Christmas is a fun time of year. People tend to be happier and more pleasant, and receiving and giving gifts should improve a person’s mood. The food alone is a reason to love the season.
This year, my Christmas plans are simple. My wife and I are staying home alone. Everybody in our family has other plans for December 25th. We will have some celebrations with people on a few other days. Parties are planned with family or friends on December 15, 19, and 29. But on Christmas Day, it will be a party of two. We had the same-sized party two years ago.
I understand it can be challenging for some people because they may have been through a tough year. Christmas can also be tough on some because of a memory of the time of year. For some, Christmas is a constant reminder of something or someone they wish they could forget. Others struggle because Christmas means getting together or seeing somebody they would rather avoid.
Regardless of your current feelings towards Christmas, it’s important to acknowledge its role as a time of new beginnings. As the year draws to a close, we’re given the opportunity to start afresh in just a few days.
To me, that is the key to why Christmas is so wonderful.
After all, Christmas celebrates the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus. Some people love to point out that we don’t know when Jesus was born. Indeed, we don’t have an exact date, but it doesn’t matter. What we do know is where it falls on the modern calendar.
It falls at the end of the year, in the middle of winter—the low point for those in the Northern Hemisphere. The sun shines the dullest, and the days are the coldest. But for those of us who believe, we get to have hope. Hope in a brighter life.
Christmas sets up Good Friday, which leads to Easter. Because before Jesus ascends to Heaven, He dies on the cross to bear the burden of our sins. But before He dies, He has to be born.
Our faith needs Christmas first. It needs us to believe God sent His son on our behalf. We all need a new beginning if we want an eternal ending.
We celebrate it at this time. Everybody can have hope. Regardless of your plans for Christmas, you can rejoice in its meaning and look forward to Easter.
