Church leaders have urged Victorians to take time out of this year's busy Christmas celebrations to focus on peace, love, hope and social integration.
In his Christmas video message Melbourne's Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli said the birth of Jesus was the "world's greatest gift of hope".
"At a time when our institutions - political, social and religious - are so damaged, it is a person who can bring to us renewed reasons to find hope for ourselves, and offer hope to others," he said.
"Hope in the person of Jesus Christ opens up to us new horizons of goodness and rightness; the birth of Jesus challenges the mirages of dominance and self-centredness.
"So continue to believe in Jesus Christ, born from God and born of Mary, for he offers us his life so that we might find our lives in him."
Uniting Church in Australia Synod of Victoria and Tasmania Moderator Rev Sharon Hollis says Christmas is the season we celebrate God taking on the human form.
Speaking from a Kingsville aged-care home, Rev Hollis said when we think of Christmas stories people often think of adorable children acting out the nativity scene.
"One of the interesting things about Luke's nativity story is that most of the characters, except for the holy family, are old," she said in a video message.
"They remind us that when our bodies are weak or despised, Jesus is with us.
"When we are judged harshly by the world Jesus looks at us with love. When we are ignored because we old or frail Jesus sees us and cherishes us."
Melbourne's Anglican Archbishop Philip Freier, in his video message, discussed the value of a recent multicultural service at St Paul's Cathedral.
"The Cathedral was alive with colour, sound and movement. It highlighted what we can be together, in service of God and each other."
He added that reflecting on Jesus at this time of year - despite its frantic pace - was inspiring.
"Christmas is a time for joy and peace. Yes, it can be sentimentalised, trivialised by all the busyness and commercialisation of what should be a simple celebration, and it can be challenged by the pace, pressures and pain of ordinary life," he said.
"But reflecting on Jesus Christ and how he fulfilled the promises of God is inspiring.
"As the famous Christmas carol puts it, peace on Earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled."
