How to Put the Meaning Back into Christmas

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Today’s December 25th and that means it’s finally Christmas Day!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and readers from around the world.

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement for the last few months of this blog’s inception. I couldn’t have made it this far with you. I truly appreciate you sharing this journey with me.

Here are some things that we can do today to put the meaning back into Christmas.

We can remember that it’s Christmas and today’s the day that Jesus Christ was born. If you are going to mass today, that’s great. If you are not, you can still offer a silent prayer on His day. Christmas has become such a commercialized holiday, yet it doesn’t have to be. You can decide to lessen the commercialization of it by keeping in mind what Christmas really means.

We can reflect on the people who are no longer with us. My father loved Christmas and although he’s no longer with us, I like to think of him at Christmas and how much he enjoyed having his six kids opening presents on Christmas morning and all the craziness that ensued. I have such fond memories of waking up my parents really early in the morning and coming downstairs and seeing all the presents under the Christmas tree. With six kids the mound of presents was pretty big some years. Who are you missing this Christmas Day?

We can spend time with those people who are important to us. Whether this means your immediate family or those friends who you consider your family, it’s important to be around people you love and who loves you during Christmas. But, remember that there are a lot of single and lonely people who would also appreciate being invited to your Christmas dinner. Sometimes the smallest action yields the biggest rewards. Do you have an open spot at your table to invite someone?

We can be kind to those who are less fortunate than us. As you are opening your gifts today, be thankful for what you have, even if you are looking at this thing in your hands and wondering what were they thinking? There are many children who do not have any presents to open on Christmas Day. You can always regift or return the item later. It’s the thought that really counts, and not the gift itself.

We can expect that today will be a stressful and crazy day. You know that today’s going to be crazy with all the running around, visiting people, opening presents, fights breaking out during dinner, something breaking, someone crying that they didn’t get what they wanted, etc. Keep things in perspective and look for the joy in the day itself. Expect that things will go wrong and accept that sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it. Give in to the craziness and in 24 hours it will be over.

We can remember that it’s for the children. There’s nothing like seeing a child’s eyes light up with joy when Santa brought them their heart’s desire.You may not believe in Santa Claus anymore but please don’t spoil it for those of us who do