The glorious day is upon us again! A day set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth was foretold by many prophets long before he was born, and many signs were prophesied as means of identifying him when he was eventually born. One of such signs was that he would be wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Indeed, clothe (fashion) has been playing significant roles in the existence of mankind. Besides its basic function of covering man’s nakedness (…and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons (clothe)) clothe played a significant role in helping to identify the messiah of the world when he was born. The scripture accounts that when the angels appeared to the shepherds at night, the sign identifying the infant Jesus as the Messiah was that He would be wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Swaddling clothes are long, narrow strips of cloth for wrapping an infant which restrict any form of movements. The custom of swaddling a child helps them feel comfortable, protects them from the cold weather, and prevents their flailing arms from waking them up. It is a common practice in Nigeria to swaddle a baby in its early days in life.
Historical biblical records reveal what was significant about Jesus being swaddled in clothes, one of it is the fact that he was born in a manger– an animal feeding trough. The baby Jesus lying in an animal trough and ironically wrapped in clothes fitting for the wealthy would be an incredible sign to the shepherds that indeed he is not just an ordinary child but a special one at that, because Mary coming to the manger to have her baby literarily shows that they were poor and could not afford to go to the inn.
Also, in those times it was the more affluent and rich who had the resources to afford such swaddling clothes for their children. Since Mary and Joseph were on travel journeying the town of Joseph’s ancestors at the time of Jesus’ birth, it is possible that people of means gave Mary some clothes for Jesus.
Jesus was wrapped in cloth as a sign that He was special and that He was the King of kings. The significance of his royalty was shown in the swaddling clothe with which he was wrapped. Hence, this foregrounds that the kind of clothe that a man wears tells more about the kind of person and the kind of status he/she belongs to.
Merry Christmas 🎄
Wear what speaks of your Royal Heritage in Christ!
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Ciao.
Photo Credit: @easykidsandmore
