Christmas 2006 is nearing an end. The build-up to the day seems long and arduous. At our house it can be down right painful and frustrating with last minute gift shopping for those few remaining items! The madness of traffic and crowds almost make the effort intolerable. Working Retail for years had instilled in me a certain disdain for the season. Thankfully time heals all wounds… as they say.
As I grow older I realize that the build-up and shopping craziness is not Christmas. It is not the presents you’ll receive or what food you will eat. Christmas is the time we remember the birth of Jesus, the greatest gift ever given. God sent his only son to a sin-filled earth to be born, to live, and to die. Jesus became our sin and in death cleansed us from the black stain with his red blood. God the Father gave the ultimate gift through his son’s birth; Jesus gave the ultimate gift through his death… all to save you and me from eternal damnation.
It is because of the example of this gift that we have many of our Holiday traditions. The giving of gifts is to be meaningful and heart-felt. Most of us will never reach the level of selflessness that our Savior exhibited, save maybe those that protect us near and far.
To me Christmas is two separate, but joined celebrations. There is the original intent of giving and sharing that remembers our Lord. There is also a Holiday that is celebrated with Christmas trees, decorations, parties, and food. I believe you can keep Christmas without a decorated tree, without Pere Noel, without feasts and merriment. You can keep Christmas through the simple act of giving. Through a charitable act, Through a phone call to folks long forgotten, but often remembered. To me there is Christmas and there is the Holidays. I keep Christmas through things I feel important to do… I keep the Holidays through the enjoyment of the season.
Rhonda and I sent a Christmas card out this year that had the following message…. The author, Helen Steiner Rice, defines Christmas quite well…
What is Christmas? It’s more than a day at the end of the year, More than a season of joy and good cheer… Christmas is really God’s pattern for living, To be followed all year by unselfish giving. For in giving to others and in being kind, Man finds true joy and peace of mind… And peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day…
And here’s one of my favorite Christmas quote… “It’s only in finding and living the eternal meaning of the Nativity that we can be truly happy, truly at peace, truly home.” —Ronald Reagan
I will close by wishing every the Merriest Christmas and the Happiest Holidays you can have. Remember the day and keep it the year.
