In just a few days we will celebrate Christmas and I can hardly wait, but I bet it’s not for the same reason as many others. For many people, the arrival of Christmas represents the end of weeks of celebrating and months of anxiety over the holiday season. I distinctly remember seeing Christmas items in stores in August and September. For those caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping, the arrival of Christmas brings a sense of relief that the commotion is finally over. But that’s not why I’m so excited.
For many people the arrival of Christmas brings to completion a month’s worth of decorating front yards, company parties and nights out “getting into the Christmas spirit” with long-time friends. Come Christmas morning, the decorations can finally come down and life “returns to normal” whatever normal is. But that’s not why I’m so excited.
I’m so excited for Christmas not because I get to decorate trees and give gifts but because of the gift that we have all received – the gift of life. Christmas is the celebration of, what the early Saint John Chrysostom called, the “Capital of Feasts,” because all the other celebrations of Christianity: Epiphany (Baptism of Christ) Annunciation (Announcement of Christ’s birth by Archangel Gabriel), Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and even His Passion, Death, Glorious Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven, could not have taken place if He had first not been born. That’s why I’m so excited!
It has become cliché to remind people this time of year that we have forgotten the “reason for the season” or “left Christ out of Christmas” but that is exactly what has happened. Retailers have come to depend so much on Christmas shopping that stores stay open later and later every year, or open earlier and earlier, just to give someone that extra few minutes to spend money they probably can’t afford to spend. And THEN those same stores that depend upon Christmas shopping to secure their annual profits insist on “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.” INDEED!
This year rather than looking at Christmas as just another day or, worse, as a financial burden, find an Orthodox Church and spend some time with your family remembering the things that really matter. Don’t let all the hullabaloo of Christmas trees, Christmas carols, Christmas decorations, Christmas parties, and Christmas shopping, get the better of you. And don’t let people try to convince you it doesn’t matter, because it does.
This year celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ and the taking on of humanity by the Divine Word of God, “so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have life everlasting.”
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