"Christmas" Season?

I love Christmas.  But I really am starting to hate the Christmas season.  

There are many wonderful things about Christmastime.  The first real snowfall is usually quite beautiful, decorations are often festive, and I LOVE CHRISTMAS COOKIES.  But what has been really getting to me the past several years is how soon the Christmas season starts.  You know what I'm talking about: stores like Wal-Mart and Menards are putting out their Christmas decorations sooner and sooner every year.  Countdowns start at times that eclipse other holidays.  Christmas music starts playing before Thanksgiving.

What do these things have in common?  Increasingly, it isn't the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ that is in focus, but rather we are focusing on ourselves.  Companies want to make you think that Christmas is right around the corner so you spend more money buying more stuff so that they make more money.  And we succumb to it.  The reason that I personally dislike the Christmas season is the fact that it has become a season of self-indulging greed.  I particularly resent hearing Christmas music before Thanksgiving because it makes us think of things we want to get instead of being thankful for the numerous blessings we already have. It makes us greedy; it focuses us on ourselves.

It could just be me, but I know how much worse I could have it.  My family has gone through some rough patches in our past, but we have made it through.  We are incredibly blessed to have a sturdy house to protect us from the elements, food to nourish our bodies, and a steady source of income to pay for all of these things.  I have been blessed abundantly by having scholarships and summer income to pay for my higher education, and I have a career in place after graduation.  I am ridiculously blessed.  And I thank God for it.  If you are reading this, you also have many of the same blessings I have, if not more so.  As a society, we live in an age where fewer and fewer people are dying of diseases that are easily treated.  Infant mortality is at an all time low, and life expectancy at birth is at an all time high.  Just about every measurable statistic in health, crime, and society has been trending in a favorable direction since at least the mid 1980s.  For more info on this check out this video by Aaron Carroll, MD (sources can be found in the description):

 Or, you can check out this video by author, producer and philanthropist John Green about how 2014 was awesome, repeating some of the same stats, but hitting on some others that point towards favorable trends (again, sources in the description):

Both of these videos were published right before the new year.  It doesn't matter what religion or lack thereof you subscribe to, we can all acknowledge that these are good things that are happening in the world, and to us as Americans in particular. The fourth Thursday in November has been proclaimed to be a day of thanksgiving.  True, this is another holiday with Christian overtones, and indeed is an important celebration in many church bodies, but being able to express gratitude is a human quality.  And so, it is on this day that we give thanks in our own way for all of the blessings we have received.  

But now think about the Christmas music you are listening to before Thanksgiving.  Is it "Joy to the World", or is it "Silver and Gold" from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?  Are you listening to "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" or "O Come, All Ye Faithful"?  It's safe to assume that it isn't a joyous proclamation of the birth of Jesus Christ, for which we are thankful for.  It's probably music about Santa Claus coming to bring you stuff, or how stores are putting out their Christmas displays and getting ready for the holiday rush.  Which, in turn, will aid in making you think you need to buy stuff to give your family, or get you excited for presents.  Either way, you probably aren't in a mood that is terribly appreciative, grateful, or thankful.

I enjoy the jolly aire of Christmas...around Christmas.  I don't think there is anything particulary wrong with looking forward to receiving a gift with thanksgiving.  But we need to think about why we give gifts at this time of year.  What is the origin of Christmas?  The answer: the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He offers the greatest gift of all: eternal communion with the Father, Himself, and the Holy Spirit.  We give earthly gifts out of love for the recipients because Christ has given us the greatest gift of all, out of the greatest love for us all.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Ephesians 2:8