You can find the true spirit of Christmas , if you look. It may not be easy to see, or readily apparent, particularly if you're focused on the wrong places.
It's not in the bombastic commercial hubbub that surrounds the holiday, all the noise that tries to get you involved and stressed about the holiday from August on. That is a long time! No wonder so many are anxious to set aside the holiday the day after it arrives! It's not in the urge to buy more and more gifts, to obsess over checking off a long list of obligations and responsibilities, trying to hit the right zone with presents - getting something that will make the gift recipient wowed while at the same time not breaking the budget too bad.
It's not in the ferocious competition to put out bigger, shiner, more impressive outdoor displays. They can be nice to look at, especially in the snowless Deep South where I live. Still, the size of your display may win neighborhood competitions, it may get the most cars to slow down in front of your house, but it doesn't really represent what the true spirit of Christmas is.
And it's certainly not in the savage reaction to whether or not people give the correct Christmas greeting. Symbols of Christmas are nice, but they are only symbols of Christmas. It is not Christmas Spirit itself.
Christmas Spirit can be seen in the hands and feet and heart we extend to each other. It's in the food we bring to those in need. It's in the shelter we provide, and the love that we share. It's in providing clothes to those who have little to wear. It's in visiting prisoners. It's in a warm hug and a bright smile, to all, regardless of whatever their faith or seasonal greeting.
It's in those who foster pets, and help shelter animals from the cold, those who promote spaying and neutering, those who adopt and responsibly take care of their new pets.
It's in those who support the shelters for abused women and their children. Giving through time, money and resources to make sure those who live in fear can have a ray of hope.
It's in those that advocate for the poor and needy, whether it's in supposing organizations that assist the impoverished, or in promoting legislation that provides more permanent fixes.
It's in those that help build shelters and homes for those who have no place else to go, fellow citizens that would otherwise be homeless.
It's about providing love and hope and resources to the sick. Whether it be a child sick with a debilitating and deadly disease, or an elderly person living out their last days in Hospice, they could all use the support and kindness of caring people.
It's about caroling and extending love and joy. It's about celebrating with your own family, and with church family. It;s about extending that love and kindness to all, regardless of their faith, or their ethnicity, or even their immigration status. Christmas is either open arms to everyone, or it doesn't really exist at all.
It's about the message and light of Christ. Christians are theologically diverse, and fractured into hundreds of denominations, but they share this belief - Christ came to light the way for the rest of us.
Sometimes that light is hard to see in the midst of all the Christmas commercial noise, in the din of bad news that sometimes engulfs us, in the partisan divides we have created for each other. But take a moment. Relax. Unplug from the noise. Pray in contemplation and quiet. Think about all the wonderful things we do, and can do, in the Christmas Spirit.
Take a moment. Open your heart. The light of Christ, the great breath of the Christmas Spirit, the love of God - it's there. It's easy to see - nay, it's overwhelmingly clear - when you just look in the right place.
Merry Christmas to you all!
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