Christmas: a time of devotion and joy

Satara Bixby*

| December 24, 2025

Another year has passed, and the spiral of time has once again brought us to the blessed moment of celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Light of the Supreme Father come to Earth in the humble form of a beautiful baby boy, into the arms of His Most Holy Mother.

Christmas is a time of devotion, when we in the Uniao do Vegetal join with a great part of humanity to celebrate the coming of the Savior to this earth, to bow our heads in reverence. In the UDV we gather together and through our religious ritual we celebrate the birth of Jesus within the Light of Hoasca. Some who are faithful may kneel and touch their forehead to the ground; others sing their praises in ancient, traditional songs; others may find a brother in need to share a meal or a warm coat; while others may revel in bringing laughter and joy and fun to the children. There are so many ways to celebrate the coming of the Light.

Jesus welcomed the little children to him, and instructed his disciples to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Children… who are simple of heart, quick to forgive, find joy in nature, and whose minds and hearts are open to learning something new. May we all take a moment this Christmas to become more like the little children. After all, it’s Christmas! Remember the feeling when you were a child?

For Christmas is a time for the children, for the uniting of families and for joy and for family traditions that remind us all that the world, despite its sufferings and the modern pace of life, is still filled with enchantment and mystery and wonder.

When our children were young we asked them… Who is this baby Jesus, whose birthday is so important that it is celebrated all over the world by so many people in so many countries and languages and cultures, and though he is the birthday boy, we are the ones to receive gifts? Gifts of peace and of forgiveness, of joy and of union, of time spent enjoying good company and good food and good feelings, and maybe a new toy to play with…

Our youngest daughter, now almost 17 years old, puts together the family nativity set with the same care that she did when she was little, remembering how she and her older siblings, who today are sócios of the UDV, used to play “Session” (it was always baby Jesus who would “direct” the “Session”, and the sheep and shepherds and wise men and Mary and Joseph and the donkey would all gather in a circle to be the participants in this mystical session born of a child’s imagination.) Oh, to see Jesus as the children see Him!

Let us take a moment, let us pause in our busy lives, take a breath, put down our phones (for one of the best gifts we can give to our children and loved ones is simply our time, our undistracted presence), let us embrace our loved ones and be grateful for the food we share, for the roof over our heads, for the health that allows us to fulfill our responsibilities in life. Gratitude, to the One who gives us Everything.

And let’s remember that Christmas is a time of saudades, for those who have passed on to one of the many dwelling places in the house of our Father. On Christmas we feel the saudades, the longing, deeper, for saudade is another word for love, and it is during this time that we may need to feel the tender embrace of the mantle and the arms of our Most Holy Mother, to carry us through, to calm our hearts and to help us find the joy that is beyond the suffering. May all those in need of comfort this Christmas find their solace in this holy embrace.

May we all build within ourselves, within the deep silence of our most intimate being, a space, a simple manger, where the Light of Truth can be born. And may this Light grow to fill us with inspiration and with generosity, the will to shine this light so that Peace may grow in the world, through simple, inspired words, and acts of generosity and kindness toward our brothers and our sisters, toward our parents and toward our children… Love in practice.

In this way may we begin to live one of the greatest teachings of our Savior: to love God above all things, and each other as we love ourselves. For we Caianinhos learn from our Great Mestre Gabriel, our Spiritual Guide, that this is the path for us to become meritors of the greatest gift that Christmas can bring: the Symbol of the União, that is Light, Peace, and Love.

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*Satara Bixby is a member of the Body of Counsel of Núcleo Santa Fe – New Mexico, USA (18th Region).