Reflecting on the meaning of Christmas

Editorial printed on 25 December 2011

Editor's note: Occasionally in the Christmas Eve edition, we feature an editorial from an earlier era, a reflection that touches on the concerns of a particular period in Island history and considers them in the context of the Christmas message. The following is the editorial that ran in The Guardian, Saturday, Dec. 23, 1961.

The Hallowed Season

Men down through the years have tried to celebrate Christmas with human voices, adding their own "Gloria in excelsis" to the angels' praise. They have made of it poems and stories and hymns, many pleasant and devout. But the real meaning of the day, the concept of God made Man, is too much for mere man to reduce to the dimensions of his understanding. Even Shakespeare left us with only single allusions; and Milton's great organ tones, so dominant in his epic poem, "Paradise Lost", were muted when he wrote "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity."

The theme, even to these lords of language, was too overpowering, too incomprehensible. And that is why the traditions and conventions of Christmas tend sometimes to obscure the reasons for them. The bright lights and druidish greenery are but the trappings of the festival. The core is still the Cradle in Bethlehem, the miracle that took place on the first Christmas morning, and - in a very practical way - the faith it inspires and that alone works miracles in the world of men today.

Every other way has been tried in the two millennia since the Prince of Peace brought mankind His message of brotherhood and salvation. It is the accumulated failure of all these efforts that is responsible for the mess in which we find ourselves now. Men talk of peace but there is no peace. The universe we inhabit shrinks round us almost daily, even as its capacities for destruction multiply. The flaming prophesies of the Apocalypse no longer seem incredible to our scientists. The all-destroying battle of Armageddon is foreshadowed in every nuclear bomb test; in every fallout shelter, too, for that matter.

Somehow, however, the meaning, the promise and the hope born in Bethlehem are not forgotten. They touch our minds and hearts with warmth on this occasion, and burgeon in deeds of friendliness and generosity - deeds which we feel, somehow, are more the expression of our true selves and of others than all the smart, acquisitive practices we have followed during the year. We feel more in tune with the universe, more in harmony with our kind and with the strains of the angelic symphony itself, than we could have conceived possible only a few short weeks ago. "So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."

It is a large portion of this gift of grace that The Guardian wishes to all its readers at this joyous season.

The spirit lives on

As suggested in the above editorial carried in this newspaper 50 years ago, goodwill in our community tends to surface at this time of year, further evidence that the promise and hope of Christmas is alive and well.

Our Guardian Angels series this week, which highlighted the generosity and compassion of Islanders devoted to a good cause, aimed to illustrate this good news. It's our hope that their stores have served to inspire others.

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