O Holy Night

[midnite-md.livejournal.com]

Pieter Cross rarely advertises his religion. Stridency and belligerence in the name of belief cause more problems than they can possibly solve. He may pitch it to those in genuine need of guidance or in search of salvation, but he doesn't push it, nor does he condemn those who have different points of view.

He is a Christian, and he's madly in love with a woman who doesn't particularly share this belief. This doesn't bother him at all, so long as it doesn't bother her. She accommodates his faith gracefully as she can, and she only comes to church with him when it strikes her fancy. He takes no offense to this. Faith is a personal matter, and no one person's is innately better than another's.

He simply makes it his life's mission to, as they say, walk the walk. The word 'Christian' has taken an immense amount of abuse, mostly from those who proudly proclaim themselves so. Pieter Cross would rather just act on the teachings in the Good Book rather than fret over how others choose to live their lives.

On this, the eve of the sacred day of celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, in this small northwestern church, there is no condemnation. There is no war on Christmas.

There is only the spirit of giving, as the congregation prepares to open up food services to those in need. It is in these times that he is proud of his religion, and his faith in what it can accomplish in the hands of the honest is restored.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

[old-saint-nick.livejournal.com]

Most people scoff at the idea of a real Santa Claus. There simply is no way that an immortal elderly-appearing fat-man could travel the world in one night, giving gifts to good boys and girls all over the planet in a flying sleigh pulled by reindeer... and that's even before one considers the difficulties in spying on all the children of the world simultaneously to judge behavior, the improbabilities involved in keeping stables at the North Pole warm enough for reindeer, and the sheer amount of cholesterol problems such a man would develop from eating so many cookies.

But whether or not such a being exists on a physical level, the spirit of giving is very real, incarnated into a fat man or not.

Throughout this small blue planet called Earth, people have brought trees into their homes and decorated them, placing gifts underneath. Others have lit candles in memory of a holy miracle that guided their people through dark times. Others wish to celebrate a more recent alternative, celebrating their heritage as a people who survived slavery. And others prefer older alternatives, old as the Gods themselves.

It is true that some prefer the receiving to the giving. But to others, the act of giving fills them with a holiday spirit that cannot be explained.

Because through this giving, they become a part of the spirit of holiday love towards mankind. Through this giving, they become, in their own way, Santa Claus.