Christmas is about miracles, not presents

It’s not about the presents.
Think of all the holidays you have experienced. Now, how many presents do you remember?
I’m guessing that you can name a few specific gifts, but most of them are a blur, thus proving my point. It’s not about the presents.
This doesn’t stop me nor anyone else from shopping for that special gift for that special someone. It doesn’t ease the guilt at not being able to afford everything we want our loved ones to have. It doesn’t stop the cat from sitting on the wrapping paper or batting the tape around while we attempt to cover our purchases with colorful paper. It doesn’t stop the return trip to the post office to mail the gift that arrived late or the one we bought months ago and found only after everything else was in the mail. But when all is said and done, it isn’t the presents we will remember.
There is something about the beginning of winter that compels us to throw a huge party. This is when we celebrate the birth of a baby. This is when we celebrate miracles. This is when we formally attempt to show people how much we love them. This is the season of, if not peace on earth, then at least good will towards most.
Christmas is when we give others a little more leeway, a little more understanding. We realize that there are those who have lost loved ones and who will be celebrating the season without them. We tread lightly around them, unsure how to help.
This is the season when we acknowledge the poor and supply them with boxes of food and presents. If this is your practice, I urge you to not clean out your cupboards to fill these boxes. Even the poor don’t want canned food you bought several years ago or that is past its expiration date. Easy to prepare foods are better. And if you include a treat or two it will be appreciated. I remember when those boxes enabled us to get through the lean winter months.
Those boxes meant that somebody thought of us. Somebody cared. That meant far more than the food the boxes contained. They meant that if we needed somebody, they were there.
Christmas means so many things to so many people. The decorations, endless specials on television, advertising exhorting us to buy buy buy, shopping, planning, cleaning, wrapping, mailing, all those are a part of the holiday. Christmas songs blare in every store. Bells ring and change jingles in red kettles. Children cry when they meet Santa.
For many of us there is one thing that signifies Christmas. For me, that is the ritual of setting out the nativity. As I unwrap Mary, Joseph and all the other figures, I begin to feel it. Placing the baby in the middle of the scene is when Christmas really begins for me. For you, it might be something else, but for me it is the nativity.
Speaking of nativities, I finally remembered to send the insane nativity to my daughter. When she was a little girl, I made a nativity from a pattern I saw in a magazine. Cloth figures, googly eyes and fake hair were the highlights. Over the years the hair stuck out in every direction and the googly eyes got stuck so each eye looked askew. I named it the insane nativity. It is perfect for small children to play with. It was time to pass on my creation. I assume her husband will want to have me committed to a nice, safe place once he sees it.
Christmas is many things to many people. It is a time when families come together, for better or worse. It is a time for missing those who are not with us, for one reason or another. It is a time for tradition. It truly is more blessed to give than receive — especially when we receive something that makes us wonder what on earth the other person was thinking.
It isn’t about the presents, even when they are weird. The cartoon character Charlie Brown once asked, “Isn’t there anyone who understands what Christmas is all about?”
In response Linus read the biblical account of the birth of a very special baby and pronounced, “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.” A child is born. A miracle has occurred. Christmas is about miracles. May you have your own miracle to celebrate this Christmas.