It’s that time of year when decorations abound, shopping begins, and family comes together to celebrate and be joyful. Yet, it seems to me, that the winter holiday season has become too commercialized and the true meaning of Christmas has been all but forgotten. We get too caught up in what to buy, how much to spend, where we need to be on this day or that. I think we need to back up and remember what it’s really about.
Like so many children, I grew up believing in Santa Claus. I never questioned how he does it all: visits so many children in one night, flies eight tiny reindeer and one sleigh carrying all those toys, fits down chimneys (even when a home doesn’t have one). I didn’t even recall questioning how Santa’s elves made toys labeled with Hasbro or Parker Brothers logos on the box. Nor how, as I got older, I realized his handwriting looked remarkably like my mother’s. It’s just the way it was.
Call it “Santa Magic.”
Now that I am a full-grown adult, I still believe in the Spirit of Santa. I know the man in the red suit at the mall is not the “real” Santa. He is one of his many helpers. There are more children than there used to be that believe in him, so he has had to expand operations since the days of St. Nicholas, I am sure. And the flying sleigh? Well, I’ve never seen it so I don’t really know if it exists or not. Maybe the movies do have it right: a computer that alters time so he can make it around the world in one night, magic that turns a home’s furnace into a chimney he can slide down, special flying powers.
In 1897, a famous letter to the editor of the New York “Sun” asks the question we all want to know: “is there a Santa Claus?” Francis Pharcellus Church crafted the most effective response to this question. His answer was one of having faith in the unseen, a faith that is embodied in the love, generosity, and devotion of the people around you. That faith keeps the childlike wonder of Santa Claus real.
So I guess that is what it’s about for me: love, generosity, and devotion. Family time. Fun.
But just to be clear, especially about the generosity part. It doesn’t mean spending an obscene amount of money to buy just the right present. It means giving freely, without expectations other than the hope that it brings joy to the receiver.
Of those three things, do you notice how there is no “receiving” in there? Christmastime should not be about getting the most loot under the tree. It should not be about what we get from parents and grandparents, or how much siblings get compared to ourselves. It should be about spending time with the members of your family, however family is defined for you.
So getting back to the “giving” part… Most people agree that a handmade gift is a gift from the heart. They are the most meaningful gifts people receive. How many childhood drawings did your parents keep on the refrigerator as you grew up? How many children have a favorite knitted blanket that they still bring to bed? Or a handmade wooden toy that gets passed down through generations?
Maybe you’re not the crafty type. Then spend a little on something someone else crafted. It doesn’t have to be much. These crafters are giving their gift of craftiness to you to share with your family. Chances are their family has plenty of whatever they like to make around the house already!
And most importantly, have fun!
“Ho, Ho, Ho – Merry Christmas!”
