As Christmas Approaches

No other season captures me more than Christmas.  My love for this time of the year has nothing to do with receiving gifts. I truly enjoy the spirit of Christmas – the sense of giving. I also enjoy the other aspects such as the music, decorations and the attitudes of most people. I listen to Christmas songs and I sing along which helps me get into a joyous mood.

Yet, there is also an aspect of Christmas which is saddening. So many people have so little and yet ask for practically nothing. I read an article in the Birmingham News several days ago that dealt with the many letters addressed to Santa that are received by the US Post Office.  Many of the letters are enough to bring a grown man to tears. More than one child wrote that he or she wanted nothing. Instead, if Santa could just bring their father back from Iraq then that would be enough. Others forsook their own desires for those of their mothers or siblings. One child wrote that he could get by with no gifts this year but he asked Santa to treat his sister kindly.

Stories like these remind me that Christmas discriminates. It discriminates unintentionally. And it’s not Jesus’ fault. In fact, I’m not sure he would approve of the way so many people and so many nations celebrate his birth. Rather than celebrate this holiday in a humble manner, more consistent with the way Jesus came into this world, we have commercialized the season to an incredible degree.  Through advertising and other means, we have made it clear that Christmas just isn’t Christmas unless one receives the latest X-Box, doll, toy, etc.  That in itself is not too bad. Many people can afford such niceties. Unfortunately, many, if not more, cannot. So, a disparity results between the haves and the have-nots.  How can we face those children and those adults for whom December 25 will be just another disappointment?  Sure, we help by giving freely via angel trees and other charitable means. But, despite our best efforts, so many people fall through the cracks.

I do not need anything for Christmas. If someone insists on giving me something, then fine. A book will do nicely or perhaps some golf balls. The most important thing I desire for Christmas is a sense of Jesus’ love for my fellow man.