Christmas
Thursday December 10, 2009
Christmas for Christians around the world marks the birth of Jesus Christ. This article gives many ideas to help integrate teaching about Christmas into your classroom.
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Comments
Christmas has no role in education. We should focus on the Merry-days which start on the Winter Equinox (in the North Hemisphere) and end with the first day of the new year. A time of re-evaluation of what we have done during the year as individuals and as communities, and plan for the year ahead. A time of Celebration for what Life has given us the past twelve months, and for the hopes we hold on what’s coming up in the next twelve months. There are four times as many people in our world who have beliefs and philosophies which do not include a Christmas, why then we have to narrow our focus to such minority view with little connection to the reality of our world?
May the joy of Christ enter your heart during this time of Christian celebration which commemorates the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My prayer for you is that you at some point recognize the significance of this religion called Christianity. I do believe Christmas is not celebrated in the manner in which it should be. It has become a commercial nightmare. I believe, as you do, that this is a time to reflect upon our lives and to commit to attempting to bring hope to an increasingly complex and sad world. I believe Christ is that hope.
Christmas is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Christ – not the winter equinox. To say that Christmas has no place in education is the same as saying that we should not teach people about any religion. How hypocritical is it to support divirsity in education and exclude one group because some people don’t like them.
For those true liberal arts educators, Christianity is a major force in world history.
Christmas is a Christian feast day and nothing else. It must be remembered that modern western civilization would not exist without Christianity and the rechristianizing of Europe by monks and their spreading of humane values. Christians were martyred in their struggles against Communist and Nazi cruelty. Pupils must never be allowed to forget these historical facts.
A Happy and Holy Christmas to All.