Christmas Season

I went shopping a few days ago for Christmas decorations and Christmas cards. I love sending Christmas cards to family members and friends. I prefer to send cards that wish a "Merry Christmas" and have a Christmas-related Bible verse inside. It took me a considerable amount of time to such "religious Christmas cards" in the Christmas section at Wal-mart. When I did find them, they were in a small section labeled "Religious Christmas Cards" and removed from the rest of the card selection by several aisles. Even within that small display, it still took me a while to find a plain, Christmas card that actually referred to the birth of Christ.

I cannot explain how frustrated that made me! I understand that Christmas is not the only holiday, religious or otherwise, celebrated during December. I am also fully aware that not everyone who celebrates Christmas is a Christian or even religious at all. However, it seems to me that every year Christmas is becoming more and more commercialized.

I believe that everyone who celebrates a holiday during this season should be able to find decorations or cards that are appropriate for the holiday they are celebrating. However, I hate that we have become so politically correct that we lose sight of the meaning behind the largest holiday in this time. Let us remember that the other holidays are either, a. not major holidays for that particular religion, or b. are non-religious based holidays that are not exclusive (but often inclusive) of Christmas.

I am sad that in our country we have lost a sense of the meaning of Christmas between the holiday-neutral cards and the fear of upsetting someone by celebrating a holiday that should be near to our hearts. I am not promoting that we don't allow the sales of non-religious Christmas cards (although, that seems a bit oxymoronic to me). I am saying though, that at the root of it all, Christmas is about Christ- His birth and what it means for each of us. It doesn't mean a time for us to get whatever we want from Target, but rather, it means true life, redemption, and koinonia. I hope that we never completely lose sight of that.