What Christmas Means to Me
Some people just hate Christmas. They complain about the commercialism. They complain about the crowds at the mall, traffic on the roads, and are just plain unpleasant to be around. From my experience they are also the ones quickest to point out that we don't know exactly when Jesus was born and that most of our holiday icons are pagan in origin. Well, here's the humble view of one person who happens to like Christmas.
Christmas is special to me; because, it's the one time of year when I have a good excuse to honor the people I love. While lurking on a message board recently, I came across a comment where someone said the tradition of gift giving was rooted in some Western European pagan practice of giving small trinkets to celebrate a pagan holiday. I don't think that is the reason for giving gifts at Christmas. I prefer to think of the Three Wise Men who went to great lengths to bring the most expensive gifts available to a newborn baby. Why did they do that? They did it to honor Him. Is not the purpose of giving a gift to honor the recipient? Now, I'm not advocating spending more than you can afford; but, a person should give their best. Furthermore, isn't giving your very best the greatest honor you can do a person?
My father in law jokingly told E that he wanted a very expensive golf club for Christmas. So, I called him up to find out exactly which one it was. He said it was too expensive and wouldn't accept it if we got him one. I had to give him "The Three Wise Men Speech." I think it's a message we all need to remember. If someone feels compelled to honor you with an expensive gift you should simply say "thank you" and consider yourself lucky that someone loves you so much that they are willing to give you their very best.
Oh, and to all those people with a bad case of the humbugs, I say, "Christmas transcends you," and here's hoping you have the merriest Christmas ever. Merry Christmas. Enjoy the giving.
(Posted in honor of my father who loved Christmas more than anyone I've ever known and is no longer here to share it with us.)
Christmas is special to me; because, it's the one time of year when I have a good excuse to honor the people I love. While lurking on a message board recently, I came across a comment where someone said the tradition of gift giving was rooted in some Western European pagan practice of giving small trinkets to celebrate a pagan holiday. I don't think that is the reason for giving gifts at Christmas. I prefer to think of the Three Wise Men who went to great lengths to bring the most expensive gifts available to a newborn baby. Why did they do that? They did it to honor Him. Is not the purpose of giving a gift to honor the recipient? Now, I'm not advocating spending more than you can afford; but, a person should give their best. Furthermore, isn't giving your very best the greatest honor you can do a person?
My father in law jokingly told E that he wanted a very expensive golf club for Christmas. So, I called him up to find out exactly which one it was. He said it was too expensive and wouldn't accept it if we got him one. I had to give him "The Three Wise Men Speech." I think it's a message we all need to remember. If someone feels compelled to honor you with an expensive gift you should simply say "thank you" and consider yourself lucky that someone loves you so much that they are willing to give you their very best.
Oh, and to all those people with a bad case of the humbugs, I say, "Christmas transcends you," and here's hoping you have the merriest Christmas ever. Merry Christmas. Enjoy the giving.
(Posted in honor of my father who loved Christmas more than anyone I've ever known and is no longer here to share it with us.)
Labels: life
posted by Cindy at 1:59 PM
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