Penned this in another thread, but I thought it might be a great way for others to express their own feelings about this time of year, good or bad ... so what does Christmas mean to you?
Santa Claus means many things to many people, and the decision whether or not to let one's children believe has been bandied back-and-forth for ages, and always will be. Some think it's a terrible thing, that it's "The Big Lie" and not at all worth deceiving your children and undermining their faith in you. In the end, each parent must choose for themselves, or between the two of them.
I chose to let my children believe ... I believed when I was a child, and while I was devastated when I found out the truth, to this day Christmas has a magical quality that goes beyond words or description for me, and it's this magical quality that now translates for me into the birth of a sacred child in a manger, so long ago in Bethlehem ... and that's important to me, for many reasons.
I know many here are not Christians, and that Santa represents something different to each, but for me Santa is a symbol of giving, and a symbol of the ultimate gift that God gave to me in the person of Jesus. Whether you believe in the Savior or not, it still represents sacrifice and selflessness, and a time of year when people put others before themselves.
It would be nice if we treated every day like Christmas, and kept that same sense of giving with us throughout the year, but the realities of life and the ways of this world make it difficult to do so ... we get so caught up in possessions and accomplishments, that we forget what's truly important ... like friendship, love, sacrifice, forgiveness, giving, caring, and thoughtfulness.
In a word, others ... that's what all these things have in common, that's what Christmas and Santa Claus and presents and kindness are all about ... the other people in our lives that mean something to us, strangers who are in need of nothing more than someone caring about them, recognizing those who consider us special, reaching out to someone who may be hardened from life or bitter from past experience.
It's funny in a way, but to this day, every year on Christmas Eve, no matter where I am, I wait until it's very late, and I go outside and look up at the stars shining in the cold of a winter's night, and I think of all the children ... some of whom may have dozens of presents under their Christmas tree waiting for morning and a full stocking ... some of whom may not even have a place they can call home ...
Some of whom may go to bed each night warm and content and with a full stomach ... some of whom may be cold and hungry and without parents ... some of whom may have more toys than they can even keep track of ... and some of whom may have never had one new toy to call their own their entire life ... and all of those children, no matter where they are or what situation they're in, have one thing in common: The need to be loved.
When I stand there in the cold under those stars on Christmas Eve, it's that thought of that one thing that binds this whole world together, that makes Christmas and Santa Claus and Baby Jesus and that special night so magical: The need to be loved. The hardest heart and the coldest soul on the face of this planet has that same need, and it's the one magical thing that can transform any soul, no matter how empty.
Christmas is that time of year when that need - that magical, selfless, caring, transforming need - is put above everything else ... is placed upon the mantle for all to see ... is gently set as a star on the top of the tree to shine it's light ... is wrapped in paper and decorated and given away ... is heard in the laughter of a child ... is seen in the twinkle of an elderly person's eye ... is felt as fullness of a hot meal in the stomach of a homeless person ...
Sure, it may be far too short-lived, and it may be much too commercialized and used by some for monetary gain, and it may be hypocritical at times and over-done, but it's still Christmas, and it's still something special, and it still carries with it that one gift that we all need, no matter who we are or where we live or what our situation in life ... that one thing that we all need so desperately that binds us together ...
The need to be loved ... and wanted, and cared about, and thought about, and needed. That's what makes Christmas so special ... that's what Santa Claus represents to me, that's what I learned from my parents when they decided to let me believe, that's what I wanted to pass on to my children in the form of a red suit and snowy white beard and bowl-full-of-jelly, as silly as it may seem ... and that's what makes Christmas magical for me to this day.
It's different for everyone, but for me, that's not a bad thing ... for me, it was worth the disappointment I first felt when I discovered there wasn't really reindeer landing on the roof of my house, because I think I knew even then that it represented something much bigger, and something very real after all. So to this day I still embrace it, and I still feel the excitement of childhood at Christmas ... despite my age.
Besides, no one has yet to prove to me conclusively that the magic doesn't exist, and that there isn't really a Santa Claus ... so yes, the bell still rings for me ... loud and long and clear. Merry Christmas
Topic: What Does Christmas Mean To You? (Read 16800 times)