Question:
Christmas is celebrated by all on December 25th as the day Jesus was born. But some maintain that December 25th is not the actual date that Jesus was born. Could you please help to lighten up why we celebrate by having Hours of Worship on the same day?
Answer:
It seems we have retained the traditional designations for certain days within the Christian calendar, including Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday, Whitsun, Whit Monday, and the 1st and 2nd Christmas Days. These names and their corresponding observances have been passed down through centuries, deeply embedded in Christian tradition. While I cannot provide a definitive explanation for why these particular names and dates have persisted, they serve as a collective rhythm of worship and remembrance for Christians around the world.
What truly matters, however, is not the historical accuracy of these dates or the traditions surrounding them, but rather our inward understanding of their spiritual significance. The essential question is how we perceive these occasions intuitively, in our hearts and the meaning we attach to them. In this regard, the Grail Message offers profound insight, calling us to reflect on the nature and depth of our beliefs:
“The believers! All you who count yourselves among the believers in God, just examine yourselves to ascertain whether the belief you carry within yourselves is really the right one! By that I do not mean the form your belief takes, whether Catholic or Protestant, Buddhist or Mohammedan, or any other form, but I mean the nature of your belief, to what extent it is living!
For God is God! And how you approach Him in your inmost self, that alone is decisive for the strength and genuineness of your belief!”
— III-22. THE RECOGNITION OF GOD
These words remind us that the essence of our belief and conviction lies in the sincerity and vitality of our inner recognition of God, rather than in external traditions or designations.
Celebrating Christmas or any other sacred occasion with Hours of Worship is an opportunity to deepen our inward recognitions of the particular festival or commemoration and give thanks for the spiritual gifts we have received which has brought us enlightenment as to the true significance of the happenings.
Thus, the outward forms—whether a date, a name, or a tradition—become secondary to the truth of our recognition and devotion. Each festival or commemoration is a beautiful opportunity to venerate the Lord, align ourselves more fully with the Light and to reflect on how our conviction is living and genuine in every aspect of our lives.