It is now almost December and everyone has the same thing on their mind.  Now that Thanksgiving came and went, everyone is focusing on buying presents, getting a tree, and of course snow.  Christmas time is officially here and every where people go they are overwhelmed with it.  People see all the Christmas decorations, the movies, the holiday food, and hear the hopes of a “white Christmas”, and almost every time they say the old saying, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

All of this happiness and excitement is to be expected, but sadly some people seem to have lost the true sense of what Christmas is and what it means.  The Christmas season is consumed with shopping and making sure that the right people know what to get for someone, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but people forget to take this beautiful time and atmosphere and use it to grow closer to one another.  Instead of focusing on what they receive, they should focus on what they can give and who they can bond with during this time.

Get out and tour the lights in town, just enjoy the scene of Christmas, not the presents. Spend time with loved ones watching movies, making Christmas foods, or eating Christmas foods for that matter.  Do what ever it takes to get some light moments together that will turn into cherished memories later in life.  Start a tradition of doing a family snowman build or a group of friends getting together for a huge snowball fight.  Try not to waste the whole Christmas season constantly thinking about what presents would be best and if they will wind up under the tree.

This is a very sad reality of what Christmas has become and what it has come to symbolize, but there is an even sadder truth about people and the Christmas season that has been progressing for quite some time now.  The truth is that many people have taken the story of the birth of Jesus Christ out of the Christmas season.  This is quite a tragedy considering this is the whole reason that people celebrate Christmas in the first place.  People have gotten away from the birth of Jesus and have fallen into a sort of birth of materialism.

Christmas has become all about getting the newest clothes, the newest toys, and the newest technology, when it should be about remembering the birth of the Savior and all that he gave for us. Now I am not trying to say that everyone has twisted Christmas into this untrue tradition, but it seems that the majority of the world has moved away from telling the Christmas story. Instead of talking about a manger, a shining star, wise men, and a newborn king people talk about all the things that they want and who could possibly afford to get it for them.

Jesus did not have a selfish bone in his body, and we should strive to imitate him and his actions.  So instead of fantasizing on what we could have for Christmas, we need to focus on what we can give for Christmas.  Lay down your selfish ambitions and use your time and energy to reach out to those that are less fortunate.  Maybe you could even take a Christmas present that you get that you really do not need and give it to someone that could actually use it.  During this Christmas season, always remember to put others before you and to live with a humble heart.  Merry Christmas!