How to not lose your Christmas to the world.
In the past few weeks, I've witnessed a very troubling sight. Several times while talking about Christmas or the traditions thereof, Christians have vocalized animosity for the holiday, claiming that materialism, stress, or secularism has robbed us of the true meaning of the holiday.
While I admit that our society is making every effort to minimize the message of the Christmas holiday, you don't have to let that rob you of your Christmas. You can still enjoy Christmas... love it even... recapture those childhood memories of fascination and wonder. Believe it or not, you can still choose to celebrate Christmas any way you wish to. How? Well, here are a few ideas:
1. I know it's a shame when department stores use "Seasons Greetings", but you can still say "Merry Christmas" to as many people as you want. No one will arrest you.
2. I know it's a sad statement of our priorities when stores prevent the Salvation Army from ringing their bells for the poor, but you can give to the poor and needy anyway. Might I suggest Angel Tree, for instance.
3. Yes, buying gifts for every Tom, Dick, and Suzy can get stressful and expensive, but how about you stop thinking of yourself when you go shopping. If Dr. Gary Chapman is right, gift giving is one of the 5 love languages... and I think it just might be one of the more popular ones. So don't get gifts out of obligation, get them out of love. When you view the buying of gifts as an expression of love for the one you have in mind, you might just find the activity a bit more joy-filled. Praying for the person as you shop is another idea- God might even give you insight on what to get for the person.
4. And there's Santa, his 8 tiny reindeer and all that jazz. He might replace Jesus in some peoples minds, but he does not have to in yours. You can still remember and celebrate the reason for the season no matter what others focus on.
I recall how the Jews have been exiled, persecuted, scattered, and in every way oppressed and yet they have maintained their time honored traditions. How did they keep them over all these years? They did not let society dictate who they were and how they were to think. They were God's chosen people, a nation set apart for His purposes. That would not change no matter what the world said or did.
Now it's our turn, as a royal priesthood... a people of His own possession, to hold onto this holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ- the Righteous One. ...the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:1c, 2)
Merry Christmas everyone!
Comments
your beautiful tree made me think of this thing i heard on the radio last night...
this woman was talking about how she and her brothers and sisters always had an empty christmas tree when they went to bed christmas eve. when they woke up christmas morning, the tree was decorated and there were presents underneath.
i thought it was a cool idea. she said how when she grew up she realized the sacrifice and love that went into making that tradition happen.
i really love it when families make unique traditions for their holidays. i think it's one of the best ways to combat group-think this time of year.
and i think for a lot of children in this family, these traditions bring a sense of unity and WONDER that a shopping mall can't provide.
that's my two cents :)
merry christmas!
Posted by: Autumn at December 5, 2006 09:46 AMGood idea, Autumn. I tried to create a unique tradition of hiding the infant Jesus from our nativity and then the kids had to find Jesus before they could open up their gifts. I think I tried it when they were young, because it was a flop. Maybe I'll give it another try.
Posted by: Tim at December 5, 2006 10:07 AMthere was this woman named beth (she went to stonebrook my freshman year...her husband was an air force chaplain and was taking classes at ISU) did some crazy things for her kids...
one year, they put pictures under the tree. the picture would be of the item where the present was hidden. the kids would have to go find a present, everyone would come back and unwrap one gift and then go off after another.
another year, they made a piece of ribbon start under the tree (a different color for each kid) and strung it all throughout the house. the presents were hidden all along the string. they had to find all the presents and then bring them back to the tree to unwrap them with the family.
this family went all out :)
Posted by: Autumn at December 5, 2006 11:32 AMholy cow autumn, that's some serious christmas tradition!
i have to be careful when approaching christmas, because i'm kind of a grinch...
i've got a rough christmas background - which mostly involved rushing everywhere, staying really busy, cutting weight for wrestling and not eating, cold saturdays climbing huge trees on our acreage to decorate them, getting yelled at while on the roof of our house putting up lights, etc...
sarah and i didn't really celebrate christmas last year, though we did go to two family dinners. the two of us slept in that morning and watched a movie i think. this year i'm thinking about starting advent (i know i'm a week late, but i'll play catch-up. sarah has had much more warm christmas experiences, so she'll be eager this year to actually do something.
christmas is a very "theophostic" time of the year for me...
Posted by: nate at December 5, 2006 09:04 PM