The allegorical or symbolic significance of the characters and events of the Christmas Story can be seen as three axes of immense importance both today and in the culture of the time. They are:
Status: Common poor people ( represented by the Shepherds) and educated well-off people ( represented by the Three Wise Men and the Gifts)
World View: The natural world ( represented by the animals) and the supernatural or spiritual realm ( represented by the Star of Bethlehem)
Ethics: Good ( represented by Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) and Evil (represented by Herod and the Slaughter of the Innocents)
It was a powerful story. In combination with the Easter Story, it spread like a virus in the Ancient World. It displaced the pagan beliefs of the Roman Empire. Over time it has become part of many cultures and traditions, quite apart from its special significance to Christians
We celebrate Christmas today , because the three themes or axes of the Christmas Story still have meaning today. Those three dimensions are still the major axes of our modern culture.
We still have an educational divide and a poverty gap. We still have environmental concerns and a fear of the unknown. We still have a Problem of Evil and its consequences such as today’s refugee problem, which is reflected in the Christmas Story by the Flight into Egypt.
The gifts from the Magi have today become an integral part of our Christmas cellebrations
Whatever your background or beliefs, enjoy your Christmas celebrations, everyone. It is meant to be a happy time… a time of peace, joy, and serious reflection.
Regards to all,
Neville
I would like to acknowledge assistance from @easyt50 and @Rosika.
All mistakes are mine.
Thank you for posting this.
I really enjoyed reading your Christmas Message.
The way you’ve structured it around status, world view, and ethics works very well for me (and I guess for everyone else as well) and makes the ideas you presented easy to follow.
I also like how you place the Christmas story in a broader cultural context while still respecting its special meaning for Christians.
The links you draw to present-day issues feel thoughtful and relevant, and the ending strikes a very nice balance between joy and reflection.
All in all, it’s a warm and meaningful contribution.
Thanks for sharing it with the community.
I wish you and your family a very peaceful and happy Christmas.
All the best from Rosika
P.S.:
Thank you for including some well-chosen images.
That´s a very nice gesture. It adds perfection to your very friendly Christmas Message.
Sorry @nevj for capturing your nice thread.
I thought I might place my Christmas wishes here as well - instead of creating a dedicated post. I beg for your forgiveness.
@ all:
Dear all,
As the year draws to a close, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone here for the help, patience, and shared knowledge I’ve received over the past months.
This community has been a real pleasure to be part of. It´s a fact which shouldn´t be taken for granted.
Whatever you are celebrating at this time of year, or even if you’re simply enjoying a few quiet days, I wish you moments of peace, rest, and good company.
May the coming year bring health, curiosity, and many good conversations for us all.
I wish I could invite the ItsFoss family to Christmas Brunch, to thank one and all for being so welcoming and friendly. I do brunch because the prep and cleanup are so much easier than dinner.
In fact, our brunch table looks like the ItsFoss group: one frittata with just eggs, bacon/ham, and cheese for the those who eschew onions/mushrooms/sausage, and one frittata that’s Fully Loaded, with all the above and maybe leeks and jalapenos and three kinds of cheese. There’s room for every opinion and preference, even for the Trumpian brother, if he ever performs a rectal-cranial reversion.
But it’s cool here, Paul, so I insist on pants. Maybe you and I can compromise on shorts.
Hi Rosika,
It is intended for that … perhaps I should have made that clear.
and
Thank you for the kind words… dont forget I did have some valued assistance from you and Howard.
Regards
Neville
./kovacs: line 28: warning: here-document at line 3 delimited by end-of-file (wanted `_EOF')
gzip: stdin: unexpected end of file
then the image
then
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠁⠀�tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Unexpected EOF in archive
tar: Error is not recoverable: exiting now
That was in Void Linux, with bash.
I tried putting _EOF on the end… did not help.
Strange I could reproduce the problem only by removing “_EOF” from the last line, but if it’s there, works flawlessly…
Anyway, you got the surprise, right?
Edit: did you copy the whole blob?
There’s a scroll bar on the right of the “code” panel…
)