Christmas Questions

It seems that people are gearing up for the holidays around here. If you go driving at night, you see Christmas trees peaking out windows and Christmas lights hanging off houses. In stores, you can easily find ornaments and artificial trees, Christmas decorations everywhere, and everything on sale. 

At my house, we got our artificial Christmas tree out yesterday, along with all our other Christmas decorations.  We even pulled out the lighted wire yard decorations, our angel and our three Christmas trees, though we're the only people that will be around to enjoy them.

The question is, do any of the people who love the Christmas season so that they can put lights up and try to be the most decorated people on the block even think about or remember the real reason for Christmas? Do they just put lights and trees up so that it's pretty and they're not the only people without lights and trees, or do they think about the reason they should be enjoying the holiday season?

I guess the more to-the-point question is: Do people in my community just celebrate Santa, getting presents, and trees and lights, or do they rejoice in the fact that their Savior was born and that it's when we celebrate His birthday?

I agree that I like the excitement of receiving a wrapped present and tearing into it to find something that I will treasure. And I admit that sometimes, during Christmas morning, as I'm opening presents, I don't think much about the One who gave me the ultimate present: A life with Him, free of sin.

 

This question nags more and more at me as I walk into Wal-Mart and see 'Happy Holidays' and Merry X-Mas' everywhere. People everywhere are crossing out Christ's name because they are 'Afraid of hurting someone's feelings'. Well guess what? They succeeded in hurting MY feelings! 

I suppose I understand, but not really. I know they can't make everyone happy. It's impossible, unless you're God, which they're not. Why change the decades old name of a holiday to make some people happy, and the people that already WERE happy, mad? I don't understand.

I'm sorry if I've offended any readers by using 'Christmas' instead of 'X-mas', but I strongly believe that people should keep the Christ in Christmas, as He is the reason Christmas even began being celebrated.

Now, let me be one of the first to wish you a Merry Christmas! (Unless you live in a place like me where, before Thanksgiving, they were having the lighted Christmas parade)

- Firefly