Good Morning, Ladies!!

Yesterday I spend a lot of time just thinking about love.  The joy of the Christmas season.  The natural sense of charity that seems to be awakened during this time of year.  And the whole silly Christmas romance stigma that has conquered the Hallmark channel.

Now why in the world has this love giving and receiving become a recognizable mark of Christmas, even when so many people just call it a holiday?

Now I’m not going to sit here and say that I don’t enjoy watching Hallmark movies every once and a while.  In fact, I really look forward to sitting in the family room with my mom and sister and just enjoying a nice sappy story.  The predictable romance, the annoyed, usually hidden, x-boyfriend, and the ever-awaited Christmas kiss.  No matter how incredibly bad the acting may be and how easy it is to see how exactly it will end, the Christmas season would be missing something without it.

Outside of the screen, Christmas has been dominated by an idealistic hope of gifts,  a jolly man in red, and a house decked out in silver and gold.  Amazon made something like 6 billion dollars on Black Friday ALONE this year.  WHAT!!!!!  Billions of dollars.  All to celebrate what?  The Savior of the world or Festivus?

Doesn’t that make you wonder what this world is missing?  Honestly, if they knew the host of beauty that they were missing out on, we would be a changed people.

Without the tree, the gifts, and the cheesy romance, I can guarantee you that the Christian sense of Christmas wouldn’t be missing much.  And that, my friends, is thanks to the joy and love that is wrapped up in our Catholic Faith.  The Christian promise of Christmas is so much better than any swoon-worthy mistletoe surprise.

The popularized “Christmas” of today is missing something so vital to its wholeness as a holy day.  Happy Holidays simply doesn’t cover the gift that we have been given.  And I don’t care if you are trying to be nice.  Christmas is called Christmas for a reason.

Christ is the reason for the contagious love that we can’t help feeling.  Christ is the reason for the sentimental moments that never fail to bring up together while we wait patiently for His birth.  Christ is the reason why we make it a priority to get back to our roots, to brave Christmas traffic and airports, to see the ones that we love.  Christ is the reason why we stay up until the wee hours of the morning to take part in a century old tradition that goes down at midnight each year.  He is the reason.  No decoration, or ring, or gift will ever top that.

As Christians, we have won the freaking love lottery.  We have been given a gift completely beyond human comprehension.  Who could imagine the Savior of the world coming down to save us?  And now its our job to share some of this love with those around us.

Now, I’m not suggesting that you go to a third world country to serve, or that you give up gift giving altogether this season.  Not at all.  In fact, I absolutely love giving gifts during Christmas.  It is a wonderful reminder of Christ’s gift.  But there are so many other things that we could be doing right now that will easily spread the true joy and love of Christmas.

+ Make a point to spend more time with Christ

What better time than now to deepen your relationship with Christ?  There is never a better time.  As we wait in anticipation for His coming, devote yourself to Him in a new way.  Maybe this season of Advent is your time to pick up an extra book about faith or to spend a little extra time with Him in meditation.  Whatever it might be, I can guarantee you that you will never regret it!!

+ Give time

If you want to steer away from traditional means of gift giving, for whatever reason, give your time.  Invite a friend out to coffee.  Spend some time at a grandparent’s house and show them that you truly care.  These ‘gifts’ will last so so much longer than any thing else.

+ Be Joyful

A lot of people in society have grown to dislike Christmas.  It has become a stressful exercise that they just don’t want to deal with.  And maybe a friendly smile or word is just what they need to get through the season.  I swear, so much could be done in this world if people were willing to simply show joy and happiness to others.

+ Don’t stress the small stuff

It’s not worth it to stress about anything!!  Especially around Christmas!  By being content, we have the ability to help others around us to do the exact same thing!  And that’s awesome!  So don’t sweat it!!

I hope you all enjoyed this post!!  What are some things that you suggest when it comes to keeping the real joy of Christmas alive??

Maddy