First, let me shout, A blessed and Merry Christmas to all my Christian and non-Christian friends! And happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish friends!
Do you know that some of my Christian friends refuse to celebrate Christmas! Why? They said, that is not Jesus’ birthday! December was too cold for shepherds to be in the fields caring for sheep, so the birth could not have been this time of the year. So, they are not celebrating, that’s fine. I get it. But, they don’t stop there, they are trying to spoil it for everybody else based on this technicality.
I almost miss out on my own birthday based on the same technicality. My mother told me I was born in a given month on a particular day; I figured She must be right, because she was there. My birth was not a walk in the park. So, it was not the kind of experience a woman would forget.
Well, I grew up, got a copy of my birth certificate, and to my surprise the date is different from what my mother told me. That put me in a quandary, who do I believe! My mother or the piece of paper? For several years I just couldn’t decide, so I celebrated no birthday.
After a while I said, this is foolish, so I celebrated both. And for a while it was fun, when people missed my birthday and thought they were off the hook for a gift—I said, I have another one coming up. Well, I am back to celebrating one, just one! The one I have documentation for. I also learn that my situation is not unique, that many of my country folks have the same experience.
I have not spoken to Mary, the Mother of Jesus, on this birthday issue or ask her for the birth certificate of her Son, and I am sure you have not done so either. Perhaps, the midwife that assisted in the manger kept a copy. Did I say midwife? The important thing is not the when or where He was born, but the fact that He was born. So, drop the technicality and let’s celebrate. Merry Christmas!
Author: Michael Dewar
mentor, spiritual leader
Executive Director, Dwelling Place Cleansing
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