Christmas Cheer

Christmas has come and gone, as has 2009. Family have stayed and are now enjoying the peace of their homes. Christmas pies, gammons, and Christmas cake have all been enjoyed and consumed in great quantities. The extra chairs and tables are packed away and the extra large Tupperware is now clean and resting in the cupboard for the next Christmas excess.

Sadly I found Christmas to be an incredibly secular feast. The fact that we were supposedly celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ seemed to be lost on most people. The incredible significance of God coming to earth as man barely registered above the glut of food and presents! I could not help asking why non religious people celebrate Christmas? Is the allure of presents to great to pass up? Perhaps Christmas is one of the last vestiges of a by-gone religious era that no longer has relevance today?

I suppose that people have many reasons for celebrating a non religious Christmas. Although I wonder if non-Muslims celebrate Eid or non-Jewish people celebrate Passover? And then do they just partake in the fun stuff or is the fun stuff interwoven with the religious side?

In a bid to dilute my children’s expectation for presents, I dragged them along to our local soup kitchen on Christmas day. We helped to prepare food in the form of hotdogs and koeksisters as well as a small present. The present consisted of a bar of soap, a packet of biscuits, sweets, and a tin of cold drink. My boys helped to hand out these simple gifts to people from all walks of life. They got to see the genuine appreciation for something so small and hopefully learnt real lessons about the spirit of Christmas.

I received an unexpected Christmas present in the form of an old friend and his family who ended up sharing our Christmas celebration with us. My friend was also once my first boss, and somehow we have managed to nurture our relationship over many years. Our families certainly ensured that the day was lively and the real joy of family and friendship was shared.

Perhaps I have become too cynical! At least many already people celebrate this feast; perhaps I should be finding ways of topping it up with Christ!