Merry Christmas to all our Christian members of the forum. The world over is celebrating Christmas on the 25th December.

For people in some parts of the world, it is the cultural dimensions of celebrations and festivity which dominate the day with gifts, food and decorations. There is also a very strong consumer and commercial orientation attached to every celebration of any cultural festival, not only Christmas. The main reason for the celebration has long been forgotten.

There has been much anger, hate, killing and enmity and we see humanity tearing itself apart. We are moving further and further away from the purpose of living. The culture of greed and materialism fosters selfishness and the abuse of the resources given to us by our creator.

History tells us no historical evidence that Jesus was born on this day or that in the early period, his diciples celebrated this day. We see the institutionalisation of this day with the conversion of Emperor Constantine (about 312AD). Christianity was viewed as a "tiny and persecuted religion" especially in the time of Emperor Nero(64AD). It then became "the established religion in medieval west" and today its influence is global in every part of the world.

Today Christmas is thinking of what to buy or what you are going to receive, or where or how you are going to spend the day, thereby feeding commercialisation.

Celebrating Christmas should imply sharing universal love with all humanity and passing on the message of love for a hurting world. A message of peace to all humanity that we can be in peace with Mother Earth and at peace with all human beings. Christmas is therefore a time to think of others, share our time and resources so that the light of faith can shine the love, compassion and justice of God upon all human beings.