Christmas in the northern hemisphere is so different. One of the key things is light. Here we have a wonderfully long day — from around 5am in the morning to 10pm at night. In the northeast of England, where we lived for four years, it’s almost dark by 4.30pm in the afternoon at Christmas time.
One of my abiding memories is being in Durham Cathedral for the nine lessons and carols service. The service starts in complete darkness. Then the large choir processes in, holding candles and singing Once in Royal David’s City. The blaze of light down the middle of the cathedral as the singers walk down the aisle, and the sense of illuminating a formerly dark place, is amazing. The sense of light overcoming darkness is just so powerful in the middle of a bleak winter.
Jesus said "I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). This is why a good deal of what we do at Christmas, even in the southern hemisphere, is connected to light — even though we have so much of it ourselves at Christmas time. Lights on Christmas trees, lights on our houses, candles on banners, real candles that we light, all fit in with the theme of the coming of light at Christmas with the birth of Jesus.
Light brings that sense of hope, of things being able to be different, of transformation. This is at the heart of the Christmas story. After the birth of Jesus, the world will never be the same again. Here, God comes among us, as the baby who shares our humanity, but who creates a new way of being human. And because Jesus is also the Son of God, through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus overcomes our darkness, overcomes our death, and transforms us and our world. The Apostle Paul aptly called it a "new creation".
John sums this up at the beginning of his Gospel in this way: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (John 1:5). This is a reflection on the whole of the Gospel story.
The dramatic breaking in of light in a time of darkness when Christmas is celebrated in the northern hemisphere reminds us of the power of light. Our world continues to be a place of much darkness. But in that darkness, the story of the birth of Jesus that we celebrate, the birth of the One who is God-with-us, brings hope and dispels gloom. It’s like the eruption of light from candles in the darkness of Durham Cathedral. Christ was born into the darkness, but that darkness did not overcome his light — and He shines on.
But the southern hemisphere is a great place to celebrate Christmas, too. As I write this, the sun is beating down (unusual I know) and the light is clear and intense.
All is clearly illuminated. We’ve left the gloom of winter, the variability of spring, and summer is here. The zucchini plants in my garden are flourishing — provided I remember to water them. This all speaks to me of the creating and transforming power of light. That we come to know and experience "the light of life" in the birth of Jesus is easy to relate to. We don’t just hope for the coming of light. We know that hope has been fulfilled, and the good things longed for in the midst of gloom and bleakness are a reality. Here in the South, that light has arrived! And many know that God is at work bringing light, transforming people and communities — for this is their experience.
We celebrate both these things this Christmas. The hope of light overcoming darkness. And the power of light transforming us, day by day, and making us new. May the true light of Christ illuminate us all this Christmas.
- Paul Trebilco is Professor of New Testament Studies in the department of theology and religion, University of Otago.
