I have to write this; it is a matter of urgency. You see, there is this trend around Christmas. I wasn’t sensitive to it until after college when the three weeks of lazy, James Bond marathon watching was no longer a viable way to pass the time. For the last 5 years, my Christmas break has been as short as two days but never longer than four and always chaotic. At first, I dubbed it annoying. This year, it’s subversive at best.
No doubt this is a special time of the year. Music sounds happier, lights look prettier, and good will has a way of pouring out of even the most sour of lips. Any other time of year, these sort of things would be downright miraculous. At Christmas, they’re the norm. I like the way Christmas makes me feel.
But Christmas is also the busiest time of year. As Ray Charles sang, “Christmas is the time of year to be with the ones you love.” This is true, and my wife and I are fortunate to love and be loved by many. Getting all of these people into our lives, however, is no easy task. Add to it gifts that need bought, work that needs done by year’s end, parties that need planning, and so on, then tie it all together, and you’re left with one hot mess of a holiday with a month’s worth of activity crammed into a week. Don’t get me wrong, these are all very good things, but I’m sick of what Christmas has become.
I can’t blame anyone. it’s not the stores’ fault, putting out their decorations in September. We support them with our money—it’s an expectation we’ve set. It’s not the fault of people who say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. I can’t expect people who don’t believe in the Christian origins of Christmas to uphold its sanctity. And it’s not the giving of gifts. In fact, if we give gifts the right way, we should be reminded of God’s gift to us—Jesus.
The blame, it seems, is entirely my own. I commit to too much. I worry too much about buying the right gifts without overdrafting. I spend too much time thinking about what I want. While we Christians are quick to remind people that Christmas is really about Jesus, if we’re being honest with ourselves, we will see that this holiday is really all about us.
Jesus…just saying it out loud as I type feels like a breath of fresh air.
Next Christmas will be different; we’re already talking about it and what we will do differently. A plan is in place and we’re excited—there will be a time to talk about that later. This is the last year I think about Christmas and wonder what in the world happened. Even still, there are three days left, and this much is clear: Christmas is not about me. When I make it about me, I stress and run myself ragged, wondering where the season went.
This year, with the time we have left, may we be like the magi. They didn’t miss Jesus because they were looking for his sign in the stars. Rather than buckling down and trying to find the path of least resistance through these next three days, I’m going to look to the sky.
Thanks for the honesty. No is a powerful word that needs to be said, even if you say no to genuinely good things.