Christmas: is it a time of joy or a time of stress? Each Christmas, the U.S. creates a commercialized Christmas that focuses only on the material presents and the worst part is, each year it gets worse. If you turn on the TV during a commercial break, odds are that every single commercial is somehow related to Christmas with promises of cheap prices and great gifts for everyone.
As I have grown older, Christmas has transformed into something completely different. Instead of getting excited for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, I get more stressed during this time of year. What to buy for someone while keeping in a budget range, when to spend time with family, and where to go shopping are all major issues. Schoolwork also takes up most of my time when I want to be decorating my Christmas tree or watch a cheesy Christmas movie on Lifetime. Those last three days of the week right before Christmas break are when teachers decide to hit me with more tests, homework, and projects. I suddenly have four tests the next day, a ton of books crammed in my backpack for homework, and a new long-term project I need to complete over Christmas break. Christmas has changed from a time of joy to a time of stress and worry. We all face this stress that seems unavoidable and often discourages people from having a merry Christmas.
Among all of this hustle and bustle, it amazes me to see everyone come to Church on Christmas Day. Suddenly, I’ll walk into Church and see the people who only go to Church on Christmas and Easter filling up all the pews where my family and I normally sit. I watch them as they talk throughout the whole mass and feed their little kids cheerios to keep them entertained. Nothing annoys me more than seeing a person pull out their phone and text during Mass. If you are going to come to Mass only twice a year, at least have the decency to respect God for those two hours of the year. I have to say, I am looking forward to coming to Christmas Mass and watching as the rare Church-goers struggle with the new responses.
The problem with our society during this festive time of Christmas is that we forget the true meaning of this huge holiday. What is the real meaning? When I look back at my childhood, I remember putting the baby Jesus in the manager on Christmas Day and singing Silent Night just about every year at my school’s Christmas pageant. Even though I was still excited about the many presents awaiting me under the tree on Christmas morning, I still knew, even as a young child, that the real meaning of Christmas was the celebration of the love that God had for us. I knew that He loved us so much that He gave us His only son, Jesus Christ, to save us from our sins and share in our humanity. I understood, even back then, that Christmas didn’t have to be complicated or fancy. Christmas is simply about celebrating Jesus and how he taught us to love and give back to one another.
