Every year, much is said about the "commercialization" of Christmas, a kind of grumbling that the celebration of the birth of Christ seems overshadowed in the bustle and pressure of shopping.
There are worries that the spirit of the season seems to have lost its sense of religious direction, that it has been overtaken by Santa Claus and tinsel and an avalanche of presents.Those are all valid concerns. But the answer is not to eliminate Santa and gift-giving. One of the delights of Christmas is the effect of those harmless symbols in the lives of children. And the giving of presents itself is an integral part of the Christmas story.
According to the New Testament account, the Magi or Wise Men followed the star and brought expensive gifts to lay before the young Jesus, honoring him as a future King of kings. Today's giving of gifts is supposed to be a reminder of that ancient event.
However, as with many traditional symbols, the exercise of the tradition can become separated from what it represents. The tradition becomes an empty form that is performed for its own sake.
One way to recapture the original meaning behind Christmas gift-giving is to perhaps change the focus of the gifts being given.
The gold and costly frankincense and myrhh meant little or nothing as such to infant Christ, although his parents probably appreciated their value when they subsequently fled into Egypt to escape Herod's slaughter of all children 2 years old and under in Bethlehem.
But later in life, the adult Christ did voice a preference for certain kinds of gifts as he talked of the final judgment and the righteous being rewarded by the King:
"For I was an hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger and ye took me in; naked and ye clothed me; I was sick and ye visited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me." (Matthew 25: 35-36).
And when the puzzled righteous persons questioned the King as to when they had done these things, he answered:
"Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matthew 25:40).
Feeding and clothing and housing the poor, helping the sick and downtrodden, acts of compassion and service. Even playing Santa Claus for children who might be left out otherwise - these are the kinds of gifts that make Christmas meaningful.
If Christmas is not what it should be, we cannot blame the merchants or the idea of Santa Claus. We can only blame ourselves for not giving the right kind of gifts.
Merry Christmas to all.