Thurman begins by comparing Hanukkah and Christmas. They are both crucial moments that “gather into themselves the essence of all striving and the meaning of all hope.” Hanukkah remembers “preservation of the eternal light.” Christmas “announces . . . a light that lightest every man that cometh into the world.” He then shares two touching Christmas stories. The first of a man who celebrated Christmas with his towns impoverished children. The second of Thurman viewing the sunrise over Mt. Everest. He concludes by sharing the meaning of Christmas, “light is the enemy of the darkness. And the light does not have to shine all the time.”

Part of the Collection, Religious & National Holidays

Tags: Christmas, Hanukkah, light

Description by Erik Mattson

Recorded in Fellowship Church, San Francisco, California

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “The Mood of Christmas, 1978 December 24,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/1175.