Christmas means different things to everyone, but it also means different things to the same people at different times. This is true for me as well.
Let's start at the beginning. When I was a kid, Christmas was all about family and presents. I remember Dad pulling down the artificial tree from the rafters in the garage and all of the kids helping to put it together. Mom would spend a whole week baking to put together goody plates for us to hand out when we went caroling. I loved waking up early to run to open presents, but the kids had to wait for the parents to get up, of course. Because Santa never came by our house, Mom and Dad would assign each kid to pick out a gift for another kid (I liked that because it helped us to enjoy the act of giving). Overall, I really liked Christmas.
The next stage probably started in high school. I didn't like Christmas a lot in High School. Because I sang in choir from eighth grade to the end of high school, for a solid five years I started singing Christmas songs in late September/early October. That meant that it was harder to get into the Christmas spirit for me. That continued after school when I started working retail, because I would hear the Holiday music all day long and would have to be jolly when all of the customers were jerks. This over-doing of the Holidays had the effect of turning me into one of those people that was offended by someone saying "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas." I felt like Santa Claus was a "corporate tool," as I would often say. I just couldn't tolerate the idea that Christmas was anything other than what I felt it should be.
On my mission, I relaxed quite a bit. A lot of it was because we would work all the way up to Christmas (we weren't allowed to do any proselyting on Christmas, which I always felt was for the best) and I think because everyday was about sharing our testimonies, it was okay if one day was less Christ-centered. Or maybe I meant in spite of that . . .
That brings us to today. I accept the fact that other people will celebrate the Holiday in their own way. I read an article recently in the school paper, condemning people for saying "Merry Christmas" before the Holiday (apparently the two weeks before Christmas is called "Advent"). My response was, "Who cares? At least people are being friendly." Oklahoma is very predominately Christian, so there are a lot of people who argue to keep "Christ in Christmas" as we've heard before. Fine, but it's also fine if someone only wants to get ready for Santa to visit.
So that's Christmas to me, past and present. I feel good that Christmas doesn't make me angry anymore, because that just sucks. I'm also interested in what the future will hold and how I'll feel in about, say, ten years.
What's your Christmas like?
2 comments:
As a grandparent, the pleasure of mooning over toy shelves to find the one true toy is long past. So are the long Christmas eve nights assembling the gift that one hopes will fill a son's or daughter's face with delight. My pleasure is still finding just the right gift, but even more it is watching daughters express joy at their husbands' astute gift choosing, grandchildren crowing, "That's just what I wanted!" over a present from his parents, but most especially seeing the mother and grandmother of this lot light up over a simple, inexpensive gift chosen with care and inspiration. (It also fills me with warmth to see the strong, beautiful, and good men and women my children have grown up to be.)
I also have fond memories of going caroling. Although we didn't do it this year, caroling is something we've tried to incorporate into our own Christmas celebration.
I love Christmas. I listen to Christmas music all year long. I know this drives some people batty, but I want to focus on Christ during all twelve months, not just when Christmas and Easter roll around. And I want my children to be familiar with Christmas carols so that when the time comes to sing them to the neighbors, they'll actually know the words.
Christmas has changed for me. I'm much more concerned about giving a few simple gifts and not getting swept up in the consumerism madness that can dominate the season than I was as a child. I also no longer stage musical Christmas programs for my siblings to participate in. Do you remember those?
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