For me, Christmas is just not as much fun as it once was. It has been spoiled by greed, arrogance and egotism. For far too many of us, Christmas is about how much we can get, who we can impress with the size of our display and how important we appear to the community. With all this, we have often completely lost the real purpose of Christmas.
The Christmas season was, and should still be, a spiritual celebration for all faiths. It is centered on the winter solstice when the sun stops its retreat and begins its journey back to spring time. Christians use the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Jews use it to celebrate the miracle of the lamps. Other faiths see the season as a time to prepare their homes and lives for a new year. These various spiritual groups call the season by various names, but all are for the same purpose: to celebrate the relationship between Man and God.
But today, we see the season purely in terms of the economy. Many businesses depend on the season for most of their annual income. Their basic concern is the “bottom line.” The season for them is only good if they succeed in showing a large profit at the end of the year.
I miss the days when Christmas was celebrated by children reenacting the manger scene at school. I miss making Christmas tree decorations rather than spending money to buy factory-made things. I miss Christmas gifts that reflected the relationship between the giver and receiver.
How many of you ever made Christmas tree garlands by stringing up popcorn, or pasting together paper chains? How many of you ever gave or received home baked cookies rather than the latest electronic gadget? How many of you have attended a Christmas play or concert at a church, school or community center in the past few years? How many of you make it an annual event to read the Christmas story from the Bible to your children?
How many of you spent more money than you had planned this Christmas? How many bags of discarded wrapping paper or store bought decorations will you send to the landfills this year? How many of you will celebrate the season sitting in front of a TV watching football with a cold beer in your hands? How many of you actually will bend your knees and pray for peace on earth on Christmas night?
Oh, I go through the motions. I buy a few gifts for family and friends. I have a set of electric candles in my living room window. But the spirit of Christmas simply does not live for me anymore. I wish we could recapture it. Then Christmas would be a joy again.
Frank Gillispie is founder of The Madison County Journal. His e-mail address is frank@frankgillispie.com. His website can be accessed at http://www.frankgillispie.com/gillispieonline.
I hope year 2011 is a better year for you than was 2010. Glenn