Reflecting on Christmas

O admirabile commercium:
creator generis humani,
animatum corpus sumens
de virgine nasci dignatus est;
et, precedens homo sine semine,
largitus est nobis suam Deitatem.

O wonderful gift:
the creator of the human race,
taking our flesh upon him,
deigns to be born of a virgin;
and, coming forth without seed of man,
bestows his Divinity upon us.

Growing up, I loved Christmas primarily because of the gifts that I received. But what is the spiritual significance of Christmas? What is the real gift? Well, I knew Christmas to be Christ's birthday - but is that all it is? A birthday? Absolutely not. Some mock the Catholic disposition toward the baby Jesus. They ask,

On your birthday, do you get out all of your baby pictures? Of course not. You're an adult now! So why do you Catholics still have Jesus in the crib on His birthday?

Yes, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ. But celebrating the birth of Christ is no mere birthday. Rather, it is the celebration of an event, and that event is God taking on human flesh and becoming a human child, being born of a Virgin. This is the Son of God in full humility. Christmas is therefore a recalling to mind of the awesome beauty and mystery of the Incarnation. This is what the baby Jesus represents - the fruit of the most extraordinary event in human history. The true gift. O admirabile commercium!