A Merry Christmas to all!! It is yet again December 25th. The lead up to this day is always about what you will get this or that person or what we want. Not that gift giving is bad (it's a love language after all) and can show how much you care about someone. Yet, even focusing on others and spending time with family is not the entire point of the season. The true reason of the day, the season is Jesus Christ.
You're probably like "Ok, Grandma (grandpa) *potential eye roll*. I know it's a very religious platitude to say that "Jesus is the reason for the Season", but I think it said so much because the world has largely forgotten this fact. Every potential religious aspect has largely been secularized to the point where the origins of a certain piece of the holiday are unknown. Or if it is recognized as religious it is linked back to paganism partly do to some sects of Chridrianity (not all). In some ways even Santa Claus has been dumbed down or secularized. Santa Claus originates in the figure of St. Nicholas of Myra, a bishop of the Early Church. While he is pictured with a beard, he is by far not a cuddly Christmas Cookie eating figure who flies through the night with a magical sleigh lead by reindeer. He punched a heretic, Arius to be exact because Arius denied the humanity of Christ. Though St. Nicholas did give gifts, so it's not out of bounds to emphasize gift giving, but remember it was to the disadvantaged he gave them. One story is about Nicholas is that he gave money for the dowries of the daughters of a widowed man. In this way, St. Nicholas modeled his life after Christ who valued the whole person not just one aspect of the person such as the spiritual or the physical.
Now gift giving has become commercialized. It even sometimes seems like the perceived secular holiday, Thanksgiving gets overlooked in the rush to get ready for Christmas. Black Friday, as I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, has seemingly become a week or more. While I'll concede that this time is perhaps ideal as prices often get reduced. Yet, whether it is a cheaper gift or something more expensive gift, the price should not truly matter (not saying you should be a spendthrift, but a price does not indicate how much the gift means), as if a person truly considers what another wants or needs, whether by a list or by simply deeply intimately knowing someone, the gift will mean much to that person. Now, if one wantd to de-commercialize Christmas even further consider homemade gifts, as far as your talents may allow, but that is not for everyone, so point number one about focusing on the person not the price of gifts. Perhaps a way to de-commercialize gift giving, which I just was challenged, indirectly, to consider in 2024, is what gifts could be given to Christ, beyond just attending church (for Catholics, Mass), though it is a great gift to the Lord (and for Catholics is an obligation on this day), as it is, at least symbolically, his birthday. And so, if we would give gifts to our families and friends gifts for their birthdays, why has it seeming not ever occurred to, even myself, to do so for Jesus, the savior and the second person of the Trinity?
One may ask what exactly can you give Jesus for his birthday? My first thought, is well I can't give him anything physical. So in lieu of that, what is perhaps, intangible can be given. It can be as small as giving him ten extra minutes of your time, alone with him, in silence (yes, no noise, or as little noise as possible). Maybe the best way to find a meaningful gift for Jesus is to pray about it (novel, right?). Well, now that we've covered gift-giving, time to discover other ways to center Christmas on Christ.
If you are of Christian Faith, I would at least recommend (another reminder Catholics, the church requires attendance at mass on Christmas Day or on Christmas Eve), going to Church. But not just simply going, but arriving early and preparing yourself for the service. If you are Catholic, you could use this time to say a couple pre-communion prayers. One of my favorites is by St. Ambrose (who converted/reverted St. Augustine) which while it does emphasize the sinfulness of human nature, also highlights the mercy of the Lord and asks for it to be shown. Also, for Catholics, it may be wise to try to get to Confession as close to Christmas as possible so you be properly disposed to receive the Eucharist (though venial sins are forgiven in the penitential rite, it can not hurt to confess venial sins, and could provide strength in overcoming them). If you get there early enough to mass (for Catholics) you can pray the rosary. While Mass is a gift to give to Jesus for his birthday, there are other ways to center Christmas on Christ.
Coincidentally, perhaps one of the few aspects of Christmas which the culture gets right is family. To move beyond commercialization, is to focus on family (and not just by gift giving), and the gift of your family. Here, I need to recognize that some people have family situations which make it almost impossible to spend it with family. If you are one of those people, I hope you can still find people, a community to celebrate the holiday with which can uplift you and bring you joy. Where ever you may find family, whether biological or not, being present to your family is one of the ways to center Christmas on Christ. Discuss the nativity story and what it means in your life. Children can ask their parents and grandparents about what Christmas was like when their parents and grandparents were younger (even if it wasn't much different). The family could sing Christmas carols either in the home or going around a neighborhood. Many families have traditions so lean into them enjoy them, even create new ones if you can or wish to. If you are looking to Center your Christmas on Christ through family and tradition, but don't have any yet, maybe look into your cultural heritage. One of my favorite family traditions, though I don't know if it has happened every year, and certainly don't remember doing so as a child, is that my family will sit around the table on Christmas Eve, and pass around the oplatek (the Christmas wafer), while wishing each member "happiness here on earth and an etranl crwon in heaven". While there is more to this tradition than these two things, the reason I love it is because it comes from Poland from which my paternal heritage comes, so it connects me to a certain extent to my ancestors. now, there may be other ways to center Christmas on Christ, but I will offer one last way.
My final suggestion on how to center Christmas on Christ is to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. The Corporal works of mercy cater to the physical and material needs of others while the Spiritual Works of Mercy provide nourishment for the soul. The former includes: Feeding the hungry, giving drinking to the thirsty, clothes to the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. The latter include: counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing the sinner, comforting the sorrowful, forgiving injuries, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead. I do not have time to sugwst how to practice each of these Corporal or Spiritual works of Mercy, on this day, or during this season, but for each I'll suggest a way to practice a few of them. If you have enough time on Christmas, perhaps consider volunteering at a soup kitchen or food pantry which feeds the hungry and gives drink to the thirsty. This could be done with the family or by one's self. Another thing is if you have time, visit a nursing home, or a hospital, maybe do some caroling there, thus visiting the sick and bringing someone joy this season, who may be lonely. Now on to the Spiritual Works of Mercy. Everyone needs some encouragement from time to time on the road to heaven (or in the words of Fr. Josh Johnson, "your walk toward eternity"). So this year if you have a friend or a family struggling in the faith be a listening ear and hear them out, maybe offer a prayer for them to say, or something they can listen to. This goes hand in hand with instructing the ignorant, as sometimes doubts come from a lack of knowledge. Perhaps if you have someone in your life this Christmas who needs to learn even simply that there is a God and that He loves him or her. Perhaps your way of "instructing the ignorant" is informing yourself more fully on your particular faith tradition; no matter how much you know about your faith, you can always go deeper, so this Christmas dive deeper and see what happens. Finally, consider forgiveness, to family, friends and others. This is easier said then done; grudges aren't easy to let go of, because in a certain way, the grudge may come from a desire for justice and for wrongs to be righted. Yet, sometimes mercy is exactly what is needed to move forward, whether reconciliation occurs or not. If a grudge seems impossible to let go of, maybe consider that you may need to see the situation from a different perspective but while that may clarify some things but that doesn't necessarily mean the anger immediately fades. Even after the anger fades, you still may not desire to forgive the person, you can choose to if you'd like, but even though it's counterintuitive, but if the person does not apologize, technically, you don't have to forgive, but again if it helps you move forward, ask God to help you forgive that person despite the lack of apology. Maybe simply it's forgiving yourself for how you may have contributed to the situation, now of course, there may be some caution if it is a situation of abuse because those situations are often more complex than simply someone saying the wrong thing or acting rude to you. No matter how you choose to practice the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, check in with yourself to make sure you're doing so to honor God and not so much to get recognition for doing so (something I should do as well).
The world may have changed Christmas into a commercial commotion, but as much as one might have to give a little into the commercial side of thingd, presents won't appear out of thin air, it doesn't mean that has to be the primary focus of the holiday. Christians, Catholic or Protestant, can choose to reclaim the holiday, and center the day on Christ instead of all the commercialization. So how will you choose this Christmas, to put Christ at the center of the celebration?
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