Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. Most people would say that it’s theirs too. The Christmas season is one of the most joyous and happy times filled with fun, family, love and cheer. It’s described as The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, with food and presents galore. Christmas is celebrated many different ways, from the Christians celebrating Jesus’ birth to the non-religious people who celebrate because of the joy of the holiday season. Christmas was once known as a time of giving back and helping others, but now it’s revered as a time of receiving and greediness. It is my belief that over the last few years, we have all become disconnected from the true meaning of Christmas. The true reason for the season. So, I think it’s time that we reconnect with our Christmas spirit and get back to celebrating the holiday as it was intended to be celebrated.
What is the Christmas Spirit?
The Christmas Spirit is a very important thing. It’s heartwarming, loving, kind, beautiful, special, and really amazing. It’s used in most Christmas movies, like when they use Christmas spirit to power Santa’s sleigh in Elf. It should be all around us during the holidays, but it just isn’t anymore. The Christmas Spirit is the feeling of joy and happiness that makes people want to give back and help others. Christmas is supposed to be about giving, but we have made it all about receiving. We have become disconnected from the true meaning of Christmas and the values that matter. I think it’s more than time to connect back to the real reason for the season.
The Shared Dilemma
In the past few years, society has become so conceited. All we care about is ourselves and what we want. We have also become very ungrateful and unaware. Ungrateful for what we have and unaware that others around us have much less. Though I may upset some people by saying this, we have become utterly spoiled. Personally, my family realized that we had crossed a line. My siblings and I were getting mountains of things every year and began struggling to think of what we wanted. We realized we had all we needed. We had already strayed far from the real meaning of Christmas, it was all about receiving. Some of you might find yourself in the exact same situation. We needed to change for the better. So, we made a few changes that have helped us connect with the Christmas spirit and get back to the giving season.
Lessen The Gifts
One way that we helped us reconnect with the Christmas season was in how we lessen the receiving. Instead of our parents getting us as many gifts as we wanted, we switched to only getting four gifts. We get something we want, something we need, something to wear, and something to read. By limiting it to four gifts, we focus on giving instead of receiving. We still get a good amount of gifts, but we don’t get too many. I would highly recommend this tactic to anyone. Instead of getting something that we will stop using in 30 minutes, we get something to read and wear. I truly love it and it balances out the overflow of gifts.
Give Some Back
The Christmas season used to be a season of giving, I really wish it still was. The same year that my family scaled back our gifts, we began the tradition of giving back during the holiday season. We take time out of our break to clean out the house and donate everything we take out to the Salvation Army. We sponsor two children for Christmas gifts through our church, we work with the local foster care organizations to aid in their events, we try to give back more than we receive.
Honestly, the feeling of giving is much better than the feeling of receiving. To be able to put smiles on people’s faces and bring holiday cheer to more families than our own is a reward that is indescribable. So whether it be volunteering at a food bank to feed the homeless or helping Santa pass out toys to foster kids while dressed as an elf, I definitely recommend giving back this holiday season. Trust me, you’ll feel better than a kid on Christmas morning as you serve warm food to homeless people at your local soup kitchen.
Tis’ The Season, Embrace the Reason
These are just a few of the ways that my family and I are getting back to the real meaning of Christmas. For me, Christmas is a huge time of the year. Christians, such as myself, celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. You might hear someone say that He is the reason for the season. But no matter what you celebrate during the holidays, we can all agree that love and kindness are the true meanings behind the season.
So as you shop and celebrate, think about the less fortunate this Christmas. Think about how lucky you are. Give back to the people around you and spread Christmas cheer. Buddy may have said that the best way to spread Christmas cheer was singing loud for all to hear, but I disagree. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is to give back as much as you can. Have a Happy Holidays this season! Remember to be kind.
