At a recent conference, Maori human rights activist Moana Jackson suggested stories provided a means to ask questions and seek answers and therefore were part of the never-ending quest for knowledge.
Christmas is a time for many to retell stories that have significance and meaning for them.
The stories associated with World War 1, for instance, are being told this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a war that took its toll on many people, lands and families from 1914 to 1918.
One particular story that captured the symbolic power of sport was that of the Christmas Truce.
This narrative suggests that German and British soldiers on the Western Front ventured into no man's land on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914 to mingle and exchange seasonal greetings, food and souvenirs.
As is often the case in cross-cultural situations, attempts to find commonalities occurred that apparently resulted in a game of football taking place between ''enemies'' during this unofficial cease-fire.
It is a great story and one should never let the ''truth'' stand in the way of a good story because stories tell of cultural codes and world-views that represent a particular perspective.
These stories and images of cease-fire moments, although not as widespread and regular as we romantically imagine, provide us with symbolic flashes of peace and humanity amid one of the most violent events of human history.
The cease-fire football game demonstrates how sport is very symbolic and can be used to depict a nation's mood, world-view, or aspirations.
Cricket has played a key role in telling this collective story recently. For Australia and those who knew Phillip Hughes, it was a chance to mourn the tragic death of a young man in unexpected circumstances.
Whether you were moved by his passing or not, it was an event that many in the cricket family were affected by, so postponing or cancelling games altogether seemed to be the best way of acknowledging this tragedy and the emotions it evoked.
It should come as no surprise, then, that the Pakistan cricket team wanted to postpone the match against the Black Caps to digest the horrific tragedy that took place at a school in Pakistan where at least 132 children and nine staff were killed by Taliban gunmen.
As leading Pakistan batsman Younis Khan said: ''How do you play a match when your spirit is not in the game?''
The Australian and New Zealand cricketers made the same plea in the wake of Hughes' death, so how can we expect a team to play on when they are affected by a school massacre?
Playing sport can be a way of acknowledging a respite from death and destruction, as was the rare case during World War 1, and not playing sport can also be a sign of respect and empathy.
Christmas is a time for remembering the past, enjoying the present and contemplating the future.
One would hope that the same level of compassion and understanding is displayed to the Pakistan players and people as it was to the antipodean cricket followers.
When contemplating the way a story unfolds, we need to think about who the characters are and what the moral will be, because how we react to these violent events through sport adds another chapter to the stories we will no doubt retell in the future.
