Traveling To Celebrate Christ

By Jide Afolabi

About 2051 years ago, a certain young child was born in a manger in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod.

Then came wise men from the East to Jerusalem having seen the unique star of the young child in far away east to “worship Him” – the King.

The wise men travelled long distance perhaps by walking or through camels as that was primarily the mode of transport in their days. They found the young boy and worshipped Him.

This young boy who was named Emmanuel (Lord is with us) eventually turned to be the Christ (Saviour) of the world whom the whole world worships. Christmas is celebrated to remember His birth, whom Christians believe is the Son of God.

History has it that the name ‘Christmas’ comes from the Mass of Christ (or Jesus). A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember that Jesus died for the world and then came back to life. The ‘Christ-Mass’ service was the only one that was allowed to take place after sunset (and before sunrise the next day), so people had it at Midnight. So we get the name Christ-Mass, shortened to Christmas.

Today, Christmas is now celebrated by people around the world, whether they are Christians or not. It’s a time when family and friends come together and remember the good things they have. People, and especially children, also like Christmas as it’s a time when you give and receive presents.

While no one knows the real birthday of Jesus. No date is given in the Bible, so why do we celebrate it on the 25th December? The early Christians certainly had many arguments as to when it should be celebrated. Also, the birth of Jesus probably didn’t happen in the year 1 but slightly earlier, somewhere between 2 BCE/BC and 7 BCE/BC, possibly in 4 BCE/BC (there isn’t a 0 – the years go from 1 BC/BCE to 1).

The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25th was in 336, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine who was the first Christian Roman Emperor. A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the 25th December.

In our contemporary world, unlike the wise men who travelled by land, we now fly in the air to worship the King. As a result, many airlines come to mind. However, one is the best and that is Arik Airline.

Arik Air is a privately and wholly Nigerian owned commercial airline operating both domestic and international flights and started operations in 2006.

In West Africa, it is the leading airline and flies to many destinations including London, New York, Lagos, Johannesburg, Dakar, Banjul, Freetown, Monrovia, Abidjan, Accra, Cotonou, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Douala, Libreville, Luanda, Sokoto, Kano, Gombe, Yola, Enugu, Calabar, Benin, Illorin, Ibadan, Asaba, Warri, Uyo, Owerri, Kaduna, Jos, Warri, Benin, Asaba and Enugu.

Arik Air operates from its two hub airports in Abuja and Lagos and its head office is located at the Arik Air Aviation Centre on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos State.

Arik provides customers with seamless connectivity and is the largest carrier in West Africa, and serves a large network of destinations in Nigeria, Africa, Europe, and the US.

The airlines has become very reliable over the years, and cancellations are an issue of the past since they count with a fleet of over 25 aircraft.

Their mission has been on improving connectivity in the region and facilitate the movement of passengers across their network. Arik Air’s fleet consists of CRJ100, Airbus A340-500, Airbus A330s, Boeing 737s, Bombardier CRJ-900, Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and Hawker HS 125-800XP.

Arik Air covers a wide range of destinations across three continents and is constantly seeking to expand to offer passengers the most complete selection of flights in West Africa.

So, as we travel to celebrate the gift that God gave the world through the birth of Jesus Christ, let’s make a comfortable, secured and passenger friendly with a wide network airline, Arik Air, our choice.

However, the essence of celebrating Christ must not be lost on us. Merry Christmas!