun. After all, it comes once in a year and gives us the opportunity to connect with our friends, relatives, village mates, neighbors and brings us close to one another. But to our children, let them know that it is not a day to mess up themselves, go boozing, sneak out of the house, sleep around among others all in the name of celebrating Christmas.
The repercussions from that one day of extreme excitement can lead to life-time scars which can leave him/her shattered down. Let us focus on using this day to teach to our children about love for mankind, forgiveness, doing justice for others, good governance, sharing with those who are in need, reaching out to the elderly and hopeless. May this be a season where family members can reconcile with each so that there is everlasting peace in their lives.
I believe this is what makes the joy of Christmas fulfilled in our families. As Christians, let us use this opportunity to bring Christ as a son of God in our lives as our Lord and Saviour. It is a time you should not miss to go to any church near you. Let them know that unless one is not born again, he will never see the kingdom of God.
God cannot protect you for all these years and you fail to find this one day to thank him for the far he has brought you. Let us all enjoy in a very fruitful and responsible way which will not bring us back to January 2019 with only regrettable incidences.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2019
The writer is a child advocate and a counselor based Kampala, Uganda.
