Is there still Christmas spirit?
We have explained in previous years (see the our post) that Noel appeared in the 1920s in a Coca-Cola® marketing relating Santa Claus (American Santa Claus) with Christmas, and with impressions in magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, but it is clear that the birth of Jesus is much older, indeed dates in the years, since we are in 2016 AD, even though the measure of the years is imprecise due to the Gregorian calendar.
But this year, Trump’s election, crisis in the country with various nuances: impeachment, jet launder, crisis in Rio and with other states showing exhaustion of finances, now the tragedy with the team of the city of Chapecó (Brazil), there would still be climate for the true Christmas spirit, peace and justice, solidarity with the peripheries (now also existential), or are we in “depression”?
Remember that the year that Jesus is born is the year of the census made by the Roman Empire, and at that time people should go to the Christmas city, so Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, where they end up being born in a stable, due to lack of accommodation: the God-boy named Jesus was born.
Yes indeed there may be a historical confusion, Luke (Lk 2: 2) narrated that the census was taken when Quirinus was governor of Syria, where from the emperor Cesar Augustus, but the order of Cesar Augustus is 5 BC, while Quirinus (or Cyrene) became governor in 6 AD.
What is important is that the historical fact occurred, and Jesus entered into history “was a contact between men” not only by a whim of history, but by a divine coincidence, and there were others said the Prophecy of Isaiah: “The Lord will give you A sign, the virgin shall become pregnant … “(Isaiah, 7:14).
Then it is necessary to remember the humble birth of Jesus, the difficult years that will follow that will force his parents to flee to Egypt, avoiding the persecution of Herod who promoted the slaughter of all newborns want to kill the “future king” of the Jews, But this ruled until 4 BC, new confusion.
Yes it is necessary to remember that persecution, humility and crises always accompany this birth, but that it brings hope, confidence in the future and inner peace, yes the spirit of Christmas remains, even among those who do not believe, it is necessary to stop and breathe, otherwise it does not going forward.