Written By: Elizabeth
My son said to me the other day, “I really don’t care for Christmas much, every one is so stressed out in the days before that it takes the enjoyment out of it!” I was astonished… I’ve always tried to make the holiday season as happy and ‘stress’ free as possible, but kids notice things we don’t. I would like to say that I silently vowed to have a perfect and stress free holiday, but I didn’t… why? Because I know that the more I strive for ‘stress’ free festivities the more stressed out I get. Isn’t that the nature of the man or in this case woman? We get more stressed out trying to reduce the stress in our lives than we were before.
Have people forgotten what Christmas was supposed to be about… I think the giftwrapping, light hanging, tree decorating, Santa’s coming, yuletide carolers would have to agree, Yes, Virginia, Christmas is one big commercialized hype! We see dozens upon dozens of advertisements daily, from all our favorite companys, directing us to buy thier product. Whatever happened to the good old days? You know I really miss the old Budweiser commercials, the horse drawn carriage gliding along snow covered trails making it’s way to grandmothers house… no hype, no glossy centerfold… just the beauty of new fallen snow and the idea of a Christmas spent idly by the fire at grandmas, sipping hot cider and nibbling gingerbread men until we popped.
Or Coke, I’d like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony… I’d like to buy the world a coke and keep her company! As a group gathers with candles in utity to sing…. now don’t get me wrong, I am a true die hard Coke Bear lover and thier commercials are always attention grabbers, but in a good way, a way that warms the heart.
I don’t know about my readers but I for one am truly sick of running all over town to find the perfect gift, because some marketing agency decided it was the ‘have to have’ toy of the year and told my daughter this during Saturday morning cartoons. It’s outrageous.
What has happened to Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men?
The true spirit of the season, the meaning behind it all is gone, replaced by a commercialize crapshoot of holiday bliss. Christmas isn’t about celebrating a birth 2000 or so years ago, it’s not about thanking God for blessings recieved, it’s not even about giving to the less fortunate any more. It’s about the Wal-mart, Target, TJMaxx, Kmart and others bottom line, is it black and how many 0’s does it contain.
When I grew up there was a family tradition, my mom’s sister and her husband would bring my cousin’s to my grandparent’s house for the holiday, we lived right next door… there was all manner of celebration, and my cousins and I fought over the cookies and milk. We would read stories about Christmas and enjoy the time we spent together…. Then it was off to spend the rest of the day with my Dad’s family, which was always a house full of teenagers and good times! What a wonderful way to spend the holiday’s, surrounded by friends, family, good food, and good times… these days if kids get to see ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ or ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ on TV they’ve had thier stories. Families come together on Christmas morning for the express purpose of seeing what they got and then they are off to thier own worlds of computers, playstations and cell phones.
I say down with commercial Christmas, let’s get back to the old ways, when families came together to spend time with one another and the gift giving was just a bonus. Let’s return to the time when Christmas was more about the birth it represented – that of our Loving Savior, and less about who got what from where, and why wasn’t there more under the tree.
Especially in the economy we have now – people need to return to the days of “it’s the thought that counts” and leave behind the greed and glory of finding the “perfect” gift for each and every person on your list. The ultimate gift was given to us by our loving Heavenly Father over 2000 years ago – the gift of His perfect son! Given to us with the knowledge that in just a few short years, he would not only die, but He would die lonely, abused, spat upon, and turned against – and He allowed it to happen because HE LOVED US! How can we, as His beautiful creations turn the birthday of His son into a commercialized fun fest that does nothing but promote greed!
Take a stand this holiday! Give homemade gifts, things with meaning – volunteer at your local homeless shelter, donate clothing, coats or shoes! DO Something that gives back this Christmas, you will find your blessings multiplied!
