What is the meaning of Christmas? Well, that depends on who you ask.
For most of the world, Christmas has developed into a “feel good” holiday, a time of the year marked by parties, presents, Christmas decorations, and Santa Claus. Helped by companies who stand to profit immensely by our end-of-the-year generosity, for a vast majority of the world, Christmas has evolved into a Western commercial holiday, filled with a lot of feel-good sentimentality of ‘peace, brotherhood, and goodwill’ toward our fellow humankind.
Don’t get me wrong. I grew up celebrating Christmas in a vast extended family, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the trappings of Christmas. I just loved the time we spent each year finding and decorating our Christmas trees (one at Grammas, one at Uncle’s, and one at home). One of our family traditions was a rousing rendition of ‘The Night Before Christmas’, which my Grandfather read every year on Christmas eve. Then it was off to church Sunday morning, where we would hear a sentimental story about the baby Jesus, before going back home and rushing in to tear into the rest of our presents. The day would finish with a HUGE Christmas dinner, after which all the kids got to play with their new toys while the adults cleaned up the table and went off to their afternoon naps. Oh, yea, I loved Christmas. But looking back, I can’t help but wonder, even in my ‘Christian Home,’…