Christmas Not A Place…

By Dr jarlath Uche Opara

What constitues celebration through the lenses of an average Nigerian? nothing more than these two dimensions of human needs of food and drink . Check through all the celebrations , marriage, naming ceremonies, house warming, birthday events etc, what makes them what they are? The presence of food and drink of course.

Even burial ceremonies are not adjudged successful without food and drink. Remove these two , it could be anything but celebration.

An event no matter how painfull and sorrowful would always be assessed as good and great from how people are able to access food and drink.

The question is, is it possible to have a celebration without food and drink ? What is celebration really? Can there be an inward celebration without an outward manifestation of it in terms of food and drink ?

Don’t be too hasty to answer, think through it intentionally and see the possibility of having a full and satisfying celebration without them.

To be a bit direct can there be a satisfactory celebration of Christmas without the presence of food, drink, dancing and buying of new clothes ? It seems impossible, one that is off the radar of possibilities?

For many persons those traveling for Christmas must travel before 25th of December. Any travel after 25th is for new year and each of these events ( 25th December and first of January) must be characterised with food, drink, dance, showmanship and other external manifestation of materialistic tendencies.

Food, drink and dance are good and important but not necessarily a do without in events and celebrations. Only the epicureans see them as such. It takes a mind that is grown and deep in spiritual matters to see events and celebration from what they truly are , A State( One that is in the mind ) not a place ( One that is physical)

Many have gone into the newness of their new year before the dawn of a new year and many too have been in the mood of Christmas before 25th of December. This is called the “State Celebration” not the place celebration. The “State Celebrations” have nothing to do with food, drink and dance. It is all about mood, all about disposition and all about mindset that is Godly.

For such persons in this category of “State Celebration” they live in an atmosphere or realm that see food, drink and dance as a necessity for wellness not as luxury to be showcased as an insignia for wealth and affluence.

The problem with us as a people is the celebration of events especially Christmas as a place. Each time Christmas becomes a “Place Celebration” as against “State Celebration” for one, tension, anxiety, pressure to meet up, desire to belong, predilection to acquire to show and display become overwhelming and the resolution to make it happen with military precision very daring and emboldened.

People that do rituals, kidnap, steal etc to make money see celebration especially Christmas as a place not as state celebration. Until we begin to see events, celebration etc as a state, the waves of criminality would always be a plague humanity would contend with always.

Life is simple and joyful for those who see celebrations from the lenses of “State” not a “Place”. Life is full of pleasurable moments that do not require ostentatiousness, crazy display of bizarre affluence and showcase of unwanton affluence for one to be happy and self fulfilling.

Life holds all it takes for one to live ones life in fullness without being fraudulent, treacherous, devilish and demonic in the chase of wealth, influence and fame.

Why would the rate of crime and criminality spike every Christmas season? Until our minds are re-structured to see Christmas and celebrations as A “State” not as a “Place” we would continue in this unending slippery slope of disaster of being at each other’s jugular, eating our own, creating pains and agony for one another, spilling of blood etc just to show off and live in affluence and abundance, which holds no eternal values.

The real celebration of Christmas is in the heart not in showbiz. It is in expressing and showcasing the qualities of Christ not in the display of inordinate wealth. It is in the propagation of peace, joy, harmony, hospitality, charity etc not in the bizarre display of inordinate wealth. It is in making others around one happy and joyful not in killing and stealing to make more money for show and ostentatiousness.

Christmas in “The State” is better than Christmas in “”The place”. The world system has driven us to this “place mentality”, drifting us away from the “state mentality” that portrays in reality who Christ is and what Christmas should be.

Happy Christmas to those who will celebrate more of it in the “state” than in the “place” where all manner of vices ferment, grow, spread and become a dry gun power waiting to be exploded, the albatross of humanity. Christmas is a heart thing. It is a daily choice not a seasonal ritual. It is a mindset, once one gets it right Christmas celebration becomes a lifestyle, celebrating Christ in the fullness of his attributes and making those around one feel the steeze, the waves and the aroma of Christ presence.

Christmas is more of making the path of your heart smooth without envy, grudges, hatred, licenciounes, etc than the path to your house tarred and well lit. It is more of making ones heart conducive for Christ habitation than decorating ones house with Christmas lights and trees. They are all good but in the order of priority, the former is the best.

Dr. Jarlath Uche Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com