'CHRISTMAS' TO ME by Alex Kioko

in Articles By Mccu Literature on 19 Dec 2024

FUN FACT: The name of the city where Jesus Christ was born, has a deeper meaning. Bethlehem, in Hebrew, means “THE HOUSE OF BREAD.” In John 6: 35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Dwelling in Christ assures us that we will never lack.

My Definition of Christmas?

There is more to Christmas than just a yearly celebration, as most people view it. Understanding what Christmas is and what it means in Christianity is important. During Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ the Messiah. Different societies have different traditions of celebrating Christmas, but it´s better to stand out as a Christian society in our celebration, sharing the Christmas love with neighbors, friends, and strangers. Christmas means looking out for each other and being a blessing to them whether rich or poor, old or young regardless of their religion or where they are from. Share the Christmas love for whatever you do to your brother or sister you do it to God. (Matthew 25: 34-40)

My Christmas Story

 I´ve had different Christmas experiences for the past 21 years I have lived on this planet but a few of those days stand out. For the first few, I honestly didn’t know what Christmas was or if it existed. Therefore, I'll write about the Christmas seasons I know of and witnessed when Christmas was Christmas.

My childhood Christmas seasons are rich. I used to stay with my grandmother which means we were in a rural home. I feared interacting with people. My grandmother and I went to the tailor to take measurements for the clothes (nguo za Christmas). I cried my eyes out when my grandma left for a few errands leaving me with the tailor. I was afraid of the tailor. She was a stranger to me but she reassured me not to be afraid as the Angel Gabriel reassured Mary in his visit. She made us the best outfits. To add sugar to the tea, mine was matching my grandma´s. I am sure that that was the best outfit I have ever had for Christmas.

We always went to church on Christmas day. We recited memory verses on the birth of Jesus and Luke 2: 52 was my favorite verse “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man.” I recited it in my local language. That was my verse every year and everyone knew it. We were kids and you and I know the verses part was not our favorite part of Christmas. We were eagerly waiting for the Christmas sweets and the biscuits after the Christmas service. Christmas was amazing with chapati. The excitement of eating chapati after months of waiting while eating githeri for lunch and ugali for supper every single day was real. Sharing was the hard part but my grandma taught me that by sending me to deliver the package to our neighbors.

And that was my childhood Christmas.

Regards Alex Kioko