I don’t mean to start an argument or be seen as uncaring of other’s right to enjoy this time of year in their own way so I will simply wish you all a Fægen Hāligdæg! Perhaps I could wish you a Kala Christougena or Feliz Navidad? Are you perhaps awaiting a joyous “Seasons Greetings”? So many people get so easily offended by these words and find ways to either avoid or, in the cases of some businesses that wish not to offend any particular group, mandate that their employees avoid certain phrases. I recall a memo that came down from the higher echelon when I worked in retail that stated “please inform your store managers that the staff should refrain from wishing our customers a Merry Christmas as some of our customers are offended by it.” For me, I was offended by the fact they expected us to deny our right to freedom of expression because of possible lost sales. I could go down this road for a long time but that is not the purpose of this article. I am here to wish all a Fægen Hāligdæg! It is pronounced Faegen Haligday or Happy Holiday. In Old English, this literally means Happy Holy Day. How many people get up in arms about being forced to say Happy Holidays rather than Merry Christmas? Seriously, when we say Happy Holidays, we are wishing others a blessing on a Holy Day. What is the Holy Day in December? For Christians, it is Christmas, the celebration of the birth of the Messiah. Bring on Happy Holidays!!!
The other term that is a safe, non-religious declaration is
Season’s Greetings. Let’s tear this one apart for a moment. To use this term is
to declare to another that you wish the other person to enjoy the celebration
of this particular time of year. This is the time of year when people gather to
share in the love, peace and joy of relationship. We gather together when we
can, break bread with each other, rejoice with old and new friends alike and
share mementos of our appreciation of each other through gift giving. Now, the
reason for the season is a celebration of the birth of the Messiah, the
Saviour, the Son of God. God sent His Son for us all because He loves us and
wants us to find and grow in relationship with Him.
God showed how much he loved
us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal
life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:9-10 NLT
This is the spirit of the season in my opinion and when we
ask a blessing upon others by greeting each other in this manner, are we declaring
to others that we wish them love, peace and joy? Think about it for a moment. I
declare to you a greeting in love, peace and joy. The name of that love is
Christ for He is love and He is the reason for the joy of the season. So
consider this, whether we declare Happy Holy Days, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel,
Season’s Greetings or Merry Christmas, let us do so in the Spirit of the
Season, with joyous hearts, love for all those around us and let’s strive to
make this more than a blip on the calendar in December. Let us declare the
love, joy and peace throughout the year for all those around us
Dear friends, since God loved
us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen
God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to
full expression in us. 1 John 4:11-12 NLT
This week we celebrate the birth of the Messiah at 6:30 PM
on Dec 24th and new beginnings on Dec 26th at 10:30 AM.
We invite you to join us either in person or watch us online.
Facebook Live - https://www.facebook.com/main.ave.31
YouTube Live – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9LIkN_QTdVM6eVXEgy9QA
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday.
Blessings,
Pastor Todd
www.mainavefellowship.blogspot.com
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