Christmas?!

This madness and tradition has to stop. While I enjoy how this holiday brings family together, I feel that this holiday has lost its meaning in our house. Now that I am older, I realize that this doesn't satisfy me. Every year we put up our tree, we search for the perfect gifts, and presents litter the bottom of our tree. There is the occasional eggnog and movie with family--everything that suits tradition. Sounds about right. Here is the question: where is Jesus? He wasn't wrapped in any of my presents, and I most certainly didn't see him at the dinner table. While being around family is fun, it isn't satisfying if we fall into this commercialized concept of our holiday. I would love to restructure the way we do things, but I don't have the guts to take down tradition. Who am I to change the way our family does things? I can make some suggestions. Here is a list of things I think can re-channel our focus:

1. As much as I enjoyed this when I was little, I think we should do away with the presents. This is by far my biggest distraction on this holiday.

2. Incorpate scripture into our celebration.

3. Actually learn some real Christmas songs.

4. Volunteer work!!!

This sounds great right, but here is where everything gets complex. No one wants to give up that nice traditional family time and good feelings that holiday cheer brings. There is that "Things won't be the same" effect. Maybe if we do this little by little it can happen. While I don't think that all this hype about Jesus should be constricted to just one of the two important days in a Chrsitian's life, I do think that we should remember why we personally acknowledge this holiday at this time of year.