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A Special Kind of Christmas
Carol Roach, M.Ed, BA
The Christmas season is upon us once again. The stores will
soon be crowded with people frantically rushing around
buying just about everything in sight. Though the season is
meant to be a celebration of the birth of Christ, apart for
the odd Christmas pageant at the church, or a child??™s
pageant at school, many people ignore this most important
occasion and replace it with a shopping frenzy.
It does not matter that stores are piping Christmas Carols
and songs of joy through the airwaves when still allowed by
law. People listen with one ear, no longer drinking in the
wonder of these songs. They are the old standards,
comforting to hear, but few give much thought to their
content and what they represent. The retailers use these
songs, and wonderland displays to hoist their profit for the
year. Many years it makes a difference between making a
profit or going into the red. Even Santa and his little
elves are there for a reason, to delight small children and
fill them with wonderment, but most importantly to get their
parents to buy.
Commercialism has taken over our world during this most
precious time of the year. People are nervous and anxious,
especially as the days before the 25th of
December rapidly approach. But what are they anxious for?
Is it to celebrate the birth of Christ with their family and
love ones?
For the most part, it seems they are anxious since they have
not finished their Christmas shopping. What should they get
Aunt Martha who has everything? Should they buy uncle Bob
another shirt again this year? What possible toy can they
buy Suzie? She has just about everything on the market as
it. How do they overcome the problem with Peter, their
teenage son? Unless his gift costs $200 or more, he doesn??™t
want anything.
The spirit of Christmas and the season of giving have been
reduced to giving from the pocket book until it hurts.
Unfortunately for many Americans and Canadians alike,
finances are at an all time low. We no longer can keep up.
I know in my family as well as many others, the adults have
elected to gift exchange with one other adult in the
family. They choose names out of a hat. It is just too
expensive to continue to buy for everyone.
Every year we complain about how hard it is to buy gifts.
We rectify the situation by choosing one name for an adult;
so we cut down. However, we still go overboard with the
children. We still must get a gift for Ruby and Frank;
after all they are spending Christmas with us. How can we
open presents and leave them out? The list goes on, but the
fact remains, we still go over budget, if in fact we had a
budget at all.
Every year we talk about the olden days and how Christmas
was much better then. We remember how families truly
celebrated the birth of Christ. We remember the stockings
hanging from the chimney filled with goodies from the oven:
oranges, nuts, and grandma??™s knitted mittens. We complain
that the kids just would not accept those gifts anymore.
Furthermore, who has time to sit down and crochet or knit?
We live in a fast paced world and everything must be done
quickly. So we are reduced to buying a ready made
overpriced gift.
This year, I propose that we put the love back into the word
giving. We can truly celebrate the birth of Christ by
following in his footsteps. We can celebrate humankind in a
healthy inexpensive way that will not limit the number of
people we can reach out to.
I propose that we do make Christmas stockings for everyone.
But instead of filling them with expensive gadgets we truly
cannot afford, we fill them with well wishes. Each person
in the household would write something good about the person
whose name appears on the stocking. Each piece would remain
secret until Christmas when the recipients open up their
gifts. These pieces must be positive and celebrate the
human spirit and individuality of the giver and the
receiver.
Here are some examples:
From a child: You are the best daddy in the whole world and
I love you this much.
From a teenager: Uncle Bob, you are okay but could you just
once let me win at chess?
From a visitor to the family on Christmas Day: Terry, I
just met you a while ago and look forward to getting to know
you. What I have remarked in our brief encounters, is that
you have the warmest smile I have ever encountered. When
you smile, the whole room lights up and you make everyone
feel so warm inside.
These messages of love will light up the festive occasion
and create good memories for years to come. These gifts are
priceless and more importantly come from the heart.
Merry Christmas one and all!
Carol |
