Christmas

It's the time for:
                                  gifts under the tree,

                               Nativity Scenes,

      Holly berries and other cozy decorations, such as a white coating of snow,

  It's the time of year to teach your kids what's true... and what is not.

It's a time for giving and possibly receiving. It's the time of year to read Luke 2 together as a family. And it's the time to see relatives that you haven't seen in ages. And it's the time to eat lots of yummy food...


Or so I hear.
You see, to me as a child, Christmas was the time of year when:
   ...We counted the colorful lights on the way to Bible study. Then since Josh always spotted the most and because I didn't appreciate losing, I'd try to stay awake on our way home and find the ones that he saw that I didn't see on the way there.
 ...We got pictures in the mail of our friends and cousins. Then we'd compare the pictures to last year and be amazed at how much people change in a year.
 ...We made jokes about Santa Claus not stopping at our place.
 ...Grampa and Gramma would put up a tree in their living room. It was the greatest puzzlement to my little mind. Why would you put a tree in your living room and decorate it all over? I'd want to stare at it but didn't want anyone to see me staring, so I'd avoid looking at it instead.
 ...My aunt and uncle sent us a package in the mail. That was fun!



Then I got older. I got married. I got a job. Now Christmastime signifies a little more to me.

It's the time of year when:
...People put more stuff on credit cards.
...The folks on the radio seem to not realize that just because five different artists sing Jingle Bell Rock and Walking in a Winter Wonderland DOES NOT mean that they are different songs. And they seem to have also forgotten that any thing else exists in the musical world.
...And on a musical note, churches seem to all of the sudden lose all the other pages in their hymn books and only have those 20 pages of Christmas songs.
...First stores are jam packed and you decide it's not really worth the wait in line; then the stores are closed and you wished you had waited in line.
...Customers want to wait till after the first of the year to pay their bill, to help them get through Christmas. (And remind me again... exactly HOW does that help you get through Christmas?!?!)
... Some people are exceptionally helpful and happy, but a large percentage of people are exceptionally grumpy and grouchy. They are too busy and have to see too much family and have to spend more money than they have and, and, and. The list goes on.

You see... I've never celebrated Christmas. For twenty-two years I've been able to escape Christmas. "Escape?" Is that really the word I used? "But how", you ask, "can you feel right about escaping our Saviour's birth? And it's special. It's fun! And why NOT be a part of it?"

Well it's simple to me. I never have celebrated it and I know nothing of the specialness. I've never experienced it. At least my memory says I haven't. Pictures say that I did when I was about two. I don't remember though and I feel fine without ever knowing what it was like. I don't feel like I missed out on something in my childhood. I feel honored that my parents chose to miss something that was special to them so that I would be able to be free now. I think that was not their reason for it at the time though. :)
   And why try to say I'm celebrating Christ's birth when it creates stress and misery for so many people? Yes, I'll celebrate a birthday. I'm not against it. There is no point in it, though, when the one for who the celebration is for gets forgotten, or when the stress level gets high, or when it just becomes a bargaining exchange. "You give me a gift, I'll give you a gift."
  I love the fact that our Lord came as a baby, lived life as a human, and then died in my place, my Saviour forever. I love that. I don't down that at all. But I personally am fine without a big party to celebrate the fact of that baby.
  And besides my husband dislikes anything other than work so holidays really stress him. He's fine without the party too.
  Will I continue not making traditions for that day when I have children? Maybe so. Maybe not. I'll cross that bridge when I get there. For now I'll probably just continue watching everyone celebrate, and while I miss out on the fun, I'll be ok with it because to me, I feel that missing out on, as I see it, the stress and stupidity, will make up for it.