Celebrate Christmas every day!
Yesterday, I said I felt like Santa Claus, spreading joy and good cheer through gift-giving. Im still kinda surprised no one took me to task for using the name Santa Claus.
See, I grew up in a Christian family that had the added quirk of being rather strict. Mom and Dad wouldnt even send Christmas cards that had Santas picture on them, because Christmas is never supposed to be about Santa, and he steals the limelight from the real star of the show, Jesus.
A Christmas tree was out of the question coz my very practical parents said they werent going to bother with putting up a tree and decorating it, and then having to pack it up after a month and put everything away. Besides, what does a tree have to do with Christmas anyway? And I suspect Mom would have complained that a tree got in the way, taking up unnecessary space. Shes not one for knickknacks and table decorations. They just gather dust and sit there. Thats my very practical parents for you.
We never gave Christmas gifts to each other either, coz Mom and Dad didnt want to encourage a materialistic, grasping attitude. We shouldnt look forward to Christmas for the presents, Mom said. Thats not the real meaning of Christmas.
The upshot of all this was that Christmas became just like any ordinary Sunday church in the morning, lazing around with the family in the afternoon. (That usually meant that all of us were either reading the newspaper or reading a book. Were a very bookwormish family more on that later!) Christmas has never been particularly special to me, and Ive never anticipated it with the slightest smidgen of excitement. Wait a minute, I take that back; I looked forward to practising the carols with my youth group! I enjoy singing to God, and I love the carols. In fact, I was once caught playing Christmas albums in June. *grin*
I actually think we should sing carols all the year round, coz theres no reason we should only celebrate Jesus birth on December 25. His birth should be celebrated all the time, as we remember that He humbled Himself to come as a helpless baby, for OUR sakes! God, needing to be fed and burped and washed. God, crying and waving His little fists in the air, His nappy reeking of baby poo. Doesnt it boggle the mind?!
We should never lose the wonder of Almighty God going through all that for our sake, that He might walk this earth as a man and experience what we experience. He can SO identify with our struggles, probably even right down to irritating pimples that will pop out at the most inconvenient times. Hes been there. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
Yes, we should celebrate His birth all the time, because without His birth there could not have been His death and resurrection; there could not have been the forgiveness of sins and the opportunity to have a relationship with God. Celebrate His birth, for without it we wouldnt be where we are today we wouldnt even have the ability to celebrate! Lets celebrate His birth each and every day, and be thankful. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:24)!