Christmas Symbols

At this time of year the world is re-decorated. We are greeted with images of Christmas wherever we go and it's easy to forget what they represent. I just want to go over a few of my favorite symbols--Christmas lights, presents, and the nativity. As I am a huge fan of Christmas music, I have come across some songs which describe the meaning of these so much better than I ever could.

The first (Christmas Lights) is talked about in Lonestar's song called "Christmas Lights". In the beginning of the song it simply talks about Christmas lights the way we think of them when we think of Christmas--flashing, on houses, in the shape of rudolph, etc. But the last verse brings out the meaning behind why we have all of these lights on our houses at this time of year. It says, "It all started long ago / In Bethlehem a night so cold / Three wise men looked up in the sky. / A blessed miracle occurred / A brand new star began to burn / And on that night / We saw the first Christmas light." (If you don't know the song and want to hear it you might have to come to me to listen to it--I couldn't find it anywhere online but I have a copy) The star that guided the wise men to where Jesus was born is what the Christmas lights symbolize.

The second, while it is talked about in many songs, I haven't found a song that talks about what they symbolize--although they symbolize the most important part of Christmas which is Christ himself. He came into this world to bring us all peace and joy. He is the true present we receive at Christmas which is a celebration of His birth. Presents also symbolize the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus when they visited him. We need to give Christ gifts of ourselves--give him our obedience and love. Every year my family gets together to "give" Christ a gift. We write down what we are going to do to follow him on a piece of paper and put them in a stocking with Jesus' name on it. We display that stocking in a prominent place in our house to remind us of what we are going to give Jesus on His birthday.

The last goes right along with presents. The Nativity directly symbolizes Jesus at His birth. In my New Testament class I learned that in Jesus' day his disciples didn't even realize how Jesus was going to save the world. As my professor told us, traditionally the Messiah wasn't someone who dies. It's a contradiction of terms. But that is exactly what the Messiah came here to do for each one of us. The song that I feel says this the best is Brad Paisley's "Born on Christmas Day". Near the end of the song it says, "We expected a soldier to save us from our plight / All dressed in shiny armor, ready for a fight / But instead He sent a little baby boy / All filled with love and happiness to bring the world joy." Jesus wasn't what the world was expecting. Instead of coming as a solder, he came as a baby--the most humble, insignificant form. But this humble birth is the most significant that has ever and will ever occur. He didn't have to come in shiny armor to accomplish His atonement for all of us.