P.M.’s Christmas Message

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30943, 27 December 1965, Page 3

P.M.’s Christmas Message

(N Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Dec. 26. New Zealanders abroad and Pacific neighbours received a special greeting from the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) in his Christmas Day message.

The text of the message is: “Once again I am privileged to speak to you on Christmas Day, to wish each and every one of you a very happy Christmas. “Most of you will be at home, enjoying the company of your family and close friends. In this atmosphere of love, peace and understanding, the spirit of Christmas finds its fullest and deepest expression. “Many of you, less fortunate. are in hospital. Others are in Antarctica, at our weather stations in the Pacific, or serving with our 'Armed Forces in Malaysia and in Vietnam. Wherever you are, I send a special greeting and hope that you will soon be reunited with your family and friends. “Greetings and best wishes, too, to those who staff our hospitals and who carry on our essential services over the holiday period. “I also send a special greeting to our friends in the Pacific, to our island territories and to the new nations of Western Samoa and- the Cook Islands. BIBLE STORY

“We celebrate Christmas as the birthday of Jesus Christ. The Bible story of His birth, as set down in the Gospel of S_ Luke, tells how

Joseph And Mary went from their home in the town of Nazareth to Bethlehem. They arrived late, tile inn was crowded, and so they sought shelter in a stable. There the child, Jesus, was born. “The Bible goes on to tell how some shepherds who were watching their sheep in the fields that night were told of His birth by an angel and how they went down to visit the child in the manger where His Mother had placed Him.

“What a wonderful story this is. What a wonderful story is the life of Christ, from His birth to His Crucifixion and His Resurrection. Through His birth, life and death, man received the message of love, of new hope and of new life. “The first celebration of Christmas took place at Alexandria, in Egypt, some 200

years after the death of Christ. Until the Middle Ages it was purely a religious observance and then it began to assume its present-day significance as a time of rejoicing as well as a religious festival. “In Britain since the Middle Ages people have always celebrated the occasion with family gatherings, with merrymaking and with the giving of presents.

“This we have inherited from Britain and although a Christmas without snow and blazing Yule logs might seem inreal to Britons, we in New Zealand continue to observe all the customs of Christmas. It has deep meaning and great significance to us all. “Today observance of Christmas is universal throughout the Christian world. Everywhere it is, above all, a children’s holi-

day and to them this day belongs. “Whatever Christmas means for us, it is the children who come first in our thoughts. What parent, or grandparent, is not blessed by the radiance of Christmas seen in the eyes of a child? BLISSFUL CHAOS

“By now I expect most of you are in that state of blissful chaos which is somehow part and parcel of Christmas, an aftermath of preparation, of feasting and merriment 1 hope that your day has been a full and satisfying one. “I wish you all the joys and blessings of Christmas, and health, happiness and prosperity during the coming year. Let this be a time of happiness in homes throughout the country. “A merry Christmas to you all,” the Prime Minister said