The script below is only my opinion, there is always room for debate and / or comments
When we celebrate Christmas, what are we celebrating? Is it the Love that was the intention of Christ when he walked the earth so many years ago? Or is it something else? I believe that the real meaning of Christmas has been lost in the materialism of our current society. The simplicity of it is gone.
Christmas is many things to many people, different ideas, different rituals, different foods, but it all comes down to one idea in most western households – Gifts! The main focus a lot of children have, is on the gifts they may or may not be receiving – and I am writing about the average household that I am familiar with. There are households who celebrate Christmas and focus on the religious aspect of the season altho I would say those are few.
Christmas has become materialistic and that shows up in the advertising that pushes consumers towards more buying, Christmas music is played in stores sometimes at the end of October, certainly in November. The focus is on big, bright, flashy decorations, gifts, parties, and over indulgence. The big push from retailers is buy, buy, buy. Somewhere in all of this hustle and bustle, the Christ and what he stood for, has been removed from Christmas.
To my way of thinking, a sad part of the “gift push” by society, is that in many homes, money is scarce and buying the latest fad gifts is not possible. Another downside is when money is scarce, some parents spend dollars anyway and the credit card amount skyrockets. There is much stress and pressure put on parents this time of year. After the Christmas season, reality sets in because the bills cannot be paid – interest on most credit cards is huge, putting these parents in more and more debt.
Children hear conversations in school about who is getting what big gift at Christmas, maybe these children know they don’t have a hope of getting that same sought after item or know that there is no money for any gifts. Some of these children are fortunate enough to be the recipients of charitable groups that work hard all year to gather gifts and food for those who would not otherwise have these small luxuries.
Another topic I want to address is the controversy about Christmas Greetings. The importance of these Greetings lies in the intention, not the actual words. Is the Greeter intending Love and Joy? If that is the case ( and most often is) then what can we quibble about? If someone sends you Love and Joy, do you question how they state it? I am happy receiving a Love & Joy filled greeting anytime, Christmas season or otherwise.
There are many wonderful actions and activities that occur during the Christmas season. This time of year brings out the best in most people, more smiles to strangers, more goodwill, benevolence, compassion and pure kindness is shown to one another – people open up their hearts to others more in the month of December than any other time of the year. This is the upside of the Christmas season when pure Love enters hearts and stays for a time.
Magic cannot be dismissed either, children love magic and the Christmas season has lots of magic happening! Santa is a magic Elf, the reindeer are magic, Santa’s sled is magic as it can hold gifts for (supposedly ) all the children in the world – and can magically soar through the skies. These tales bring sparkles to the eyes of the little ones as they lay awake waiting to hear the reindeer hooves on the roof or catch a glimpse of Santa. There is much controversy about the Santa story. Some parents refuse to tell the tale of Santa to their children thinking this is lying to them, others love the story so they pass it on generation to generation. As with everything, there are two sides to the conundrum and of course many opinions.
We also have the Sacred and Spiritual part of Christmas and because of our many diverse belief systems, there are different rituals, traditions and customs practiced by various groups during this time of the year. None are wrong, none are right, they are just different. The one feeling that is most pervasive through all of these December days is Love, that is what is important, the love we show to each other. This feeling of Love occurs and is practiced by humanity all year but I believe it is most shown during the Christmas season.
I wish you all a Love filled and Joyous Christmas / Holiday season!
These are my thoughts and opinions on Christmas !
Bethel
December 20, 2015
