{"id":802,"date":"2021-12-25T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-12-25T09:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.elshaddaichristian.com\/?p=802"},"modified":"2021-12-25T09:00:53","modified_gmt":"2021-12-25T09:00:53","slug":"what-happened-to-christmas-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reviewjob.store\/pastorglenn\/what-happened-to-christmas-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What Happened to Christmas?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long ago and far away, in a simpler time \u2013 Christmas was truly magical. It wasn\u2019t about\u00a0I pods, gift cards, impressing every acquaintance with a gift card or adolescent\u202f<\/span>wish lists that were a mile long.\u202f<\/span>It wasn\u2019t about Black Friday sales, it didn\u2019t send families into bankruptcy, and children enjoyed the simple act of finding a tree, cutting it down themselves, and decorating it with handmade popcorn laces and tinsel. Children baked cookies to give to teachers, and handmade gifts brought the magic of Christmas to grandparents and extended family alike. Christmas Eve was painted with eager children awaiting Santa, kids who weren\u2019t afraid to go door-to-door caroling, and parents who prepared homemade food for days, waiting on family to join them in the blessing of a meal together. All so children could wake up on Christmas morning to a special gift, a warm fire, and something that truly exemplified the gratitude and selflessness that is Christmas. These same families went to church, for midnight mass and Christmas morning services rather than embarking on a credit card paid ski trips to fancy resorts around the globe. So, what happened to Christmas? Who is to blame for the darkness that has enveloped such a magical holiday? And most importantly, how can we get back to our grassroots Christmas, experienced by so many so long ago?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Many people agree that Christmas has become commercialized. Even though you complain about how ungrateful your children are, how you really cannot afford the vast array of gifts that you bestow on everyone you know, and despise the stress and busy-ness of the season, each and every year you do the same thing. God forbid you to disappoint the children on Christmas morning or leave the impression to a teacher that you don\u2019t have the money to buy a gift. Parents struggle to provide each and every child with everything on their wish list, name-brand clothes, and the latest and greatest cell phones and electronics. Small children as well are asking for and getting handfuls of toys advertised during cartoons which normally prove far too much for one child to deal with. Adults forced to purchase gifts for one another, use impersonal gift cards as reciprocation. Wouldn\u2019t it just be easier to exchange money or better yet\u2026agree to keep your money and not spend uselessly?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider the Christmas tree. Each year large businesses sell millions of dollars in pre-lit fake trees that smell like plastic instead of pine. The bigger the better. The taller the nicer. You look for trees that \u2018look real\u2019 but that aren\u2019t. This way, your tree is as perfect as the holiday is expected to be \u2013 and definitely NOT something that you would find in nature. Think back to your childhood Christmas trees. Wasn\u2019t it the bald spot in the back, the broken limb, the hole in the branches, the bird\u2019s nest you found leftover from spring, or the crooked tip that gave it such a grandiose presence in your home? This is the tradition built from Pagan and Christian beliefs eons ago \u2013 finding a tree from the outdoors to bless your home with the up and coming Winter Solstice; not sticking up a plastic tree and decorating it just so…There isn\u2019t a Christmas tradition that has been left untouched. …<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Children eager for the treasures that await them under the tree on Christmas\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And how does it all start? Innocent enough. You think of your Christmas\u2019s past and you vow to\u202f<\/span>hold on to traditions<\/span>. Then, you have children of your own and become immersed in the commercial ideas and expectations of the holiday season that starts even before\u202f<\/span>Halloween<\/span>\u202fhas ended… Our children are subjected to commercialism and your worst nightmare is a disappointed child on Christmas morning…You make a vow that next year will be different, yet it isn\u2019t. Except for that, it becomes either more expensive or busier depending on the aspects of your family. And lost through it all is the down-home feel of a fire burning in your heart and hearth on Christmas morning. Thus, the tradition is unwittingly passed down.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You have the power to bring back Christmas. Holiday magic is not created through material things alone. This isn\u2019t to say that you should completely decide to boycott gift-giving or wish lists. However, you can get back to the basics of the holiday. You can show your children that Christmas can be special indeed WITHOUT the\u202f<\/span>stress of the holiday<\/span>. You can show your children how to be grateful, appreciative, and to have the heart of a true giver \u2013 by giving to others as well. You can explore the woods and find an awkward tree, make some homemade decorations and let your children decorate it with wild abandon, not worrying about your scheme. You can tell family members that you will visit before or after the holiday and start some new traditions of your own. Let your house be filled with the smell of a roasted turkey, make gravy from scratch, and invite others to join you should they wish. Decide that you won\u2019t be exchanging expensive gifts with grown siblings and parents, who likely have all they need or want anyway. Find a pine tree and make a wreath for your door, Go to church, remember that the true meaning still exists within your heart. Set a budget. Buy everything with cash. Get your kids to decide on one or two things they really want. Kiss your spouse in the morning. Watch the clay-mation movies from 50 years ago… <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter what you do as long as you realize that YOU have the power to pick and choose which traditions you adopt \u2013 and more importantly which traditions you don\u2019t.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You aren\u2019t alone in feeling that the magic of Christmas has been lost. But you are to blame for continuing – despite the unsettling and stressed-out feelings that clog your heart for weeks ahead of time. You are to blame for continuing and perpetuating the tradition of a commercialized Christmas that beholds very little life, love and Spirit of the season. And you are passing it on to your children and accepting it as a tradition of your own by continuing. If you aren\u2019t happy or satisfied with the Christmas that you are celebrating and creating for your family – then you have to accept the responsibility and therefore the power to change it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Christmas is definitely magical and there is plenty left to love about the holiday. Stay true to your feelings, use your intuition as a guide and commit to bringing back the simplicity of the season for you and your family. No one should be left wondering what happened to Christmas?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

excerpts from;\u00a0https:\/\/www.professorshouse.com\/what-happened-to-christmas\/?<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Long ago and far away, in a simpler time \u2013 Christmas was truly magical. It wasn\u2019t about\u00a0I pods, gift cards, impressing every acquaintance with a gift card or adolescent\u202fwish lists that were a mile long.\u202fIt wasn\u2019t about Black Friday sales, it didn\u2019t send families into bankruptcy, and children enjoyed the simple act of finding a 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