Today is Christmas day, a set aside for the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
Christians the world over celebrate the day by worshipping in various Churches.
In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, Christians held church services to commemorate the day.
From The Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God Church, Mount Zion Lighthouse to The Redeemed Christian Church of God, the services were held.
To mark the day, Pope Francis spread the word of unconditional love in his Christmas Eve mass in the Vatican late on Tuesday.
The leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics led the service in St. Peter’s Basilica for thousands of people as well as those watching on large screens outside.
“Christmas reminds us that God continues to love us all, even the worst of us,” Francis said in his sermon.
The pontiff told the crowds gathered at the Vatican: “You may have mistaken ideas, you may have made a complete mess of things, but the Lord continues to love you. How often do we think that God is good if we are good and punishes us if we are bad? Yet that is not how he is.”
The 266th Pope continued his sermon by saying: “Let us contemplate the child and let ourselves be caught up in his tender love. Then we have no further excuse for not letting ourselves be loved by him.”
“Whatever goes wrong in our lives,” he continued. “Whatever doesn’t work in the church, whatever problems there are in the world, will no longer serve as an excuse.”
The 83-year-old added: “It will become secondary, for faced with Jesus’ extravagant love, a love of utter meekness and closeness, we have no excuse.”
President Muhammadu Buhari in a message to Nigerians said “As Christendom commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, I enjoin all Nigerians to imbibe and demonstrate the essence of the season of love; goodwill among all the ethnic groups in the country; giving and sharing; strengthening the bonds of brotherhood and good neighbourliness, and focusing on all that bind us together as one united country.
“I, therefore, urge our compatriots to shun all actions which negate the spirit of the season.
“However, celebrating the spirit and virtues of Christmas need not be a one-day affair, but rather, ought to continue into the New Year.
“It is in line with the spirit of Christmas that I call on all elements whose actions are opposed to what the season represents, especially, insurgents, terrorists, armed robbers, kidnappers and economic saboteurs, to retrace their steps and join people of goodwill and common humanity.”
“As we celebrate Christmas, let us remember to pray for members of our armed forces and other security agencies who are making so much sacrifice to protect us from people of evil intent. We should also extend love to the families of those whose bread-winners made the ultimate sacrifice while defending their fatherland,” Buhari added.
In his Christmas broadcast message, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom said “As I said during the Christmas Carol night a few days ago, this is a season of love, of peace and goodwill and I want to use this opportunity to thank you, my dear and wonderful Akwa Abasi Ibom people for your steadfast support and prayers during the year 2019.
“This was a milestone year, a year that the future development, growth, peace, brotherhood, unity and progress of our dear State was put to test. We had a vision of peace, security, unity and development, that I have championed in the past four and half years versus a vision of violence, death, destruction, division, politically motivated killing, kidnappings and stagnation that the other side had marketed and presented.
“We came to you and told you to make a choice between these two competing visions and you rose in unison, and chose to go with the vision of peace, security, unity, and development and unanimously and overwhelmingly re-elected me to continue in Office as your Team-Lead for a Second Term.
“And so, my compatriots, as we celebrate Christmas, the season of peace, love and goodwill, I ask you again to continue to embrace the peace, unity and development which we have pursued and promoted the past four and half years. I urge you to invest more, by your thoughts, deeds and actions on those things that unify us around our common purpose of living in a prosperous and peaceful State and to forswear indulging in divisive tendencies.”
According to him, “Elections and the litigation processes are over; it is now time for governance and I promise you again, that I will continue to work twice as hard to ensure that the legacy I will leave you by the time we are done in 2023, will remain a shining example of a leader who came prepared to seize the moment and change the course and direction of our people.
“Let me again extend my hands of fellowship to my brothers and sisters on the opposite side of the political divide to come to join me in building this piece of God’s real estate. There are no redeeming values in antagonising the leadership of the State or working to negate the gains we have collectively achieved or financing the publication of unsanitised materials on the developments and vision we have provided simply because you disagree with the leader or the party that controls the State.
“The interest of Akwa Abasi Ibom State is deeper and profoundly more significant than our personal interests. When we de-market our State and the leadership, when we intentionally manufacture non-existent situations aimed at portraying our State in less than an attractive manner, we should remember that we are putting in jeopardy the future of our children whom we should all work to secure.
“Political parties like I said during the Carol night to represent vehicles to seek power; we should not allow the flaming passions of partisanship affect the cord of our unity and brotherhood. My doors are wide open and phone lines also are open to engaging my brothers and sisters on the other side. Come, let us build our land.”
The festival is the English term Christmas (“mass on Christ’s day”) and the earlier term Yule may have derived from the Germanic jōl or the Anglo-Saxon geōl, which referred to the feast of the winter solstice.
The German word Weihnachten denotes “hallowed night.” Since the early 20th century, Christmas has also been a secular family holiday, observed by Christians and non-Christians alike, devoid of Christian elements, and marked by an increasingly elaborate exchange of gifts. In this secular Christmas celebration, a mythical figure named Santa Claus plays a pivotal role.
