Steiger - Christmas Miracles: Inspirational True Stories of Holiday Magic

Christmas
Miracles

Inspirational True Stories
of Holiday Magic

Brad Steiger &
Sherry Hansen Steiger

Copyright 2008, 2001 by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by Adams Media, an F+W Publications Company
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN-10: 1-60550-017-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-60550-017-1
eISBN-13: 978-1-6055-0017-1

Printed in the United States of America.
J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Steiger, Brad.
Christmas miracles / Brad Steiger & Sherry Hansen Steiger.
p. cm.
ISBN-10: 1-60550-017-8
ISBN-13: 978-1-60550-017-1
I. Miracles. 2. Christmas--Miscellanea.
I. Steiger, Sherry Hansen. II. Title.
BT97.3 .S74 2001
242.335--dc21 2001033550

Interior photo Falk Kienas / istockphoto.com

Previously published as Christmas Miracles, by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hansen
Steiger, copyright 2001 by Brad Steiger and Sherry Hansen Steiger,
ISBN-10: 1-58062-552-5, ISBN-13: 978-1-58062-552-4.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the
American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.

While all the stories in this book are true, some of the names, dates, and places have been changed to protect anonymity.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

Dedication

This book is for our parents, children, and grandchildren, with whom we have shared many Christmas miracles in the past and with whom we hope to share many more such miracles in the future.

Contents

Introduction

The story of the first Christmas, as it is told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, is made up of the accounts of five miracles:

1. The Angel Gabriel appears to Mary, a young girl of Nazareth, and proclaims that she has been chosen for a very special purpose. Gods holy spirit will visit her, and she, without knowing a man, will become pregnant.

2. An angel manifests to Joseph, a Nazarene carpenter who is Marys fianc, and counsels him not to put aside the young woman, who is now very much with child, or subject her to public disgrace, but to marry her. All of this, he is told, is part of a much larger divine plan.

3. Shepherds outside of Bethlehem, keeping watch over their flocks by night, witness a chorus of angels declaring the supernatural birth of a child in a stable who, according to the joyous heavenly host, will bring peace on Earth and good will toward men.

4. A miraculous star moves in the sky to guide three wise philosopher-kings from faraway Eastern nations to worship Jesus, the newborn king, and to bring him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

5. An angel appears in a dream to the three wise men, advising them not to return to the duplicitous King Herod with the identity of the child that he fears will usurp his throne. The angel also manifests in another night vision to warn Joseph to flee with Mary and the child to safety in Egypt in order to avoid Herods jealous wrath.

Since the story of Christmas is founded on the five miracles listed above, there can be little wonder that miracles of faith and love continue to occur during a holiday season that has been held sacred for 2,000 years. For those men and women who believe that Jesus was far more than an extraordinary prophet and teacher, the true meaning of Christmas far transcends the exchange of gifts, the gathering of families around the plum puddings, or the decking of halls with boughs of holly.

Although there is the general belief that Jesus was born at the hour of midnight on Christmas Eve, even the most devout cannot attest to the exact historical date of his birth. Even today, some branches of Christendom observe the holy birth in December, others in January, April, or May.

It seems very likely that December 25 was selected as the festival day because it also marked the advent of the great winter celebrations of the Britons, the Germans, and the Gauls. These days of merry-making signaled the winter solstice and a time of great feasts to honor the pagan gods. Although the early teachers of Christianity prohibited any recognition of the ancient deities or any aspect of their festivals as incompatible with the heavenly character of Jesus, numerous customs still observed today, such as the yule log, the holly, and the mistletoe, reach far back into a pagan past.

By the fifth century, the observance of the birthday of Jesus Christ on December 25 had spread to various parts of the Christian world, and by the early Middle Ages, Christmas had become the greatest and most popular of all holidays celebrated throughout Europe. By that time, churches observed the custom of colorfully decorating their usually austere interiors, and they permitted actors to present religious pageants depicting the Nativity. People sang carols in the streets, and there were numerous parades with marchers carrying aloft images of the Virgin Mary, the baby Jesus, Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men, and angels.

Since colonial times, Christmas in the United States has evolved into a period of great social activity. Because of its melting pot of cultures and customs, its unity in diversity, its blending of the contemporary and the traditional, America has fashioned a semiso-cial, semireligious celebration that enables everyone to wish everyone else a merry Christmas, regardless of an individuals religious expression. Christmas in the United States has become a colorful tapestry that has been woven together with the customs, beliefs, traditions, superstitions, and folklore of people who were once widely separated and culturally diverse and who are now next-door neighbors.

Washington Irving (17831859) wrote that during our nations formative years Christmas... awakened the strongest and most heartfelt of associations. There is a tone of solemn and sacred feeling that blends with our conviviality, and lifts the spirit to a state of hallowed and elevated enjoyment.

Christmas is a sacred time that touches many of us deep within our spiritbut it is also a time when we can put aside our solemnities and our stresses and become children again. We can stop being grownups and once again become the five-year-old boy or girl listening for the sound of Santas sleigh on the rooftop.