Christmas time. For thousands of years, Christmas has been a very special time for many people. Personally, I love Christmas. Always have.
Christmas is the celebration for the birth of Christ. But it is not a Christian festival. It never has been and never should be. Not really.
No, Christmas is a celebration of mankind. The secular message of Christmas was first popularized by Charles Dickens but the idea has been around since long before.
Christmas is first and foremost, a festival of hope. We all hope for something. The Jews hoped for a messiah. Children hope for presents. Students hope for one more mark. Hope is what keeps us alive, more than food or water. Physical sustenance will only let us survive. Christmas celebrates the hope that lets us live. We don't despair at sunset because we know the sun comes up at dawn.
Secondly, Christmas is a time for forgiveness. In a world where grown men massacre children, forgiveness is a very hard thing to achieve. Yet there are no enemies on Christmas day. All feuds must at least temporarily end on Christmas Eve. There are only friends on Christmas. Friends and Family.
Which brings us to the third and most important aspect of Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of Family. Families are not blood. Familial bonds are forged through mutual love. A brother you grew up with might be a stranger to you while an old friend is like a brother. People have often claimed that family can't be chosen. Family can be chosen. You can't choose who you share blood with, but the bonds of family run deeper than blood. Christmas is a time when families come together. I prefer not to make promises that I can't keep (which is basically any promise) but one thing I long ago promised myself is that no matter how bad my relationship with my family might become, on Christmas we will be a family again. Because Christmas celebrates the bonds of family, not the blood.
More than anything, on Christmas day I hope we remember the song of the Little Drummer Boy. The drummer boy has nothing to give except his music, but he gives it willingly and wholeheartedly. When we give something to others, no matter how little it might be, We must learn to give it like the Little Drummer Boy. Because charity is just an expression of our love for our extended family. All human beings are bound together with the shared bond of mortality. We are all tied to each other, whether we like it or not. Christmas is the time to appreciate those bonds and be there for each other. No one deserves to be alone on Christmas.
Christmas is also a time to appreciate the wonder of life. It's a time to see lights in the trees and presents in the stockings. A time to believe in fat old men who dress up in red costumes and bring smiles to the world.
I hope this Christmas finds you together with your family, with your heart full of forgiveness, eyes full of wonder and a life full of hope.
God bless us, Everyone.
Merry Christmas
Christmas is the celebration for the birth of Christ. But it is not a Christian festival. It never has been and never should be. Not really.
No, Christmas is a celebration of mankind. The secular message of Christmas was first popularized by Charles Dickens but the idea has been around since long before.
Christmas is first and foremost, a festival of hope. We all hope for something. The Jews hoped for a messiah. Children hope for presents. Students hope for one more mark. Hope is what keeps us alive, more than food or water. Physical sustenance will only let us survive. Christmas celebrates the hope that lets us live. We don't despair at sunset because we know the sun comes up at dawn.
Secondly, Christmas is a time for forgiveness. In a world where grown men massacre children, forgiveness is a very hard thing to achieve. Yet there are no enemies on Christmas day. All feuds must at least temporarily end on Christmas Eve. There are only friends on Christmas. Friends and Family.
Which brings us to the third and most important aspect of Christmas. Christmas is a celebration of Family. Families are not blood. Familial bonds are forged through mutual love. A brother you grew up with might be a stranger to you while an old friend is like a brother. People have often claimed that family can't be chosen. Family can be chosen. You can't choose who you share blood with, but the bonds of family run deeper than blood. Christmas is a time when families come together. I prefer not to make promises that I can't keep (which is basically any promise) but one thing I long ago promised myself is that no matter how bad my relationship with my family might become, on Christmas we will be a family again. Because Christmas celebrates the bonds of family, not the blood.
More than anything, on Christmas day I hope we remember the song of the Little Drummer Boy. The drummer boy has nothing to give except his music, but he gives it willingly and wholeheartedly. When we give something to others, no matter how little it might be, We must learn to give it like the Little Drummer Boy. Because charity is just an expression of our love for our extended family. All human beings are bound together with the shared bond of mortality. We are all tied to each other, whether we like it or not. Christmas is the time to appreciate those bonds and be there for each other. No one deserves to be alone on Christmas.
Christmas is also a time to appreciate the wonder of life. It's a time to see lights in the trees and presents in the stockings. A time to believe in fat old men who dress up in red costumes and bring smiles to the world.
I hope this Christmas finds you together with your family, with your heart full of forgiveness, eyes full of wonder and a life full of hope.
God bless us, Everyone.
Merry Christmas
No comments:
Post a Comment