The Spirit of Christmas

            I love the Christmas season - - there is so much joy and giving and loving everywhere you look. I love the bright and festive colors, flashing lights, and the centuries of wondrous music. It is a time of year when people act more loving. I love to buy or make presents for my friends and family. The question is why is this true? Many people's attitudes towards Christmas aren't really based upon their faith. I have Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu friends who still participate in Christmas activities. I know people who don't believe in God at all and still put up a Christmas tree and buy each other presents. Yes, I know atheists who still enjoy having a few drinks and then going Christmas Caroling. What is it about this time of year that attracts people to its festivities whether they believe in its foundation or not? A spirit of joy, giving, and altruism are infectious. We want to be a part of the smiles and laughter. We want to see the brightness in a child's eye and a smile upon their lips. We want to remember our own youth and to recover a sense of play. Christmas brings out our imagination. I always find it amusing when on Christmas morning the children set aside the toys and play with the empty boxes - - imagination. It doesn't take religious belief to imagine Santa Claus and his elves. We watch for the sleigh and listen intently for the sound of reindeer's hooves on our roof. Santa represents the spirit of giving and thus the spirit of loving. In this way Santa actually represents the gift of God's love.

            The birth of Christ was an amazing moment in history. The incarnation of God who is love came to earth. It was God's plan that Jesus would come to earth to acquaint us with God's amazing love. God loves us and wants us to have bountiful lives. God wants us to experience joy, to share in love relationships, and understand what it means to give to one another. For God is the very role model of giving and blessing. This is the root, the foundation of what the spirit of Christmas is about. God's love is the origin of Christmas. Now we know that Jesus really wasn't born on December 25. He was more likely born in the spring, for that is when the shepherds would have been sitting out with their flocks. But the church decided to transform the pagan Midwinter Festival into a Christian holiday. So they selected December 25th as the day to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Midwinter Festival was a wonderful time, symbolically, to choose for such a celebration. December 21, the Winter Solstice, is the longest night of the year and the shortest day. In other words it is the longest period of darkness in the year and the shortest period of light. From that point forward the light increases and the darkness decreases. There can be no better symbol for what Jesus brought to the earth. For in Jesus we find God's light that cannot be overcome by the darkness. That light is gifted to us that we might experience the joy and grace of God's love. No matter what we believe we all enjoy the gift of love. We all enjoy the light overcoming the darkness, good overcoming evil. We all enjoy giving things to the people we love. Therefore, we can all enjoy the spirit of Christmas and at least catch a glimpse of how it began. Merry Christmas!  www.fcccarrollton.org