Hazrat Maulana Abdur Rahim Dardra(1894-1955)
Christmas
Christmas (i.e., the Mass of Christ) is a Christian festival of the nativity of Jesus Christ. It is now celebrated on 25 December.
Was Jesus born on 25 December?
As to the date of Jesus’ birth, opinions differ greatly. The Basilidian Gnostics probably thought that he was born on 20 May. Others set it on 19 or 20 April. Clement of Alexandria, who condemns these as superstitious, sets it on 17 November. The author of a Latin tract written in Africa in 243 makes it by private revelation to be 28 March.
The earliest identification of 25 December with the birthday of Christ is made in a passage attributed to Theophilus of Antioch (AD 171-183). Hippolytus also says that Jesus was born on 25 December.
Celebration of Christmas
No festal celebration, however, is recorded up to the middle of the fourth century. Origen (245) is said to have regarded the idea of keeping the birthday of Christ as sinful. The festal idea has perhaps its root in the belief that the divine element was present in Christ from the very beginning, and that the divine life in him did not date from his baptism as suggested by the Epiphany feast (i.e., the feast of the presentation in the Temple).
The celebration of the feast of his human birth is also regarded as a protest against the Manichaean propaganda, the chief tenet of which was that Jesus either was not born at all, was a mere phantasm, or anyhow did not take flesh of the virgin Mary.
Christmas in Britain
It is interesting to note that to Britons it is something more than a Christian festival. Bede says:
“In Britain, the 25th of December was a festival long before the conversion to Christianity.”
The ancient Britons began their year on 25 December. That is why the English Puritans forbade any merriment or religious services by Act of Parliament in 1644. They thought it a heathen festival and ordered it to be kept as a fast.
However, the feast was revived by Charles II. From the middle of November, preparations are now begun for Christmas. Shopkeepers broadcast their advertisements for the novelties, the toys and the gifts to be sold on this occasion. The richest and the poorest set about in search of some suitable presents for their dear ones. Something new or novel, something precious or useful, something sweet or beautiful, and something which is full of meaning. If any of these cannot be afforded, a Christmas card bearing the sincerest good wishes of the humblest Christian is considered to be an indispensable present which must be sent at home or abroad in sweet and loving remembrance of his relations:
“A few brief words I here am sending,
But may the token small contrive,
To bear my wishes that from Christmas,
You the best of joys derive.”
Christmas puddings and Christmas trees are prepared in every home. The Postmaster-General is busy employing thousands more men for the prompt and satisfactory delivery of the millions and billions of presents bought now for the memorable day. To avoid previous mistakes and complaints, he is emphasising the necessity of early posting, yet the post offices are bound to be overcrowded as usual on Christmas Eve.
The telegraph companies reduce their rates to enable all to send cables to their dear ones overseas on this happy day.
In short, with all kinds of increased facilities, the whole of Christendom indulges these days wholeheartedly in every kind of earthly merriment and enjoyment.
Forgetting the true mission of Jesus
Few, however, know […] for what Jesus was born and what he tried to achieve. People worship their own individual fancies and their own desires, while the mission of Jesus – in fact, the message of all the Prophets – was the mission of sacrifice and complete submission to the will of God. And it is this which the world, even now, as ever, stands in need of.
Hazrat Ahmadas– Reviving the spirit of Jesus
And it is this to remind which the same Merciful God has sent the Prophet Ahmadas of Qadian, who is truly the Messiah of our age. He has brought us back to God, to the true spirit of sacrifice and complete submission to His will. By the force of his noble example, people have been again enthused and inspired to devote themselves body and soul to the cause of God. By believing in him alone, we believe in Jesus and by seeing his face, we indeed see the face of all the chosen prophets of God.
Why believers gather in December for Jalsa Salana Qadian
And it is a striking coincidence that people flock to his birthplace [Qadian] in the last week of December. […] The followers of Hazrat Ahmadas from all parts of the globe gather together in thousands at Qadian and sit rapt in admiration and fervour listening hours and hours to the holy spirit which descends on all those assembled there. They enjoy a happy and deep communion with, and are really at one with God the Heavenly Father.
Rediscovering the true mission of the Messiah
When the other sons of Christ play about and revel in earthly enjoyments, the true sons of God, keeping themselves away from all sorts of frivolous jovialities and bearing hardships of every kind, turn most sincerely towards purity, piety and righteousness. Living in this world, they cut themselves away from all earthly bonds and soar high above the heavens and then bring the Kingdom of God on earth.
Blessed, blessed are those who follow the footsteps of Hazrat Ahmadas, the Messiah of our age! […]
– AR Dard
(Transcribed and edited by Al Hakam from the original English, published in the December 1925 issue of The Review of Religions)