If my children were old enough they would probably say yes. I mean whatever happened to Christmas as a celebration of birth of Jesus Christ and giving thanks to God for everything in our lives? Heck, I am starting to snoop around the house myself trying to find out what my husband is getting me for Christmas, and i am just dissappointed in myself. What am i teaching my own children?
The last couple of days have been about hitting the stores finding the best deals on Christmas presents and talk about the crowds in the stores, traffic jams, and empty shelves! Yes, it is Christmas, Modern style.
I remember growing up in Tanzania, Africa and all you really expected around Christmas, at least in my family, was new clothes and shoes. My dad was so frugal, i mean we had to earn anything that he spent his money on. We were expected to bring home good grades first, then during the break we would work in the family business do what the rest of the workers did, and of course put in more hours, then you can go and ask for money to buy your clothes.
Back then, i didn’t like my dad’s system, but as a grownup i can understand where he was coming from and what he was trying to teach us.
So, it doesn’t really matter whether you are in Africa, America, or Europe. The ” modernization” of Christmas has really blurred the true meaning of Christmas. Every business from the food industry, clothing, toys, manufacturing etc.. They are all geared up to promote their products and services during this time of the year, and yes we all buy it. We stand in long lines to get the best deals, latest products, and all in the name of Christmas presents. I still have to wrap the presents by the way. I bought Christmas wrapping paper, one roll had a picture of santa and the rest had white, red, and green colors of course.
Then you have some of the other parents who may be so heartbroken that they are not going to afford to buy their children any presents this year due to the bad economy.
How many children really KNOW the story of Christmas as told in the bible?
So, how many families out there are going to talk to their children about the birth of Jesus Christ that day? How many people will attend a church service on the Christmas eve, or that following Sunday? Oh, yes i forgot not everyone is a Christian, but for the Christians i hope you do get to attend a service and bring your children, family or friends with you, really. At some point we as a generation need to remind ourselves what Christmas is truly about.
Merry Christmas to all!
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