Over the past month as I have been preparing and getting excited for the Christmas season to be here, I have been pondering a lot about where my focus should be during the holidays. I was struggling with the powerful materialism that seems to consume the majority of the population around Christmas. Everyone comes up with a list of material possessions that they want for Christmas, and often times this becomes the selfish focus of the holiday. I want this, I want that, etc. People spend more money during the holidays that pretty much any other time of year, and the majority of the moola is going into large corporate retail companies. All of these thoughts were unsettling for me, and I wanted to make sure that I did not have a focus on myself but rather a focus on others and what I could do for them.Now...before I continue, you will need to understand that I eventually came to the realization that giving gifts to each other is not a bad thing. As I was struggling with this conflict of whether or not I should buy anything for myself, if it was even ok to ask for presents that would benefit me, or if the idea of giving material goods was ok, I realized that shopping for and giving presents is completely fine! The simple fact that I was struggling with the concept and I was not consumed with materialism showed that my heart was in the right place (as my husband helped me see). While there are definitely people who get consumed by materialism during Christmas season, simply exchanging material goods does not mean I have to be consumed by it myself.
Giving gifts at Christmas originated from St. Nicholas in Greece, who would go around at night on December 6th and give gifts to children who were less fortunate than others. I think it is so cool to see where the tradition came from and the great heart and act that started it all. What a great opportunity to be generous to those who may not have as much as you, and show Christ's love through the giving of a gift to friends and family. If our mindset is one of generosity and love, then I believe giving gifts can be a beautiful tradition and action!
May we all have truly generous and loving hearts as we give gifts this Christmas, and may we also have ever grateful spirits to God for sending his Son!!! It is truly a time of the year for celebration!
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