This is going to be a controversial post, I know, just because of the title. But let me just say, I don't hate Christmas, I hate what it has become. I hate consumerism and materialism. So much. The fact that Christmas revolves around presents bothers me. It needs to revolve around Jesus, the reason for the season. (cliche, but appropriate) The problem is, I'm not sure many people know how to make it not revolve around presents. It's hard to celebrate the birth of someone who 1) In earthly body, is dead. (In Spirit, he is definitely not!) and 2) Because His earthly body, is, um, dead, He isn't here in body but in Spirit, and I think that's hard for some people to grasp. What are we gonna do? Have a birthday party for Him? Strange, right? Although, a cake inscribed with "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" would be totally cool. So instead, the average American Christian just gives presents galore to their kids, while sporting a "Jesus is the reason for the season" sticker on their car. What's wrong with that? It's like a moving billboard for Jesus! Well, it's not big enough. I think the best way to "give Christmas back to Jesus" is to spend it serving Him. Feeding the homeless, wrapping presents with Bible verses attached for the less fortunate, etc. A few days after this Christmas I'm going on a mission trip. The time before Christmas will be spent in preparation for that trip, which is a way of serving Him.
So how does my family's Christmas look? Well, our Christmas day doesn't look like most other people's Christmas day, because we generally open presents on Christmas Eve, or even sooner. We go to church on Christmas Eve, as well, and read Luke 2 somewhere in there. Then, on Christmas, we do something together. Last year it was taking a walk in a local park. This year it will likely be attaching candy canes to a print out sharing the meaning of the candy cane, for me to give out on my mission trip. Also, we just spend time as a family, because since my aunts/uncles have busy work schedules and my brother goes to college 3 hours away, we aren't all together that often. So our Christmas does include some presents, but also giving (we like to give in each other's names to World Vision, Kaya Children, etc) and family time. And this Christmas, I think I'll be too excited to make a difference for Jesus on my mission trip that the consumerism/materialism part of Christmas will escape me. And the less consumerism/materialism I see, the happier I am.
Now, since I have such distinct views of Christmas, what will Christmas look like when I'm on the giving, decision making end of it? Well, I want to say that I'll only give my kids three gifts, like how the Wise Men gave Jesus three, but I think the love I'll have for them will take over and I'll want to give them everything they want. Which isn't possible, but as I give them as much as I can, we'll also spend time serving: food drives, gift wrapping, etc. And maybe we'll have a birthday cake for Jesus, so my kids can know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday, and we are celebrating because Jesus is the hope of the world. Ask me in 15 years when I have kids, and maybe my views will have changed.... We'll see.
I heard on the radio of a family who, on Christmas morning, makes a lot of pancakes and coffee and takes it all downtown to pass out to the homeless. I think that is just so neat, and I would love to do that with my own kids. In the city I currently live in, you're not allowed to pass out food to the homeless (silly, right?), but volunteering at the soup kitchen would be an awesome way to give Christmas away, and maybe if my family lives in a different city, we can serve pancakes and coffee too.
But anyways, the whole point of this post was for me to rant on how horrible consumerism/materialism is. NOT. The whole point of this post was to show people how we can keep Christ in Christmas, while still getting/giving presents: we can be thankful and serve. I hope that I'll be able to implement these things into my family's Christmas when I grow up, even with consumerism/materialism on the rise.
-Emily
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