PiñaBlog

This morning, NPR was advertising a segment for “Making It Feel Like Christmas When You’re Far From Home.” I started wondering what Christmas is supposed to feel like.

Growing up there were some Christmases that meant “more” than others. I can think of a couple Holiday seasons that were particularly “spiritual.” One year I felt so very sure of the meaning of Christmas that I put a sign in my bedroom window reading, “Happy Birthday Jesus.”

Other years were primarily about Nintendo.

It’s hard to figure out what Christmas is supposed to “feel” like. The consensus, I think, is that it’s supposed to be warm and cheery and smell of apple cider and Douglas fir. There is gift-giving, and happiness and generosity, and holiday movies in which people do extraordinarily nice things because, “Hey, It’s Christmas.”

For us Christians, I think we’re supposed to be thankful and celebratory. I would do well, however, to avoid the temptation of believing that the story of Jesus’ birth is more important on December twenty-fifth than on other days. It’s pretty easy to pay attention to Jesus in December.

It’s the other eleven months I have a hard time making “feel” like Christmas.