Merry Christmas: To you and yours, all the blessings and joy of the season

Christmas is finally here and with it the fun and festivities that accompany our favorite holiday.

But we hope that during all the celebrating you pause a bit and take time to solemnly remember the reason we hold the day so dear.

Why do we mark the calendar on December 25 as the day Jesus Christ came into the world? No one really knows when he was born, scholars confess.

It was in the fourth century that the Roman emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor, declared the day to be Christ's birthday. Pope Julius I soon afterward also said his birthday should be observed on that date. So, for centuries, we have set aside the day to be special.

Despite all the secular hoopla that surrounds the holiday, we hope you find time to remember the real reason for celebration -- the hope that the birth of Christ brings to the world.

And from all of The News-Argus family, may you and yours have a joyous holiday.

Published in Editorials on December 24, 2015 12:18 PM