Joy

Advent always makes me think. In a good way, most of the time.

Lately, I have seen a lot of people posting and saying things about taking Christmas back for Jesus. I agree and I get it, I really do. I am on board, I understand, I really am there too.

I believe that Christmas should be about celebrating the birth of Christ. Although it is a fairly arbitrarily selected day that used to be all about winter solstice type celebrations, yes, Jesus. Okay. Christmas should be about remembering that a teeny, tiny baby came into the world to redeem the entire creation. Everything has been redeemed. The earth, the people, the world.

It. is. amazing. There's no denying this. I want the season to be simple. I want the season to mean something other than presents.

However. Giving gifts actually isn't a bad thing. Giving gifts to excess is. Giving gifts and eclipsing the fact that God became flesh is bad. But gift-giving? It really is an okay thing to do. It is acceptable to love the people around you. I generally prefer homemade gifts, when possible, because of the love of creating them.

This one-up-man ship has to stop. I don't know if you have noticed but people are seeming to try to out-Jesus each other. I'm doing this for Advent. We're doing this for Christmas. We've given this many cookies and this much money and on and on and on and on it goes.

I love seeing pictures and stories of children giving and receiving Operation Christmas Child boxes. I love hearing other people's wonderful ideas about how to celebrate Advent and truly have the season mean something.

But shouldn't this be happening all year long? Shouldn't we be giving to others and rejoicing in the fact that the Word became flesh all the time? Isn't that what our light is about? Since when did giving become a once per year activity? Food banks don't need your food now - they need it the other 11 months of the year when they have next to nothing to offer. (Okay, they need it now too, but you get it.)

I love the simple. I love sharing stories of what Christmas looks like for us. But it shouldn't be a judgment. It shouldn't be a competition to see who can make the day the most about Jesus. We really can talk about Santa. It is okay that he is an imaginary being...well, the current version of him is, anyway.

I like to send Christmas cards. I will make cookies and treats. I will be up late finishing a quilt for my brother that should have been done 6 months ago. A deadline is good, right? I will feast with my family. I will get tears in my eyes when I realize how far we are from most of our family this year. I will sing Christmas tunes as loud as my dad will allow. I will light Advent candles and I will open Christmas gifts. I will smile large and proud when people enjoy things I have made especially with them in mind.

I will celebrate that a humble baby changed the world.

I just don't want to be compared to everyone else. Christmas is Christmas, and lots of the secular things that happen are good and fun and beautiful. I don't really think every single thing that happens in Advent and Christmas needs to have some amazing spiritual reason.

Sometimes, we can just do things because they are fun. It is fun to make treats that you wouldn't make any other time of the year. It is fun to see family and laugh together. It is great to watch people's eyes and faces light up when they are extremely pleased with a gift you have given. I don't want to lose sight of the thing we're actually celebrating either, but I wondering if there isn't a middle ground.

I don't know...what do you think?