Holiday Hubbub: Christmas

Let's talk Christmas! One of my favorite holidays!  It's also the most wonderful time of the year! Did you see what I did there?  Ha!  I'm clever like that (not really).  Christmas is such a broad topic...where do I even start?  I guess I'll start in Bethlehem.

Micah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  If you haven't read the Christmas story, you can find it in the Bible, Luke chapter 2.  Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, born Christmas Day.  Hence the name Christmas.  It was originally a sacred day, used to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and everything He did for us.  It's a long, amazing story which I can share in another post.  However, today Christmas has blown up into a huge holiday filled with dinners, decorations, and, of course, shopping.  I feel like the true meaning of Christmas has been lost.  I know that sounds cliché, but let's examine what Christmas has become.

It all starts the day after Thanksgiving with Black Friday.  It's the biggest shopping day of the year with deals galore.  The entire week of Thanksgiving is filled with sales flyers, Christmas wish lists, and preparation for the big day.  Unfortunately, the big day is no longer Thanksgiving, which is supposed to be a time spent giving thanks to God with family and friends.  The big day is now Black Friday, where people trample people in order to save a few dollars.  Is it really worth it?  We just spent the day talking about what we are thankful for, then we go straight to the stores and greedily grab everything we think we need to have.  Now, I'm not saying Black Friday is bad, in fact, I enjoy Black Friday shopping.  I just think it's getting out of hand.  With stores opening earlier and earlier each year, people are beginning to leave their Thanksgiving dinner to go stand in line outside a store.  That's pushing it way too far.  Shopping and gifts should never come between you and your family.  Thanksgiving is a special time, why ruin it by leaving in the middle of dinner?  Plus, you're wasting all that good food.  Either your family can't cook or you're crazy.  I'd say it's probably the latter.  Also, you are making the poor store employees leave their dinners to help serve you.  That's not right.  I'm not saying Black Friday is a bad thing, I'm just saying it should not interfere with Thanksgiving.

So, first we have Black Friday to kick off the Christmas season.  Then it's nonstop commercials, flyers, magazines, and emails promoting the best, lowest prices for that perfect gift.  We are constantly bombarded with material things, but what about the true meaning of Christmas?

Fun fact: You know how people abbreviate 'Christmas' 'Xmas'?  Well, I was always offended by this because I thought it was another way people were trying to take Christ out of Christmas.  The X is the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός meaning Christ. So they aren't taking Christ out of Christmas, contrary to popular belief.  Just wanted to let you know.

As a Christian, the holiday of Christmas is very important to me.  It is the birthday of my Lord and Savior.  Seeing His birthday turned into a commercialized, materialistic holiday is disappointing.  The original idea of gift giving on Christmas came from the wiseman presenting Jesus with their gifts.  While it's fine to give gifts on Christmas, don't make that your focus.  Always take time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ and everything He did for us.  Spend time with your family and friends.  Enjoy the peaceful, serene feeling of Christmas.  Don't go overboard with gifts and material things.  Remember: "Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps... means a little bit more!" (The Grinch)

Keep Christ in Christmas! Because, as Kutless reminds us in their song "This is Christmas":

What is Christmas,
If there never was a Savior wrapped in a manger?
What is Christmas without Christ?

Remember how the story goes,
God's gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Beneath the star, one great and holy night.
The shepherds heard the angels sing,
The wise man brought an offering,
Peace on Earth began in Bethelehem
Have we lost the reason that we celebrate each year?

This song holds so much truth.  I'd post the entire song but that would be too much, so here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm_g9ix30ek  
 
Merry Christmas everyone!

Thanks for reading!

Sarah Beth

Philippians 1:20-21