It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again. As much as I hate to admit it I have a love-hate relationship with the Christmas season. Granted the “hate” part of the relationship is very mild and the “love” part wins the tug-of-war by a long shot overall.
The commercialization of Christmas has been so intense for such a long time now that it only moderately disgusts me these days. The “Happy Holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” debate goes on ad nauseam and I just wish people would accept either greeting as the kind greeting they are intended to be. The traffic doesn’t shred my nerves the way it once did, but there are moments….
One relatively new phenomena making headlines these past few Christmas seasons that does disturb me are the stampedes into stores offering “special deals”. Who are those people that camp out all night? How about the zombies who push, shove, stomp on, step over, spray pepper-spray, and deploy numerous other tactics to buy something on sale? Who raised these people? What will the kids they’re raising be like when they grow up? Scary to think about for me.
Well, back to the positive side….
Whenever I find myself focusing on the dark side of Christmas I force myself to remember those that are spending their holidays in hospitals, fighting on foreign lands, struggling to eat or to find work, and the precious things I usually take for granted find a way to the forefront of my mind and allow me to give thanks.
Christmas truly is a special time of year and Christ would certainly appreciate if we all could make sure the “love” overwhelms the “hate” during the Christmas season. Merry Christmas everyone!
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