Christmas...the Best Time of the Year?

It's no secret that people are getting a little tired of the hoopla that surrounds Christmas. No sooner are the Halloween decorations down in the stores, but they're replaced with tinsel and glitter in anticipation of the hoards of shoppers that will push and shove their way through the endless aisles of "stuff-that-nobody-needs-but-I-gotta-buy-them-something".

Christmas, though, really has nothing to do with shopping malls. The goodwill of man towards men at this time of year is unprecedented. The traditions that have survived decades and centuries - like "Handel's Messiah," "A Christmas Carol," "The Nutcracker" and hanging stockings "by the chimney with care..." - bring a charm to the season that is undeniable.

Charity gets a shot in the arm at this time of year, too. For a time, we all become keenly aware of the homeless, the hungry, the helpless. We give more freely, generously and happily at this time of year than at any other. Perhaps it is because we are truly philanthropic at heart...or perhaps, our charity is the license that allows our Christmas mania to continue guilt-free.

Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. Like most of us, I've fully immersed myself in the trappings of the season. The house is "Christmas-ized" and my credit card is maxxed. I've made my donations and spent hours finding the perfect "stuff-that-nobody-needs-but-I-gotta-buy-them-something." By all accounts, Christmas 2009 was a success.

Our Jewish friends spent Christmas Day serving Christmas dinner to the homeless at the Drop-In Centre. On the news, I learned of a family that opted to forgo giving gifts to one another in order to buy necessities for a family that had nothing. I watched "A Christmas Carol" on t.v. and was reminded of how Ebenezer Scrooge was transformed after being dramatically reminded of his capitalistic selfishness. That story - first published in 1843 - still rings true today.

And so it is not Christmas that ought to be on trial, or the stores that tempt us with their "stuff-that-nobody-needs-but-I-gotta-buy-them-something". The only way, I think, to make Christmas meaningful is to do something to make Christmas meaningful. Come to think of it, I don't have to wait until next Christmas.