All the Faf of the Season

This post is certainly not intended to sound 'bah-humbug-ish' as I would be the last person to rule out Christmas from our calendars. In fact, I would go as far as to say that Christmas is my favourite time of the year. I love the pretty lights, the dark evenings, the crisp, beautiful mornings, the anticipation of a wonderful time spent with family and friends, the Christmas plays, the Christmas songs, and more than anything, that peaceful, joyful hope in something greater than all that; the true meaning of Christmas; Jesus.

It's been said over and over again, but when it comes down to it, what is Christmas really all about? Is it about getting all the things we want? Is it even about giving all the things others want to receive? Sure it's about loving. It's about doing sweet things for others, paying extra attention to the needs around us, spending time with people that we might not get to see at other times of the year, but why? Why can we feel that bit more loved at Christmas, that bit more willing to love everyone, a contentment deep inside us, and  that special something in the atmosphere that let's us know Christmas is approaching?

It's simple, but the story behind Christmas is very simple too. God loves us and sent His Son into the world to save us. End of story. To me, it seems so simple and so wonderful. So why all this faf around Christmas now? This hyperactive running around trying to buy Christmas presents for everyone, his wife and his wife's uncle's dog, the buying and sending of Christmas cards, the preparing for the Christmas dinner which somehow seems to begin at the end of November (even though the meal will essentially only last for a few hours), the search for the perfect Christmas party-dress, the dieting to make sure you look good in that perfect Christmas party-dress, and of course all the parties and dinners and social events leading up to it...

In small doses, these things are good and fun. But when you lump them all together and take out the essential element- the true meaning- then it's all just a load of needless stress, pain and often disappointment.

I've been thinking a bit about the exchanging of presents at Christmas. Why do we do it? Why put so much pressure on our friends family and ourselves to carry out this tradition which drains our finances and further clutters up our houses? I don't know much about the history behind the traditions we practice at Christmas, but I'm sure the exchanging of gifts has something to do with symbolising the Greatest Gift- God's gift of His Son- and maybe to also represent the special gifts which were given to Jesus by the Maggai in the Christmas story. However now it seems to be for many the only point of Chistmas; asking for and getting the things we want and didn't get during the year. Christmas has suddenly become about us and what we want, not about God and His love.

I like getting gifts, don't get me wrong. And I can enjoy giving them, too. But going into town at this time of year just about drives me nuts. It would be a more pleasant experience if everyone wore a smile on their faces instead of rushing around with their armfuls of bags, resolution on their faces and that glint in their eye which says, "If you get in the way between me and that handbag my sister wants, I'll hit you over the head with it." Sure it's nice to hear the Christmas music playing in the shops and to smell the mulled wine in the air, but to feel like part of a buffallo herd running away from a bush-fire in a shopping centre is not a pleasant experience (that's how I often feel in a mall around about Christmas time). Neither do I like the struggle with myself as I wonder, "Is what I've got them enough?" Do they need a present or if I 'conveniently forget' them in terms of gift-endowing, will they be less of my friend next year?

It seems so silly, but there seems to be so much value put into the value of the gifts we exchange now. Why on earth would we fork out and buy our sibling who already has an ipad4 and ipad5 for their Christmas, when there's a kid on the street who won't even get a bar of chocolate? We don't need an ipad5 for goodness' sakes! Maybe we want it, but we can live without it. And people can't live without kindness or purpose; two things which seem to often go out of the window at this time of year.

I haven't decided whether to do this yet, but I have wondered, if we were to just get the people we loved a very small gift; something to demonstrate that we have thought of them, even if it's just a promise to call or a nice note in a card; and put more money and thought into the poorer of our society, what could Christmas become? A real season of sharing and of love, I'd imagine.. We might start to get back to the basics and remember what it's all about.

Or maybe we should just stop completely with the gift-hunting and exchanging. Maybe we should just relax, enjoy advent, think about what it means to us and stop letting the pressure that society puts on us destroy the season for ourselves and those around us! It's meant to be a time of joy. Maybe we need to do whatever it takes to bring the joy back into Christmas, even if it means turning the way we've always done it on its head.

*All views expressed in this blog entry are entirely my own and not necessarily to be taken seriously.