Throughout the World there are many and varied traditions that people have to celebrate Christmas. Even within families there are traditions held.
In Australia we have numbers of traditions. One that commenced in 1937 was Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne. It was started by Norman Banks, a radio announcer. One evening when walking home from work, just before Christmas, he noticed a little old lady sitting by her window listening to carols on her radio, and beside the little old lady a single candle was burning.
Inspired by the scene, Banks invited the public to a carol service on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne.
Today many thousands of people come together to listen to and sing Christmas carols, not only in Melbourne, but right around Australia, and indeed the world. Here in Darwin many people gather to sing and listen to carols, some contemporary, and some traditional.
This carol singing was inspired by an event which occurred some 2000 years ago when a baby was born in a stable.
That first Christmas there was a baby, his mother and father celebrating the safe arrival of their son and no carols. Later came visitors - the shepherds and then much later the wise men. Still no carols.
Today we celebrate in many different ways the Christmas story with carols.
My hope would be that we will never forget the reason for the season. It is when God came in human form to this world of ours, to reveal Himself and His great love for each one of us.
The prophet Isaiah wrote many hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus that, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: a young woman who is pregnant will have a son and will call Him, Immanuel, which means God with us.
Among the celebrating, the giving of gifts, the enjoyment of being with family and friends, the sharing of food and drinks over this Christmas time, regardless of how we celebrate, may we each one know Immanuel, God with us, not only at Christmas time but throughout the year.
