The Real Meaning of Christmas

Christmas. 

The mere mention of the word can sometimes make my heart skip a beat as fond memories of family gatherings, bountiful dinners, gifting, caroling and festive baking all flood my mind and take me back.

I envision the bright red ribbons that adorned mysterious packages beneath our Christmas tree.

I hear the jingling of bells from the wreath on the front door as we welcomed loved ones into our home (along with the chilly blast of winter wind that followed them inside!)

My mom used to put the skins of an orange and lemons, cinnamon sticks, red wine, star anise, cloves… all together in a sauce pan, and she would leave them cooking on the lowest heat. The smell was soooo lovely! I still do this at our house closer to Christmas for a few days ^_^

It was Christmas spirit at its best!

Somehow, though, I know that “Christmas spirit” will be quite different during this pandemic year.

Gathering with family and friends may be limited.

Gifting will be much simpler.

There will probably be no Christmas markets to attend where we bump into extended family members (Malta is pretty tiny, and you’re bound to bump into someone you know wherever you go, especially during the holidays.)

While that may seem like a disappointment in many ways, I have to wonder if it isn’t really a blessing in disguise.

Could it be that you and I will, perhaps for the first time in our lives, come to grips with the true meaning of Christmas?

What is the true meaning of Christmas?

That one’s easy:  you’ve got this, right? 

You’ve been reading the Christmas story from God’s Word to your little ones ever since they were old enough to listen.

You may have even played the parts in your church’s Christmas pageant (Mary, the innkeepers, the shepherds and kings) year-after-year – and then after the final “amen”, you and the family piled into the car and headed for a much more familiar Christmas venue: the shopping centers!

In fact, can you remember ever having a Christmas season that was not riddled with rushing here and there, shopping, baking, wrapping, attending yet another party, and participating in yet another gift exchange (sometimes where you re-gifted an item that merely satisfied the obligation of last year’s gathering) until you were absolutely exhausted and ready for Christmas to come to an end? [sigh]

No, I really can’t, either. 

I have to admit it: I think I will actually welcome a few of the changes this year.

So, to take my own advice from my blog post 12 Practical Ways to Minimize Holiday Stress, I think I’ll start with another look at that so-familiar story of the Baby in the manger to find the real meaning of Christmas.

Bigger = better??

I love to listen to the older generation, especially my grandma, speak with fondness of simpler times when society was not as comfortable as it is today, and celebrations seemed so much more meaningful and pleasing.

In contrast, today, in spite of all of our instant pleasures and busyness, we seem to be drifting further and further from the point of real satisfaction and joy. 

Obviously, “more” and “bigger” do not necessarily equal “better”.

No, things and activity are not the keys to finding real fulfillment during the Christmas season.

In fact, I’m realizing more and more that they can actually be the “joy-stealers” that detract from the pleasures that I hope to find during the Christmas season.

I am learning that real, lasting Christmas spirit comes only from focusing on Jesus.

Just as I used to slip downstairs as a child after everyone else was asleep and softly sing to Baby Jesus in the manger, I still find myself sitting alone in the dark, with only the soft glow of the light that illuminates my own creche.

I stare intently at the little figurine in the nativity display that represents the One my empty, longing heart craves – even when I least realize it!

All around me is quiet – not chaos. 

I come, not bearing packages wrapped in shiny paper and enormous bows, but instead a heart (and eyes) overflowing with a deep, deep sense of gratitude and humility to think that “God so loved the world – me – that He gave His beloved Son…” 

Me – with all of my faults and failures – with all of my arrogance and independence to ever think that I could possibly make my way to God on my own. 

I can only sit and stare at the simple infant in the manger who willingly took on this humble, impoverished beginning of a thirty-three-year trek to a wretched cross so that I might become heir to all things that the Father owns!

Suddenly, I feel full. 

I feel overwhelmed with a sense of being loved unconditionally.  I feel that I have everything I need, and, like the lamb in Psalm 23, I do not “want” for anything more!

When my grateful heart overflows, I suddenly desire to share the love with others.

I think that must be what the shepherds in Bethlehem felt on that first, quiet, lonely Christmas night:

·         Their hearts rejoiced to see, with their very own eyes, God the Son – born in the flesh -- in a simple manger.

·         Their visit with Mary and Joseph that night in the stable must have warmed them as they experienced a kinship with fellow-believers.

·         Perhaps they even “broke bread” together – shared a simple meal with the holy family – in that manger stall.  Well, why not?  After all, they each had a long, eventful night! Jesus Himself later made food a tool for building relationships and for fellowship with friends and followers. The gift of food warms the heart.

·         Luke’s Gospel tells us that the shepherds went away “glorifying God for all the things that they had seen and heard.” Spending time with others in God’s family – with Christ in the midst – has a way of doing that for a person.

Can Christian fellowship help create the right Christmas spirit?

I believe it can.

I believe that God’s Word allows us a sneak peek at what the Father has in store for His children when we are one day together in His presence in His house. 

We’ll rejoice together in all that Jesus has done for us. 

We’ll enjoy the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ in a simple, child-like innocence that lasts for eternity. 

We’ll even share meals together:  the first of which will be the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19). Somehow, I am convinced that the meal will be entirely whole food plant-based with a rich, delicious goodness like we have never experienced before =).

So, until then…

I am determined to start this Christmas season right by making Christ my focus. 

I long to spend time with Him alone – even late at night when everyone else is asleep – and I slip away to quietly sing a song of worship to Him in the soft glow of the manger.

I am determined to help someone else (starting with those within my own four walls) know the joy of feeling loved and appreciated as I give them my total attention and interest. When we “walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another...” (I John 1:7)

If I have the opportunity to safely gather with a friend or two, perhaps I can take the extra step to warm their hearts with a bit of comfort food – such as my Sticky Pumpkin Bread or my No Bake Christmas Log – and a cup of tea or coffee.

Christian fellowship – coupled with a wholesome treat – has a beautiful way of lifting spirits! (See Psalm 104:14-15)

The new “normal”?

Christmas for Christians need not be disappointing this year.

As you and I learn to make changes in our everyday habits and routines, let’s become comfortable with making a few changes in our Christmas routines, as well.