It’s almost Christmas and whether or not you celebrate it, there’s no avoiding it. The multi-coloured lights on houses, the Christmas-themed movies, Christmas carols on the radio, in malls, and the crush of people in the shops.
The question is, what will you do with it?
It’s very easy to fall prey to the craftiness of advertisers and to social pressure and find ourselves engulfed by self-indulgence and consumerism. Some will get into debt for what they don’t even need.
If we choose to celebrate Christmas with the intention to create wonderful memories for our children and grandchildren, we’ve two choices:
- We may choose to engage in the enjoyable but secular custom of Santa Clause, hearty Christmas meals, and the excitement of ripping off wrapping paper from gifts.
- We may choose to celebrate it as a time to focus on the incarnation of Jesus. Doing so may even include a traditional Christmas dinner, gift exchange, and time with family but the focus is on the significance of the incarnation.
The choice to make Jesus the focus could include the best gift we can give our children—taking them out with us to help someone in our neighbourhood. Even prior to Christmas, parents and grandparents can excitedly talk about Christmas and the plans they are making to help people on Christmas day and beyond into the New Year. Of course, if the children are included in this, the lesson isn’t just taught, it’s caught.
Just imagine what Christmas could be like if we’re able to connect the birth of Jesus and how He lived to how we’re to live. We could use it to show our children what it really means to be Christian—to demonstrate our love for our neighbours in very practical ways. They will soon understand what the Bible means when it says it is better to give than it is to receive because it becomes their experience.
One Christmas, a young adult shared with me pictures of her family joyfully making cookies for their neighbourhood. Not only was it their gift to their community but they made many friends and built new relationships. She said her parents had made it a tradition for their family to think of others and not just about themselves.
If I could raise my children again, I’d work to create a different meaning of Christmas for them. However, even without them, I can still reflect Jesus to those in need.
While we may warmly wish others a ‘Happy Christmas’, imagine the effect if, by our outreach to them, we did something that relieved a burden, met a need, resolved an issue or provide help, so that they will experience a happy Christmas
Let’s make Christmas a happy one for someone.
- halsey peat
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