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Angela Sibanda/Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
Christian leaders have urged society not to forget the main reason for celebrating Christmas.
The day is celebrated worldwide and in many communities the celebrations are characterised by merry-making.
Bishop Colin Nyathi of Harvest House International Church said a number of things are being done in the name of Christmas and these activities have already confused a lot of young people.
“The modern way of calling the day ‘Xmas’ has totally taken away the context of Jesus Christ in the celebrations. All these wild parties where people drink themselves to death have nothing to do with the traditional Christmas,” he said.
He said the day should be a day for giving gifts, especially to the less privileged and as people celebrate they should give their lives to Christ.
Bishop Nyathi said that the online services have become the new normal but they were not as effective as physical gatherings.
“There is no substitute for a one-on-one service.
People tire and they are easily destroyed, social media is not a very close substitute but since we have no choice, we are going to have our traditional services virtually,” he said.
Rev Lindsay Rukarwa Nleya of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe said Christmas is a day of celebrating salvation which came with the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Christmas is the time for celebrating the birth of Christ despite the fact that there are controversies surrounding the exact date on which he was born.
We will be celebrating the incarnation of Christ which is documented in the book of John chapter one which speaks of how the word became flesh and lived among us.
There are many theories regarding the origins of the day but as a Christian society we just take the day to celebrate his incarnation,” he said.
Rev Nleya also said that the concept of giving to the less privileged during Christmas is an act of showing gratitude and obeying God’s law.
“Christ was a gift from God for our salvation, through salvation we were united with God and the bible says freely you were given therefore give freely,” he said.
Christian leaders also emphasised the importance of worshipping God during Christmas.
Rev Nleya condemned the use of drugs and excessive drinking of alcohol saying such celebrations had nothing to do with Christmas.
Rev Useni Sibanda of Zimbabwe Christian Alliance said Christmas day and the festive season as a whole should bring hope for a better next year despite the challenges caused by Covid-19.
“Christmas is a season of hope, and what I can say to Zimbabweans is that as we face 2022 with Covid-19, we should have hope for a better year,” said Rev Sibanda.
He said Christmas day signifies reconciliation with God through the blood of Jesus Christ
“Mankind got a chance to be reconciled with God, that is when God gave us a chance to rebuild our relationship with him through the blood of Jesus Christ so Christmas represents that hope and restoration of relationships. Christmas is very significant,” said Rev Sibanda.
He said the Covid-19 pandemic had changed Christmas celebrations as church members will connect virtually instead of the usual service.
Online Reporter