Christmas has become a global festival celebrated not only by Christians but also by people belonging to different religions. While for Christians, Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, its widespread observance is also shaped by cultural influences such as media, travel, and secular traditions like gift-giving, decorating Christmas trees, and the figure of Santa Claus.

Market forces also play a key role in making Christmas a global phenomenon. Today, Christmas has become a significant economic event and a major sales period for retailers, contributing to its visibility and celebration in many countries, even those with small Christian populations, such as Japan and India.

In many countries, Christmas Day is a public holiday and a time for family and social gatherings that transcend religious boundaries. Surveys have shown that a significant number of non-Christians in countries like the United States celebrate Christmas, often viewing it more as a cultural or secular event than a religious one.

Every religious festival, irrespective of the faith it represents, is an occasion for celebration. However, market forces have disproportionately enlarged the celebratory and commercial dimensions of these festivals. For instance, retail sales in the United States during the Christmas season reached nearly $1 trillion in 2024. In the United Kingdom, consumers spend over £91 billion during the Christmas period. According to media reports, the largest sales of alcoholic beverages in Kerala take place during Onam and Christmas. Even within the Catholic Church, in some parishes, making Christmas cribs has become an expensive affair, sometimes involving lakhs of rupees.

Amid the cacophony of celebrations and rituals, the core message of Christmas is often overlooked. According to Christian belief, Christmas proclaims the profound message that God became human in the person of Jesus to show humanity how to live as authentic human beings and realise the true purpose of life. It also reminds the followers of Jesus of their responsibility to build a society—and a world—permeated with forgiveness, love, compassion, and peace. At the birth of Jesus, the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will!" Christmas thus encourages and motivates Christians to become messengers of peace and harmony.

The core teaching of Jesus is that God is a loving Father/Mother and that all human beings are brothers and sisters. This belief is central to his vision of the Kingdom (or Reign) of God and is reflected in the only prayer he taught his disciples. Through various parables, Jesus explained that any service rendered to a human being is a service rendered to him and to God (Mt. 25:31–46). In other words, God is to be seen primarily in every human being.

To realise the vision of Jesus—the Kingdom or Reign of God—and to become messengers of peace and harmony, human beings must transcend their lower identities and focus on their highest identities: humanity and being sons or daughters of God.

A person possesses multiple identities, such as religion, class, gender, profession, language, and political affiliation. As Dr Amartya Sen observes in his book Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny, "I can be, at the same time, an Asian, an Indian citizen, a Bengali with Bangladeshi ancestry, an American or British resident, an economist, a dabbler in philosophy, an author, a Sanskritist, a strong believer in secularism and democracy, a man, a feminist, a heterosexual..."

Dr Sen argues that a significant source of potential conflict in the contemporary world is the assumption that people can be uniquely categorised based on religion or culture. "Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people, championed by proficient artisans of terror," he writes.

Identity can give a person a sense of belonging and security. At the same time, it can also exclude others and, at times, lead to hatred and enmity toward another group. The very process of creating an 'us' inevitably involves creating a 'them'—those who are not like us. Hence, the force of any belligerent identity must be challenged by the power of competing identities, as Dr Amartya Sen advocates.

When I reflect on myself, I see multiple identities within me. I am a Christian priest by religion; at the same time, I am a Malayalee by language and culture; I am a social worker by profession and a writer by hobby. Therefore, I cannot claim that being a Christian is my only identity. I constantly make choices about the relative importance I attach to my different loyalties and priorities in a given context. This process requires reasoning and conscious choice.

When I attend a meeting of social workers, for instance, I do not foreground my identity as a Christian. Overemphasising a single identity—such as religion or ethnicity—and restricting oneself exclusively to it often creates conflict. Hence, accepting the plurality of identities, along with the freedom to choose which identity to emphasise in a given situation, and focusing on the highest identity—humanity—is essential for creating a conducive atmosphere for peace and harmony.

The politicisation of particular identities often leads to conflict and violence. Some political parties and leaders attempt to polarise people based on ethnicity, religion, race, or language to capture and retain political power. In this process, people belonging to religions, races, or languages other than that of the majority are portrayed as competitors or threats. In the Indian context, right-wing political parties often present Muslims and Christians as threats to the Hindu majority.

In this context, a reference to François Gautier's The Guru of Joy: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living is pertinent. According to the author, human beings have five major identities. First, all human beings are part of the Divine; second, they belong to the human race; third, they are either male or female; fourth, they belong to a particular nation; and fifth, they belong to a particular religion.

To engage in meaningful dialogue with followers of other religions, one must focus on the highest identities—humanity and the divine presence in every person. The ability to transcend lower identities and reach the highest identity contributes significantly to effective interreligious dialogue and the building of peace and harmony.

A focus on spirituality—that is, the practice of moral and ethical values, affirmation of human identity, and concern for the environment—can help build understanding and harmony among people of different religions, races, and cultures. Spirituality goes hand in hand with critical thinking and a scientific temper. Article 51A of the Indian Constitution enjoins citizens to develop a scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

The Hindi film Dharam, directed by Bhavana Talwar, vividly portrays the transformation of its protagonist, Pandit Chaturvedi, from narrow religiosity to a deeper spirituality, and the freedom, joy, and courage he experiences as a result of this metamorphosis. The film concludes with a bold statement and a sublime definition of religion articulated by Pandit Chaturvedi: "Religion is not mere ritual, but duty and responsibility; rejecting discrimination is religion; unity and harmony are religion; humanity is religion."

As we celebrate Christmas 2025, the world remains bruised by wars, violent conflicts, revenge, and hatred. The prioritisation of lower identities, combined with greed for power, is a major cause of the violence witnessed in different parts of the world. Eleven people were shot dead after two gunmen opened fire at Sydney's Bondi Beach during a Jewish religious event on 14th December. Religious identity–based right-wing politics in India have disfigured the country through deep divisions, hatred, and violence. The aspiration to make India a developed nation by 2047 will remain a distant dream if such politics continues to dominate the public sphere.

May the celebration of Christmas 2025 inspire the followers of Jesus to become true messengers of peace and harmony by recognising Jesus in every human being—every child, youth, adult, and elderly person—irrespective of religion, caste, race, language, or any other difference.