This morning I was thinking about Christmas and what gifts I wanted to buy, and how much money we should spend, ect. Then I had the thought... What if Christmas wasn't about gifts? What if we took gifts out of the equation all together. What would we do? What would Christmas be about? How would we celebrate?
As much as we all like to preach "Christmas isn't about gifts, it's about the Savior", it would seem as though our actions speak much louder then our words. We all KNOW what Christmas is about, yet what we focus on is gifts. We spend tons and tons of time thinking about what to give , what we want to get, how to package it, how to give it, etc. etc.
So I asked myself, "If I knew nothing of Christmas and how it were celebrated, only that it were a day to remember the birth of our Savior, how would I want to celebrate and remember?" Well, I may want to give gifts, and that is fine. The thought has changed the way I will look at Christmas and gift giving on the Holiday. It will no longer be about how much money I am spending, how many gifts we are giving, and being disappointed about not getting what I wanted. We will exchange gifts, but it will not be my focus anymore.
I know... These thoughts are oh so original. Haha
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
An Epiphany
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2 comments:
I agree. It takes the specialness out of Christmas. My special memories of Christmas (as a child, of course) are my grandparents coming over, the big dinners, the lights and decorations, the Christmas music, etc. It is the FEELING of it all I remember. Except for the boots I received from my grandma every year (cuz she took me out to look for them which was another event I remember), I don't remember any of my actual gifts--although there were lots of them.
We didn't place a lot of focus on the Savior and His birth, but then we weren't active in church either. I think focusing on that, along with creating memories, including service (giving to neighbors, those without, etc.) are a good place to start.
As far as gifts, I've always wanted to focus on birthdays instead of Christmas. It can become a burden when trying to come up with enough money to take care of everyone in the manner one would like.
As far as not getting what you want... I would suggest making a list on your bulletin board that can be seen by all and include exact details of those things you want/need and I hope you get them! (As a giver it is our responsibility to give what someone would like to receive, not what we think they SHOULD want to receive!!!) Remember to update our Pinterest board! I guess I need to look at it again.
I love you!
It it so hard to keep everything in perspective when there is SO much to do and think about. I think it's great that you are already remembering the reason for the season before it even starts. Let me know if it makes any difference in your holiday season. I think my goal for this year is to make time (on several occasions) to have special moments where we think about the savior and feel the spirit.
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