Where Are You, Christmas?

Christmas isn’t just a holiday. Christmas is a living, breathing emotion. But, as such, it’s dying.

There has always been a special feeling around Christmas time. People were friendlier, kinder, and more generous around the holiday season. There was a different feeling in the air, and it wasn’t from the cooler temperatures.

Originally, Christmas was the celebration of the birth of Baby Jesus. Although there is no way to confirm the actual day, everyone accepted the chosen date and it was sacred.

There are some who argue that it was chosen specifically around a pagan day of celebration. Whether it was or wasn’t is really a moot point. The holy day of Christmas, no matter what day it is celebrated on, is intended to honor the birth of Jesus.

As a Christian holiday, there was a certain solemnity to Christmas. Over time, however, it took on many secular aspects. But, the original meaning was still kept in the forefront and kept solemn.

Non-Christians respected the holiday despite not being believers. They didn’t jeer at Christians for their beliefs. Everyone accepted everyone else’s right to believe what they chose. Non-Christians celebrated in their own manner.

Special Christmas songs help to further the emotion of Christmas. You don’t hear these songs at any other time of the year. And the songs are usually happy, and catchy and one can’t help but hum or sing along when these songs are playing.

There were many things that made Christmas special years ago. Where have those gone? It seems I have asked myself some of the same questions every year at Christmas for a few years now.

Did Christmas only feel like magic because I was a child? But no, I still felt the emotion of Christmas well into adulthood. Even after my beloved father died during the Christmas season, I still felt the magic of Christmas.

It seems to me that Christmas only lost its magic in the last 10 or 15 years. And I am not the only one who feels this way. Others I have spoken with have said the same thing. What changed?

A few things have changed. But first and foremost, everything pertaining to the birth of Baby Jesus has been sanitized. Suddenly, it’s “offensive” to have anything to do with Christian beliefs.

Christmas now seems all about who spends the most on gifts and how many parties you can attend. Instead of finding joy in giving and sharing with others, people are focused on the number of shiny boxes under their picture-perfect tree.

Santa, his reindeer, and his sleigh have replaced the manger scenes we used to see outside of homes and businesses. Even decorating outside our homes has become a costly competition. There are contests to see who can put on the biggest display with lights and blow-up characters.

Christmas has become a holiday for the wealthy. There is no room for the poor anymore. Ironically, it began as a way to honor a Baby born in a manger in a stable full of animals. And maybe this is the secret to finding Christmas again. Maybe we need to focus again on the ones who need help and not on the ones who can give to us.

There’s still time to find the spirit of Christmas. Each of us can be a “Santa Claus” in our own way. Give the server a large tip if you go out to eat. Or, leave $50 or $100 toward paying the next table’s bill. If you know a person or family personally who is struggling this season, find a way to help cover a bill, or supply the means for a special holiday dinner. Offer to babysit for an overwrought single mom.

The best thing about being the giver is the happiness you can get just for doing something nice for someone else. There comes a warm feeling in your heart when you know you’ve done something to make someone else happy.

And THAT may be the best description of the spirit of Christmas in a single sentence. Maybe Christmas is that warm feeling in your heart of being able to share the joy with someone else.

We may never even know how the happiness we have shared with others has spread. We might not know that our simple act of kindness created a chain reaction of kind actions.

The spirit of Christmas isn’t dead yet. If enough of us participate, we can revive and even spread it.  In fact, with enough people, it may even go on throughout the new year to come.