Christmas is right around the corner, and if you love the holiday as much as I do, you probably already have decorations hung and are constantly listening to Christmas music. Of course, Christmas is a season to be jolly and joyful, but we often get caught up in the materialistic meaning of Christmas. Christmas is so much more than what we believe it to be.

Christmas is…

More than the decorations

One of my favorite things to do around the holiday is drive around the neighborhood to see the Christmas decorations. I love how bright the lights twinkle and how big the blow-up Santas are. The perfectly decorated Christmas tree and the full stockings that hang on the fireplace have become our top priorities. And although the decorations are pretty, we have become so infatuated with the materialistic items that we tend to forget that this is not what the holiday is all about.

More than the presents

After Thanksgiving dinner, everyone turns into Christmas mode. We are willing to go out and stand in a line for hours upon hours waiting for a store to open just to get deals on presents. The norm is now to cut a holiday of thankfulness in half because we are too eager and impatient to wait to buy presents. Of course, when we were little kids the best part of Christmas was waking up Christmas morning to find presents underneath the tree. But here is the thing, Christmas is not just about the presents.

Christmas is about…

Family and friends

Holidays are meant to be shared with your family and friends. It is about spending time with the people that mean the most to you. It is not necessarily a time to give each other presents, but a time to play games, to talk and to enjoy each other’s company.

Giving back

Although many of us are able to spend the holiday with a family dinner, there are many other people who are unable to do so. The Christmas season is meant for paying it forward. We are supposed to go out into our communities and help those who are less fortunate.

Love

The Christmas season is about sharing our love with others. God showed us his love by giving us his son Jesus. We need to pass on the love that has been given to us to other people in our lives. Spreading the love and joy of the holiday is what we should be doing, rather than fighting through a door to get the best deal on presents.

The birth of Jesus Christ

Lastly, the most important meaning of Christmas: The birth of our Christ and Savior. Christmas would not be Christmas without the birth of Jesus. Rather than the lights and the big blow up characters, we need more nativity sets. We need to bring the celebration of Jesus back into the day that is supposed to be about him.

Christmas is not about the decorations and the presents, it is so much more than that. This Christmas season, let us all try to turn our attention back to what the holiday is supposed to be about.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16