Bah, Humbug

It seems like the "cool" thing to do these days is hate on Christmas.  Yes Christmas..."the most wonderful time of the year..."  Lovers of Christmas are as obnoxious as Buddy the Elf on a good day, and Christmas trees are stupid, ugly, pointless, and obnoxious.  I will admit to being among those with this mentality.

I am seeing it proved year after year that Christmas is nothing but a commercialized holiday that reminds singles that they are alone, broken families that they'll never be whole, widows that love has been ripped away from them, soldiers that they are thousands of miles away from anyone they love, the grieving that they are without fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc...When did I become so cynical?

Well today I have decided: I'm done hating Christmas.  The holiday has a long history. It is celebrated at the same time that the Romans celebrated Saturnalia even though Christ was probably born in the spring.  This was an attempt to replace the pagan traditions with Christian ones, but I find America celebrating Saturnalia instead.  We worship the god of money...giving out of our wealth.  No wonder the holiday is so depressing.  We don't look for the treasure in a stable; we look for it online and in malls.

While I will probably always hate the way America celebrates Christmas, I refuse to be cynical to the season any more. "Joy to the World" will be more than a carol.  God came to earth so that we could understand a piece of Him.  He loves us so much that He left riches and comfort and unfathomable splendor to be born where farm animals eat and poop.  He came to fulfill the prophecies...so that I (you, we) could join him in His riches and comfort and unfathomable splendor.  There is no greater love!  This is something to celebrate.  He was born for the sole purpose of dying that we might live forever.  Do you need a reason to hope (Hebrews 6:19)?

How selfish of me to hate Christmas!  It's not about me!  My thoughts wrap around and around ME...Christmas will never be the same. I'm not home. I have no money. There's no snow. My family is broken. People argue. "Holiday pounds." Are you kidding me, Katie?  I mean, really...you're going to spend a season that recognizes the birth of your Savior, your Teacher, your Love, your Friend thinking about yourself? Well, I say no more.  I hope that you are able to find joy and comfort, not sadness and isolation this season.  Because we celebrate the birth of any child as a new miracle, as we should!  But this child...He saved the world.  Celebrate. If you want to nix the American Christmas tradition, go for it...but don't let your hatred for the way Christmas is "celebrated" harden your heart towards the reason for the season.