Whilst shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.
All over the world on Christmas Eve, that great light of humanity, that spark of spirit and love that we all share,
shines brightly in our homes, in our acts of kindness and our celebration of Christmas, as we seek to
bless and honor the people in our lives and our spiritual beliefs with with our religious services,
our gifts to one another and our good wishes for all.
There is a deep meaning to the word Christmas, found in the original meanings of the Hebrew and Greek
words from which it is formed, a meaning that transcends all religions and all beliefs.
Most Biblical scholars translate the Hebrew word Mashiah, which means "the Annointed of Yah" to the Greek
"Christos" which means "the Annointed of the Lord. In Hebrew, the "iah" in Messiah is "Yah", the
first syllable of short form of the name of God, Yahweh or YHVH.
This is because the Greeks have no word or equivalent for Yah, which means: "He who brings into existence whatever exists."
Yah is the first letter of in the Hebrew alphabet, which is called Yod. Yod represents a mere dot, a divine point
of energy and is considered the starting point of God in all things - the spark of spirit in everything.
Mass comes from the the Greek word "maza", a common bread. It may have been borrowed from the
Hebrew word "mazza" which means unleavened bread. Bethlehem is a Hebrew word and may be pronounced
and spelled differently in languages other than Hebrew, but the meaning, "House of Bread" remains the the same.
The mass of many Churches celebrates the Eucharist. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistia,
which means thanksgiving, for Jesus gave thanks to God when he broke the bread with his disciples.
In Churches around the world on Christmas Eve people attend services and masses, to bless and be blessed.
Through the long history of Christmas, people have come together in recognition of all that is holy
and is sacred to them. When you trace these words, you find that the word holy comes from a
common Indo-European root, hailo- or kailo- which means "free from injury or whole", to it's
probable meaning in pre-Christian times, "inviolate, inviolable." Whether a prayer, or wishes, or simply a love for one another,
Christmas is a celebration of life in all its diversity.
