Ten years ago I stumbled into a Catholic church on the edge of downtown Houston for midnight mass and loved the place so much that I went back the following Sunday and have been doing so ever since. Ten years ago I measured Christmases based on what gifts I received, but as more time passes I come to realize that the ONE gift at Christmas that actually matters is the one which we celebrate.
Christmas initially started because the early church wanted distraction from the pagan celebration of the winter solstice. The best way to do this they felt at the time was a mass commemorating the birth of Jesus. It would be called a "Christ Mass". The Christ Mass became a great time in the middle ages, because feudal lords would only give serfs Sundays, Easter and Christmas (as the Christ mass later came to be known) off.
Saint Nicolas of Byzantium (on whom Santa Claus is based) started the practice of giving toys to children and noting how mankind should treat one another with dignity and respect all year round and NOT simply at the time of Christmas. Somewhere along the line Christmas ceased to be about Jesus' birth and became a season of rampant commercialism. It became a time to get a new television, toys for the kids and diamonds for the wife. Many who never attend church put up trees and sing carols oblivious to why they do so.
The Japanese celebrate Christmas. Yes there are Christians in Japan, but the celebration of Christmas has more to do with big department stores than with them. It's merely an excuse to give gifts. As Wednesday December 24th turned into Thursday Christmas morning I found myself celebrating my 10th anniversary at the church I initially wandered into out of sheer curiosity. As I stood there listening to the choir as they embraced me with a Christmas song I felt at one with the true spirit of Christmas. As long as I can be in the presence of men and women who acknowledge the birth of one whose mission was to sacrifice for the greatest love we can ever know my Christmases shall forever be merry.
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