Mariah sits in her snow covered patio preparing her list for this Christmas, she is 15 and has been writing a list of wishes since she was 5 years old, her parents had given her the habit of making it clear what she wants, his way there are no disappointments.

Mariah has an i-pod, a mobile, new Nikes and a digital camera, she writes 12 mega-pixel and crosses it out to replace and write the new Mac but still can't make up her mind.
As a child she's been taught that is for Christmas is for gifts and this is the only time except for her birthday that she will get anything she desires without ever talking about budget and reminding her of her pocket money.

As a child she watches her parents put 10$ into the donation box every Sunday at church and sub-consciously she is made to believe that her contribution to charity or helping an poor is limited to her dad's weekly donation. Mariah's parents have never taught her that the spirit ofChristmas is not material things rather a festival of sharing and helping an underprivileged person.

Many may argue, that we work very hard and our satisfaction is in buying gifts for our children and seeing them happy, I'm not criticizing that at all and I support that argument but as Christians we have additional responsibilities too.

Remember, even Christ was born in a manger without any luxuries, he was born poor, he lived life as a carpenter. His wealth was his faith in the Almighty Lord.Jesus was angry when stalls were laid out in front of the synagogues and it was turned to a market, aren't we doing the same with Christmas?

We go to one midnight mass and prepare and waste the excess food and sweets we've made, do we think about those that may not have a meal a day?

Just celebrating Christmas and having Christmas parties does not make us Christians. Christians in the West have adapted the most lame traditions by hanging a mistletoe and kissing under it- what does Christmas have to do with these silly traditions.

According to a survey 2 out of 10 (twelve to fifteen year old) could name all the reindeer and knew Santa came from the Northpole. They could not name the 12 disciples and did not know where Jesus was born.What a shame.

Have we forgotten what Christmas is?
Have we made it too commercial?
Are we teaching our Children the meaning of sharing?
Do we spend $500 on our Christmas shopping, clothes, parties and $10 in the donation box?
Do we teach our children more about Santa rather than the importance of bringing happiness to an underprivileged person?
Do we teach our children, that if you have received $100, donate $20 of his/her money.

What is the Spirit of Christmas ?
Where is the Spirit of Christmas ?

New Articles

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Objections to the Objectives Resolution: A Minorities' Perspective (Revd Rana Youab Khan)

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Blasphemy Laws and intolerance by extremist Muslims towards other faiths are an insult to Prophet Mohammed (Yunis Khushi)

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How many more lost years? (Nasir Saeed)

In the last month, three Christians have received lengthy prison sentences for blasphemy. Qamar David was given a life sentence after being found guilty of sending insulting text messages from his mobile phone in 2006, a charge he denied. Days later, husband and wife Ruqiya and Munir Masih were sentenced to 25 years in prison for supposedly desecrating the Koran, a ruling which, in a country with so little welfare provision, has effectively sentenced their six children to an uncertain future.
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8 Steps to Effective Christian Leadership (Ghazal Bhatti)

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