Let's talk Christmas!

I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. Let me explain. I love the driving around and seeing all the lights. I love going to church programs, even though I don't DO church on a regular basis---it's not that I don't believe, it's just that I don't believe you have to go to church or anything to have a relationship with God (whoever that may be in your own personal definition, of course). I love the idea of decorating for the holiday. And I love the idea of gifts. I love to see faces light up in surprise when you give something totally unexpected, or something the person wanted more than anything. . .I love that. I even love the idea of snowmen and a White Christmas (just not a white New Year, Valentine's Day, Easter and various other days in between!).

Here's the hate part: I hate the greed, the expectations and the general unhappiness. See, I hate that people expect things from you. Not only do they expect things, but are visibly disappointed when the gift "comes from the heart" instead of from the wallet. In a year where the economy sucks, up to a quarter of people are unemployed, and everyone has had to cut some corners, it seems silly to run out and buy STUFF. Why not offer up the gifts you can make? Homemade baked goods, cards and gifts. Pictures that don't cost anything to print and a small frame to hold them in that capture the perfect memory of you and that person? But no, people are still after the latest gadget and most recent movie. People still want the new video game (at a not too affordable cost at about $50 a pop!). They still expect you to include them.

I hate that the people at Wal-Mart shove and fight over the last toy in stock. I hate that more and more people walk into a store to buy the aforementioned gadget that costs fifty, a hundred, or more, and can't stop to drop a few cents into the donation bin outside. I hate that people buy all this food that will probably not get eaten in its entirety, but can't "afford" to drop a can of something for those less fortunate. I hate that people are buying new coats and blankets but stuff their old ones in a closet when they could be giving them to those who don't have any. Basically, I can't stand that people think they are unemployed, so they can't give, they are not one of the unlucky ones. So not true! Basically, I think the commercialization of Christmas is insane. Sure, I love the sales on food, on gifts, clothes, etc, as much as the next person. But I don't love that people, even in a time as tough as now, are out spending to keep up with the neighbors.

I love what Christmas is supposed to mean. I love that you are supposed to be in a giving spirit. I just wish people did more adopting of families, and donating their time than trying to get the best gift. I love that Christmas is about family, even though I don't get to see a single person I'm related to in anyway. I love that I get to open cards, not to see what money or anything is in it, but because it means somebody thought of me. I hate that people open the card and toss it, even if it is generic, only because they wanted the money in it. I hate that people allow their kids to do that. It's a horrible thing to teach your children!

Most of all, I hate that Christmas creates waste and is way past what it is meant to be. People are celebrating the holiday, in a gift buying and giving frenzy, but they are not celebrating the meaning of it. Christmas is supposed to celebrate Christ. It's supposed to be about giving. It's supposed to be about family, not how much you spend. It's supposed to be about togetherness and hope. Not in America.Where has the tradition gone? I don't know. I want to find it though. . .maybe it's under the commercialization of America. Maybe it got buried under the flat screen TV or thrown out with the bag of wrapping paper. Maybe it's in a landfill with the health of our environment. Or maybe it's floating in the sky, but we can't see it through the smog.

As a matter of fact, next  year I'm going to ask everybody for one thing: instead of buying me a gift. . .donate to something that means anything to them. Cancer research, homelessness, some cause that they are passionate about. Here's why: One holiday I remember going to a large family get together and the only gifts anybody got were Target gift cards. An aunt gave a cousin one, the cousin gave the aunt one, the kids got moms cards, the moms got kids some, etc. By the time all was said and done I was thinking: why didn't people just get want they wanted and not exchange gifts? Why not give the money to charity?

What are your thoughts on Christmas?