December means... GIVING is in the air. Forgiveness.
A year in rewind.
All good things must come to an end.
Snow? A White Christmas?
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. "White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the best selling single of all time according to the Wall Street Journal. Snow is not typically part of the Christmas holiday for most parts of the world, but for the few parts where it is, it makes the holiday a bit more special. The "White Christmas" photograph above is courtesy of Suellen Fry, the Queen of Content.
In general, Christmas is a time that evokes a lot of emotion in people. Christmas Eve is December 24th, and Christmas Day is December 25. Christmas means Mistle Toe, Presents, Santa Claus, North Pole, Reindeer, Elves, Egg nog, Christmas Music, Christmas Spirit, Stockings, Sleds, and I am sure plenty more that I have not even thought of. The end of the year brings significance to the Holiday Season, it makes reflect on the year and whether you are on Santa's naughty list. This year we told our son, we could look up on Google to see who was naughty or nice. Sadly, it is kind of true.
December 24th marks the eve before the day that millions of people all over the world celebrate the birth of the Jesus. But for millions of children it means waiting for Santa to deliver presents to all good boys and girls. And if they listen closely, they just might hear sleigh bells or the hoofs of eight tiny reindeer. Going to sleep is not easy fro the thrill and excitement is nearly too much to bear. However, for millions of parents the sight of a warm bed is a welcome sight,
Gift giving varies in the many countries around the world. In the Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary, St. Nicholas arrives on December 6 and the Christmas gift-giver is the Child Jesus, also known to most as Christ kind. In Argentina, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Quebec, Romania, Uruguay, and Sweden, Christmas presents are opened almost always on the evening of the 24th. – The British Royal Family also opens their gifts in Christmas Eve, while in Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, English Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia open their presents on the morning of Christmas Day. In most parts of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland Christmas presents are opened the eve of December 24 and are brought by Christ kind or Christ child, who leaves the gifts but has never been seen. In Spain gifts are traditionally opened on the morning of January 6, Epiphany day. In some other countries, like Argentina and Uruguay people receive gifts both on Christmas and on the morning of Epiphany day. In some countries, like the rest of Latin America, people stay awake and open their gifts at midnight. In the Netherlands gift giving on Christmas Day hasn’t been practiced for very long, because of the Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas on December5th.
There have been songs and books written about “The Night Before Christmas” I think were all too familiar with the Story by Clemet C. Moore: Twas the Night Befire Christmas. Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians even sang a song using the exact words. Each year traditions repeat themselves as we read those same Christmas stories our father and grand=fathers read to us.
There are Christmas songs that sing of a jolly old elf and his tiny reindeer. There are songs that warn little children to be nice or they will get a lump of coal in their stockings. Children leave carrots for Santas reindeer, and plates of Christmas cookies and egg nogg are left in appreciation. After eating millions of cookies, one wonders if he arrives home to the North Pole with a belly ache.
No matter how we celebrate Christmas Eve, Many families have created their own traditions throughout the years. Whether it’s going to midnight mass and arriving home to open all the presents: or waiting for the man in the red suit to make his delivery. Our traditions will be passed down to our children and our children’s children. And on The Eve of the Christ child’s birthday, families will gather together to celebrate in their own traditions around the globe.
Every year on December 25th millions of people world wide celebrate the birth of the savior Jesus Christ who was born unto a virgin over 2000 years ago. Although there has been much speculation as to whether this is the exact date of the Lords birthday, we continue in tradition to celebrate on the same date every year. Before I write about my Christmas traditions and childhood experiences through the years, I first want to tell you a little story. This is the real story of Christmas retold by me. Whether you choose to believe these past series of events is your choice, as for me I choose to believe.
I remember when I turned 16. My parents threw me a sweet 16 birthday party that I will never forget. Yet, over 2000 years ago there was one 16 year old who would receive a surprise more worthy of a sweet 16 party. An angel would visit her and tell her she would have a baby. Can you imagine receiving this same visitor and delivering you the same message? I was a virgin like Mary at the age of 16. How would I have this baby if I didn’t conceive in the usual way? Would I think I was dreaming? Maybe I was hung over from the party the night before. But for Mary, none of this was true; she wasn’t hung-over so all she could do was believe. She wasn’t imagining any of this. She could have brushed it off thinking she was dreaming, except for the fact that she began to feel life itself growing inside of her. That in itself must have been a shock, and the truth behind the angel’s message.
Back in those days young women were stoned to death for this type of condition. And to top it all off, she had to deal with her fiancé who found it hard to believe that God impregnated her. I can hear him now,"yeah right, immaculate what?” You can only imagine the thoughts that crept into his mind. But an angel came to Joseph and delivered a message as well. Most of us would not be able to grasp the idea of angels appearing let alone an immaculate conception. Because the towns’ people were horrified by young Mary turning up pregnant, her parents sent her away for awhile to live with her cousin Elizabeth till things cooled down.
By the time she returned, Joseph had already had an angelic encounter and had time to rethink the series of events that were unfolding. He was a well respected high priest and had to take the jeering and finger pointing by the entire town. But it doesn’t get any easier for this teenaged girl. She had to end up leaving her town for a census when she was only days away from giving birth. There were no cars or wagons, so she and her pregnant self had to ride through rocky dirt roads…on a donkey! Then to make matters worse, when they arrived to Bethlehem there were no vacant hotel rooms. There were no hospitals either. So she ended up giving birth in a barn on top of a pile of hay. This was the birth of our savior, yet it was a most humble birth and beginning.
Do you ever wonder why God chose Mary? She was no different from you or me. She was just a teenaged girl living her life. Maybe that’s why he chose her to be the mother of our savior, because she was just like you…or me. So let’s move things up a notch…2000 years to be exact.
The days of riding horses and donkeys are long gone. Technology has entered our world in ways that Mary and Joseph could ever imagine. Babies are usually born in hospitals and we haven’t had an immaculate conception since the Virgin Mary. But we do celebrate the birth of Jesus! And celebrate we do!
We hang up lights and decorate our homes. We cut down trees and hang sparking ornaments on them. We then rush to the malls to buy gifts for all those we love. Our bank accounts are busted, credit cards maxed out, and our children are asking when Santa Claus is going to get here! It’s a whirlwind of expectations and excitement for some. For others it’s a time of worry and despair because they are wondering how Santa will fill up the stockings this year.
The television commercials show happy families with perfect trees, and children dressed in velvet clothes. You don’t see the poor children without shoes on their feet. Yet, through all the commercialism there is still hope to be seen. If you stop for a moment and really take a look, you’ll see folks who haven’t forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. You’ll see toys piled up in a box for those who are less fortunate. You’ll see motorcycles crowding the streets raising money for the needy children at Christmas.
I live in a small mountain town and I have seen this first hand. Our town has come together to provide toys and clothes for the families that are suffering. If you shop in one particular store, they always hand out a free stuffed animal to the children. There have been smiles on the faces of retail workers, when you know they are tired and want to get back home to their families. Just because commercialism arrives every year, that doesn’t mean we have to fall prey to it’s mercy. I must confess that I am guilty of the 8 foot tree and all the decorations inside and out! I love Christmas and all the festivities that go with it. I live in a house where Santa exists and even the pets get presents from the man! I bake Christmas cookies and pies, I listen to Bing Crosby belt out "White Christmas”, and I love to shop for presents! But through all my Martha Stewart decorating and Betty Crocker cooking…I haven’t forgotten what it’s all about! Christmas is about our Savior and remembering Him and His birth. Christ is love. So, while I’m busy dancing around the house with my Santa hat on, I am also spreading love and good cheer. And I think that’s what Jesus would want each and every one of us to do! Christmas is taking the time to love those who are near and dear to our hearts; But Christmas is also a time when we need to love all the Grinches of the world. Christmas is watching the happy faces of children opening gifts. It’s remembering the cradle your dad made for your new doll, and the smell of your mom’s home made Christmas cookies! It’s getting into your car and delivering a turkey to a family in need or dropping off gifts to a poor family-ringing the bell and running behind a bush , only to see the looks on their surprised faces! It’s spending time with your family and making time to watch all those crazy Christmas movies. It’s remembering a baby born 2000 years ago, that made all this possible…for you and for me!
So from my home to yours….
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!