I’ve put up my Christmas decorations indoors and with the help of grandsons, the few I have outdoors are also in place.

I’ve done a bit of shopping (not too much) and I’ve written cards to friends to be mailed soon.

I’ve also started my Christmas baking. So far, I’ve most of the cookies baked and still have the stollens and cinnamon rolls to do.

It really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas and I love that feeling. I’m not saying I love shopping, wrapping, writing cards, baking, decorating and that ‘stuff’, but in reality those are ‘trappings of the holidays’ and not really ‘Christmas’.

I think what I like about the holiday is the whole story of that baby born so many years ago. God sent that tiny little baby as a gift. This was the one who would one day, by his sacrificial death, offer us salvation from our sins. I doubt we could ever have attained the gift of salvation without this ultimate gift from God.

Such a gift makes our relentless search for the ‘right’ gift seem a little fruitless, doesn’t it?

I’m as guilty as the next person of losing my perspective when I get all involved in what I think I ‘need’ to do.

I really don’t need to do any of that. It is custom rather than faith that makes me hustle and bustle about. But, on the other hand, the things we do are most often done out of love and that makes me feel warm and also makes me hope that my messages, my gifts to others and the love they represent are more important than the ‘things’.

I also am happy to see all the ways in which this time of Christmas seems to bring out the generosity and concern for others less fortunate. If only we would carry that feeling of concern and love throughout the whole year.

There is a joy that seems to bubble up and surround us at this special time of year.

And yes, sometimes the season brings tears and sadness for what used to be. Recently while reading, I came across a quote attributed to Dr. Suess. I saved it because there are times it speaks directly to me.

He said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Especially at times like Christmas, we find ourselves looking back with sadness at what ‘used to be’. We remember those we loved and lost. We think of ‘the good old days’ and bemoan the ‘here and now’.

But I don’t think Christmas should be a time of sorrow and regrets, but rather a time of rejoicing and love.

What greater gift could any of us have received than that of that tiny baby born so many years ago?

In the midst of what we call our preparations for Christmas, let’s take the time to focus on why we celebrate this holiday.

And, by the way, it is still in my thinking “Merry Christmas” and not “Happy Holiday”. 

I do wish happiness to all on this special day. But without the birth of the baby Jesus, we wouldn’t be celebrating and sharing all the joy that comes with the day.

I, for one, love the Christmas music. Attending a late Christmas Eve service at church and hearing someone sing, “O Holy Night” always makes the tears come…not tears of sadness, but rather a deep emotion that just seems to spill over. 

And who could ever tire of singing the beautiful hymns…O Come all Ye Faithful, Joy to the World, O Little Town of Bethlehem…the list of meaningful hymns is boundless and the words tell the story of the birth we celebrate.

And, I love the little children’s program. What greater joy than watching little innocent children singing with all their little hearts, “Away in the Manger”. 

And somehow, Christmas Eve draws to a conclusion when we sing, “Silent Night.” It seems then that all the hustle and bustle of preparation seem insignificant because now we are singing, with hearts filled with love, of the most wondrous gift of all time…the tiny baby Jesus. How could we ever have deserved such a wondrous gift?