The Reason for the Season
Christmas is here! The hustle and bustle of the season has come. There are so many events to attend, gifts to buy, and family gatherings to plan. So often the reason for the season sort of fades into the background as the world celebrates the holiday with great hoopla of decorations and parties. When the children are young—to see their smiles as the family tree goes up and decorated is such a joy. Then, to see the delight on their faces—no matter how small and insignificant the gift may be—proves the point that the value of the gift does not matter.
During the days when we were still playing Santa with our children, we would usually make a trip to town to see the lights on Christmas Eve. It was always amazing that when we arrived home Santa had already come and gone! They never realized that their grandmother had been upstairs all that time when the toys had been mysteriously delivered by Santa! Great memories.
Back in history, children may have only gotten a sack of fruit and nuts. The family probably could not afford more than a few pieces of fresh fruit and nuts—it was a very special gift!
In today’s world it seems that the “gift card” is the gift of choice. It cuts out a lot of shopping and fighting the crowds. I used to love shopping for all the grandkids and trying to find that special item that I knew they would love. Since our families have lived out of state for many years, there was also a lot of packing and shipping involved. Then one year when the shipping actually cost more than the gifts to be shipped, I changed my Christmas shopping routine for good. I changed to cards and/or money wrapped in cute little packages…not as much fun, but the kids of today seem to love using the cards or money to make their own choices…The signs of the times, I guess.
One thing I do each year is make candy as special little gifts for friends, coworkers, and those I want to show appreciation to. That one thing these days is making toffee. Everyone seems to love it and I love making and giving it.
Most of all let’s remember…Jesus was born in Bethlehem…The true reason for the season.