Greetings and Happy Holidays to all who take the time to read this post. I hope whatever your religious beliefs that this is a wonderful holiday season for you and your family. After all, it really is all about family. Those of us who are Christians insist that Christmas is our celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and for many of us it is still an important element. But anyone truly paying attention would have a hard time denying the fact that this holiday has become most representative of an all out explosion of consumerism, so intense that it even contains elements of violence as evidenced on black Friday. It is clear that too many have no true sense of what the spirit of Christmas is. One of the saddest displays of how acceptable this attitude has become, in my opinion, is the television commercials the Best Buy retail chain ran this Christmas in which the very notion that Santa Claus was the benevolent symbol of Christmas cheer was challenged in favor of the idea that Best Buy would empower the consumer to out do Santa. I found it crass and tasteless, yet I heard no one else express the disgust I felt.
On the other hand, there were many examples of those trying to remind us all what Christmas is really about. Many expressions of love and benevolence worldwide. Among my favorite was the many "secret Santa's" around the country who went to places where struggling families had layaway's and paid the costs for those who seemed to most be in need.
If I could have had my wish come true, it would have been to have my family; mother, brothers and the rest all together again one more time as it was when we were growing up. Knowing that this can never happen again helps to bring perspective to what Christmas is really all about.
I suggest that if Jesus were among us today, he would say that while he appreciates the outpouring of love and affection for him that we say we have; and the honor of having his birth remembered, he would feel most honored if we would show love and compassion for each other, and remember that we must cherish every moment we have with each other, because just as we are all born in simplicity, so shall we return. And what matters most in our lives cannot be found in any retail outlet.
