Real meaning of Christmas is to make our lives meaningful: Prez

President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa wished all Christians in Sri Lanka and around the world a merry Christmas filled with joy and prosperity where Jesus' teachings of forgiveness, humanity and love spread across the country.

He said in his Christmas message that the dawn of Christmas brings immense joy to all, awakening the hearts of devotees of the noble religion of Jesus Christ, which brought the message of peace and harmony to the world.

“The real meaning of Christmas is to make our lives meaningful. For that, we need to fill our hearts with love and compassion while completely eliminating sinful thoughts. We must uncover the path of spirituality shown by Jesus to the whole world by getting rid of all wrongdoings. Christianity interprets it as the eternal life, “The sound of hymns tells us 'peace be upon pious individuals'. Our aspiration and commitment is to usher in a society with virtuous humans. We strongly believe that the desire and the blessings of God is also for the same objective. We should take steps to prevent recurrence of mournful experiences occurred at the sacred places of worship in the recent past. At present, there is an environment in the country where citizens can celebrate Christmas without fearful thoughts and suspicion. It is the aspiration of all kind-hearted persons which became a reality, and it will provide relief for the hearts which were deeply saddened and shaken,” he said.

“Let us again dedicate ourselves with determination to create a better society where all the human beings will be treated equally, the way Jesus Christ taught us,” he said.