Having a Charlie Brown Christmas

Having a Charlie Brown Christmas

Will B.

I will be having a Charlie Brown Christmas. By this I mean I will be having a Christmas as the saying goes “Jesus is the reason behind the Season”

It may sound a bit odd that I choose the Charlie Brown Christmas special as the title but if you have ever watched it then you know the thoughts behind the special are true to the meaning of Christmas for the most part.

At one point in the special “Linus” quotes the Bible reciting the true meaning of Christmas after many of the cast members have all the wrong reasons for Christmas. Luke 2:8-14 8  And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  9  An angel  of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah,  the Lord.  12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace  to those on whom his favor rests.”

I am one on the side of wanting the commercialization of Christmas to be cut way back. I know it is important for the economy but for me it has gotten way out of hand. The true meaning of Christmas is about the day Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior was born. It’s a time of great rejoicing because without this we would be lost. Through Christ is the only true way into heaven.

I use to be into the whole “Black Friday” frenzy and “Cyber Monday” mania. That was a time when I was truly lost in the meaning of Christmas and just wanted more, more, more. But even then I hated the commercialization of Christmas to a certain degree. I worked at Home Depot for about 6 years or so and just hated that we set Christmas in the store after Halloween. I just could not enjoy the holiday we are in. I mean we still have Thanksgiving to go and we already have Christmas out. Oh well, that’s the game of retail.

Beyond Christs birth as the main focal point, some important things to celebrate the season include family and friends coming together for Christmas parties and family meals of ham, yams, mash tatters and pumpkin pie. There will be the fun office parties with Chinese gift exchange games. Which usually has a 20-dollar limit or so. These are all perfectly acceptable traditions that do not play into the commercialization of Christmas in my opinion and you know I have many. Some may even say I am very opinionated. Most of the younger generation do not know this but back in the day when I was a young whipper snapper, we had a law called the Blue Law. This in my opinion needs to be brought back. Pretty much every business shut down accept essential business-like gas stations. No malls were open and mostly everything was shut down and life went on with everything shut down. The economy did not collapse over the law. What did happen was a lot more family and friend time. It truly was the Lord’s day in my opinion.

This Christmas season try to take a moment out of your shopping, Starbucks Coffee, and trips to the mall to remember the real reason behind the season is Jesus Christ’s birth and spending time with friends and family creating wonderful memories that will warm your heart for years to come. I think your family will survive Christmas without the latest gadget or accessory.

This is Will B. Saying let’s remember the true meaning of Christmas this season and at the same time save a little money in the process.