The week before Christmas is, traditionally, the busiest week for most retail stores. Like thousands of other Manitobans, I will also be among those crowding malls looking for the right gift for the right person on my shopping list.
Undeniably, gift giving has become a big part of the Christmas season in North America. That spirit of giving fits well into the core message of the traditional story of Christmas but, interestingly, despite all the time invested and money spent finding and purchasing gifts, rarely do gifts form the most lasting memories of Christmas.
In fact, when I ask people to tell me about their favourite Christmas memories rarely do they tell me about a gift that they received. Most often it’s about a family Christmas tradition, like going caroling or on a sleigh ride, or it’s about a special Christmas with loved ones. Even though a great deal of money is spent at this time of the year, most of the things people remember about Christmas rarely have anything to do with gifts.
It’s the same for me and my family. While I know there was never a year we were without presents as children, I have a hard time remembering many of the gifts we hurriedly opened on Christmas mornings. But I do vividly remember time spent with family, some who are still here and others who have passed away. And I remember the excitement of participating in Christmas programs and family traditions. Today, even though presents will be wrapped and given, as a father, I look forward to teaching my son the carols that I grew up with and the real meaning of Christmas.
Seemingly for most people, the lasting impressions of Christmas are not the tangible things that we wrap and unwrap but the intangibles that we hold in our memory.
Maybe that is because the essence of Christmas, the first Christmas, was about a Hope that was born into the world. While there were gifts on that first Christmas too, the core of the message was always something longer lasting and more meaningful than the sort of Christmas gifts that consume us today.
I know however that this time of the year can also be very difficult and can be lonely for many people. Through the loss of a loved one, a job or health, it can be hard to celebrate the season to its fullest. My hope is that with the spirit of the season and through the kind gestures of those near you, that you will find comfort and peace this Christmas.
Whatever circumstances Christmas 2008 have brought you, my family and I hope that you will be able to reflect on joyous memories of the past as well as form new ones this Christmas. May the true essence of Christmas fill your home and your heart this year and throughout the New Year. Merry Christmas!
