Southern Bread

Merry Christmas to all! I haven’t posted in the last few days because of all the Christmas family activitiy going on. But it’s Christmas morning and my kids haven’t woken up yet so I thought I’d post a quickie before the gift-giving action begins. Once my little boy gets up… it’s on. This is my favorite part of the Christmas season. The time when you wake up at the crack of dawn and make some coffee and wait for the kids to rise. When it comes to Christmas, having kids just changes everything. It just makes you so happy to give to them. We’ve always been of the opinion that you can’t make your kids be grateful. It has to come from the heart, and young kids just don’t seem to have much of it. But as they grow and see your cheerful attitude of giving, they will come to love giving as much as getting.

As Christmas day draws near, I often say, and hear people say that it just doesn’t “feel” like Christmas yet. A friend and I were discussing that the other day and I think it just comes with getting older. The “feeling” we are looking for is that feeling we had as children, that as the 25th got closer, we became more and more racked with anitcipation. We are looking for the magic. But getting older means the dynamic shifts. The magic diminishes and the respect grows. As adults we begin to respect Christmas as the true symbol it is. Even if you are not a Christian, Christmas is a most unique holiday. A uniquely Christian holiday. The charity and love of giving that we are all expected to show in late December is a testimony every year to how God’s gift of Christ to us changed this world forever.

Christians have two holidays per year. Celebrate Christmas with respect, but don’t lose the mirth that brought the wise men to a young Jesus to shower him with gifts. Easter is for the quiet reflection and contemplation of Christ’s sacrifice. I think Christmas should be respected for the gift the father gave and celebrated as Christ’s birthday. Isn’t that what we tell our kids it is anyway? Anyway, have a merry Christmas, and don’t forget to read the first few chapters of Luke sometime today. Christian or not, it’s at least appropriate to know what you’re celebrating and teach it to your kids.