Almost Christmas!

I love Christmas. I think I always have. White Christmases. Not white Christmases. Real tree Christmases. Not-real tree Christmases. As I've been getting into the Christmas spirit and preparing for the upcoming holiday, I've been thinking about the real meaning of Christmas (as I do each and every year), and I've been wondering if how we celebrate Christmas is heretical and if Christmas really has become an entirely heathen holiday. Trees and lights Santa and gifts and traditions and all....hmm...

Now, I've heard of some Christians who don't believe that Christmas should be celebrated (at least not in the traditional December 25th way) because it has become so consumerized and not about Jesus. Instead, they believe that it should be celebrated each day of the year and our joy and thanksgiving to God for sending his Son should be shown each day of the year. Don't get me wrong. This is true. We should live out our joy and peace and thanksgiving and celebration all year long, but isn't God the creator of celebration, as well? In fact, if I remember Spiritual Disciplines at Bethany correctly, isn't celebration actually a spiritual discipline?? So why then should we shun the celebration just because some/many people don't celebrate for the right reasons?

I've come to the conclusion that Christmas is good.

God intended that we take time aside to be with family. This shouldn't just be for a couple days in the dead of winter each year (Christmas), but isn't Jesus' birth a wonderful excuse for additional family get-togethers?? We should appreciate family and take time for them all year, yes, but Christmas is a great time to make memories that are different from the everyday routine of going to work/school and coming home and having supper together and then doing it all over again. Christmas means more time together to make different memories from the wonderful everyday ones.

We give gifts to appreciate what God gave us. For a child, gifts are gifts. Sure, children are always told that gifts are a symbol of God giving us a gift so we give gifts to each other, but really... what child is going to get excited about a gift for the sole reason that God gave him Jesus? Maybe I was just a shallow child, but to me, gifts were about the gifts. Is that wrong? No, I don't think so, because even if Christmas gifts mean nothing more to a child than getting presents, at least it's family time and the seed is planted to know the real reason for Christmas celebrations. What a child knows in theory, an adult can realize for themself later. For adults, gifts somehow change, at least for me they have. Sure, I still get excited about getting gifts, but they are more humbling than they used to be. Maybe it's because I realize that I don't really need these things, or maybe it's because I have my own budget and realize how much tighter things can get in November/December. I can almost imagine, then, how the Pharisee's must have felt when God suddenly gave the gift of his Son. They probably thought they didn't need anything because they had their lives under control. They obeyed the law, they had things their lives together, then suddenly the truth comes out that they actually can't do it on their own? Suddenly all their work and diligence is for nothing and they need this little baby to be saved? If I was in their place, I might have felt a little guilty for accepting God's Son because I knew what it cost God to send him here to earth and I wouldn't have really felt like I needed Him. It would have been terribly humbling to suddenly realize that you couldn't save yourself like you always thought. Gifts nowadays are sometimes a bit humbling, but it makes us realize how God gave something so much larger, something that cost him so much more than anything we give for Christmas these days, to a group of people who didn't really feel like they needed it. What incredible love is that?

The decorations? I don't know the significance of that. Maybe it's good because it draws families together to decorate the tree. Maybe putting lights on your house helps spread the joy of the season to the whole town so that the whole ambiance (great word, eh?) is a reminder of Jesus' birth. Maybe it just looks pretty and cozy and wintery. For summer: cut flowers. For winter: poinsettias, lights, candles and trees. Who knows? Maybe I'll explore the doctrine of Christmas decorations next year...

Having said all this, I still believe that without the underlying joy and purpose of celebrating God's gift of his Son to us, Christmas is nothing. Family time is only special when you all realize the true meaning of Christmas. Gifts are only negative consumerism unless you give what you can without breaking the budget, and as a display of love and a reminder of God's love for us. And decorations? Decorate with family, and enjoy the ambiance of joy, peace, love, and remembrance.


P.s. - About Santa: Santa is not Christmas and he shouldn't have any more part in Christmas than a mascot has in a football game. Sure it's entertaining to some, but everyone knows it's about the game, and not the empty, lifeless costume.

P.P.S. - I'm sure I'll continue to ponder these thoughts and perhaps my views will change. If anyone wonders about something I wrote or has anything to add, please feel free to do so. I am not bound to these words for life. I am bound to God, and he reveals himself throughout life; season by season.