Christmas

A couple of years ago I was a community columnist for our local paper. I could write articles about anything I wanted. At Christmas time that year, Mitchell inspired my column. I thought it would be nice to share it since it is that time of year again.
Merry Christmas !


During a recent bedtime story, I read a Christmas book from the library to my 5 and 3-year-old children. It was the story of some bears that were looking for the perfect Christmas tree. The father bear went into the woods with his cubs to cut one himself, every tree they came upon that was “perfect” had other animal inhabitants living in it, and the bears did not want to uproot them. At the end of the story, all the furry creatures surprised father bear by decorating his home for Christmas to repay him for not destroying theirs. The moral of the story was being kind to others and how Christmas is about giving and not receiving. It was a nice story. When I finished, my son tapped his hand on the back cover of the book, saying, “ they forgot something, they forgot something! They forgot about Jesus”. My son gets it.

We spend time with our children making sure that they know the real reason why we celebrate on December 25th. Sure, the visits with Santa are fun; the parties and food are enjoyable. Giving presents makes you feel good. But do you know why we give presents at Christmas? Is it to make our children happy? Show our appreciation for friends and relatives? Yep, that’s part of it. Ask my children why we give presents and they will say “ because we got the BIGGEST present of all: Jesus.” We give our gifts to show our love for Jesus.

People ask: “what do you want for Christmas this year?” Many will give a list of material things that they want; some say the philosophical things like “ peace on earth”. My Christmas wish is that people slow down in the hustle and bustle of the season, slow down, and listen to the songs that tell the reason for the season. The words of O Holy Night: “ Long lay the earth, in sin and error pining, til He appeared and the soul felt its worth”. The” He” there is the baby Jesus. What an inspiration to hear, to learn the whole story, Christmas is the beginning and a very joyful time for Christians. But don’t forget it’s only the beginning, “the rest of the story,” as a famous radio personality says, happens at Easter when Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Taking the religious aspect out of these holidays will never change their meaning to those of us who rejoice in them. We need to make sure that everyone knows the real reason for this most magical time. To celebrate the real reason will make the holiday much more meaningful. Little things like Christmas carols and gift exchanges have much more significance than just a song and present when the true meaning behind it is your motivation.

Make a new tradition this year, along with the Christmas cookies, tree decorating and Holiday parties, attend an Advent service, Christmas concert or even watch the movie “ the Passion of the Christ.” Like my son said about his book, don’t forget the big “Something” that Christmas is about: Jesus.