What Australian newspapers are saying Thursday, Dec 25, 2003

AAP General News (Australia)
12-25-2003
What Australian newspapers are saying Thursday, Dec 25, 2003

SYDNEY, Dec 25 AAP - Hundreds of Australian service men and women, fire fighters, doctors,
nurses, teachers and police are all examples of goodness and self-sacrifice in our community
which are often taken for granted, the Daily Telegraph says today.

The paper says that while it may seem, from reading the newspaper or watching the television,
that wickedness is on the rise, it is the fact that wicked deeds are uncommon that makes
them newsworthy.

"Goodness and decency, being common, claim less time in the spotlight," the paper says.

"The fundamental message taught us by Jesus, whose birth many of us celebrate at Christmas,
was to love our fellow man," it says.

"And truly, most people, according to their lights and regardless of their religious
conviction, follow that code."

Today we observe a great religious celebration at a time when the world is as much
touched - and troubled - by religion as at any time in recent history, today's Adelaide
Advertiser says.

For many people Christmas has become secular, not sacred: it is the time of gifts and
feasting, family reunions and the glad sounds of children, it says.

"Yet here, too, the essential Christmas message is heard," the paper says.

"It is the message of peace and goodwill, of hope. More than that, however, it is about
reaching out."

Christmas is, among other things, a time of gift-giving, today's Age says.

Some of the defenders of Christmas, especially in the churches, aren't always entirely
comfortable with this, for obvious reasons, it says.

"Each year, the seasonal messages of bishops and moderators are peppered with regret
for the fact that, for many people, the commemoration of Christ's birth has apparently
become a pretext for a spending spree."

But these same messages also typically acknowledge that the association between Christmas
and gift-giving is not just an accidental one, not just a matter of later generations
imitating the three wise men in the Gospel story, with their gifts of gold, frankincense
and myrrh to a newborn child, the paper says.

"For Christians, that child himself is a gift, the ultimate gift; and, as such, a reminder
of the way in which we experience the arrival of a child in our lives as a gift."

Christmas Day is a time of thankfulness and optimism for the human race, particularly
Australians, today's Herald Sun says.

Sometimes the joy of having the family gather around can be lost in the frenzy of gift-giving,
eating and tension that exists in many families, it says.

"But take a moment of reflection to treasure this time, to treasure this peace, this
togetherness."

AAP cbs

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