Long waiting lines, people shoving, toys flying, money worries, give me attitudes, and lots of stress seem to best describe the Christmas holidays. Parents go into debt to buy their children the best and most popular toys that they can find. The lines to visit Santa Claus in the mall are huge and children have no problem telling everyone exactly what they want for Christmas. Yet, people still seem unhappy and depressed all December long and when Christmas does arrive and they do not get what was on their gift list, their depression is even greater.
Whatever happened to a simple Christmas? Do we even know what a simple Christmas is ? Have we forgotten why we even celebrate this special holiday? Is it really only for the gifts and the food that we stuff ourselves with?
In the early 1900s, Christmas was completely different from what we celebrate today. Let's travel back in time and find out how they celebrated Christmas way back when:
On Christmas Eve, the tradition was for the whole family to go out together, looking for the perfect Christmas tree. This tree was chopped down by the father in the family and they carefully dragged it back, to set up in their home. Then they carefully dressed up the tree with ribbons and strings of popcorn. They did not spend a lot of money on their tree and most decorative items were homemade and could be reused later.
They would spend Christmas Eve night around the fireplace or piano, singing Christmas hymns and just rejoicing in the Miracle that came so long ago.
Christmas morning, each member of the family gathered together to read the Christmas story in Luke Chapter 2 and to hear the real reason for Christmas morning. There was no rushing anywhere – it was a quiet reflective time. Opening gifts came after the Christmas story and sometimes even after breakfast and lunch. It was common to not have wrapped gifts because paper was valuable. The gifts were put into socks (stockings) instead, and hung from the fireplace (they dried there after being washed). This was not for Santa Claus to fill, but because they had nothing else. Parents lovingly filled the stockings with homemade gifts. Mothers made hats, scarves, clothes, and stuffed dolls. Fathers whittled and carved animals and toys from wood. There were also some nuts and oranges inside these stockings. What treats! Children carefully removed these cherished items and were very thankful for the sacrifices that were made so that they might have these gifts. They had no concept of toy catalogues, so appreciating the simple way was easy to do. Their concentration was not so much on what they would get that year for Christmas but on the most precious gift that had been given so long ago. There was also a Christ consciousness at that time.
Families then had simple, but wonderful feasts where they spent time valuing and enjoying the loved ones around them. They had such fun… with little thought of self, and with much thought of each other. What a simple but joyous time the Christmas season was!
This year instead of elaborate overspending, let's go back to a simpler time. A simple time where Christ is the center and his birth is actually magnified and celebrated. A time with family, enjoying and valuing their presence in our lives.
