I’m tired of people complaining about Christmas gifts, trees, too many lights and all the work that goes into the Christmas celebration. I know that we are obnoxiously commercialized, materialistic and obsessive about buying things, but, can we just hold the complaints for a week or two? I like giving gifts. And I like making way too much food for people and even knitting scarves and mittens for loved ones scarves (I know, it’s sad, isn’t it?)
Christmas is a time of intense celebration and it should be. After all, the most profound miracle in the history of the entire world happened Christmas day and if there is ever anything in life worth celebrating, it is that miracle. A teenage girl became pregnant by God Himself and rode a donkey to a barn, labored and gave birth to a boy that would crack the world wide open.
So, come on friends. Lights, cookies made with real butter and trees lit up like a three ring circus is about to arrive are all good things. I realize that Christmas is a holy time, one of deep reflection and seriousness, but it’s also a time when we should let our celebration of the love that we enjoy, the friendships that we have and the good things that have happened to us all year, rip.
Christmas should be a veritable party and all who walk the streets should be filled with great cheer. I can be- at least until I run into a talking head who reminds me how spoiled, materialistic and superficial I am because I bake too much and spend too much time decorating every gift I give like it’s the Sistine Chapel and I am Michelangelo. The truth is, I love people by giving them stuff. We must remember that giving isn’t just about the receiver- it’s about the giver too.
My husband informed me at my yearly, ”now it’s Christmas but don’t spend too much money buying gifts this year” lecture that instead of giving our grown children a nice coat, we should write them a check . After all, that’s far more practical. And, he reasoned, they can buy what they really need. Bah-humbug I told him. I can’t decorate an envelope with a check in it and giving gifts is about me, too, I retorted.
Whatever prompts you this advent season to hunker down and get very serious and practical, look up at the sky. Look for the brightest star you can find and pretend that you are one of the wise men astrologers stumbling upon a baby in a barn who claimed to be God’s son. If that doesn’t bring out a desire to dance and celebrate, you’re hopeless. You- more than any of us eating too much, giving store bought presents and having a grand old time, will need a gift or two just to make you feel better.
Are you a Christmas grinch? Or, do you find yourself feeling full of the Spirit this time of year?
