Random Rants - Are We Forgetting The Real Essence Of Christmas?
It's that time of the year for holiday parties, gift-giving, shopping and Christmas dinners with friends, families and co-workers! This is that time of the year for the most part, that is somehow a bit stressful for most of us as there are a lot of things to so, but so little time to do it!
Gifts to get our loved ones, dinners to prepare, parties and gatherings to attend to and most of all, keeping up with the holiday cheers and giddiness despite the hectic work schedules and busy random tasks we have to do in a day. The holidays can be as hard for so many people for so many different reasons - whether it's feeling lonely or missing someone we love or going through tough times. While it's nice to have holiday parties, cookie exchanges and presents galore, it is also the time of year to remember that not everyone is as merry and bright as the holidays are made out to be. So have we really forgotten the true meaning of celebrating Christmas? Have we all been blinded by the marketing strategies and sensationalism that social media and our society have given on this most-loved celebration? Maybe. Maybe not.
What is the true meaning of Christmas? A common yet ambiguous theme in Christmas specials (movies, plays, episodes,etc.) is usually answered with an Aesop. The most common Aesop, specially in kid's shows, which is..'the true meaning of Christmas (though not always) is 'it is better to give than to receive', where it tells us about the joy of giving instead of receiving specially to our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
A Charlie Brown Christmas however, goes with the true meaning of Christmas in a religious way-the birth of Jesus Christ. It's a celebration of the coming of life of the Son of God, the Messiah, The Redeemer of sins. So when we celebrate Christmas each year, we are reminded of Christ and the teachings of Christ. It is a time of acknowledging the blessings we have received in our personal lives and our own families and be thankful for them and also realizing that there are others who are not as fortunate as we are and that Christmas reminds us of the joy of giving.
Through this year's Christmas season, I am happy and proud to say that me and my husband have been given the chance to experience the Christmas spirit of giving and extending a helping hand. He came across one of his high school friends in his workplace who was in a bit of a rut and was down on his luck for the most part. To make the long story short which I really don't want to sensationalize in this blog because of certain sensitive facts, it was just a wonderful and nice feeling to be able to give and go out of our way to help out somebody who desperately needed it.
The Christmas season is often full of activities, gifts and decorations, but these things should only exist to point us to the reason for this special holiday. Christmas is the celebration of the historic moment when God, in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, stepped out of heaven for the purpose of saving mankind from sin.
Christmas is more than just the nativity, giving parties and having fun with family and friends. It is about the Son of God taking on the form of human flesh in order to save us from our sins and restore us to a right relationship with God by following His examples.
Merry Christmas everyone!
XOXO,
Karen