Halfway to Christmas

Today we reach halfway through the season of Advent. It began on November 29th, and finishes at the end of December 24th, now under two weeks away.

The arrival of Jesus, the Son of God, was such a momentous event in history that we celebrate it every year. Yet the fact that we celebrate Christmas every year reduces the impact on our thinking.

Some folk take advantage of the post-Christmas sales to buy gifts and cards for next year's celebrations. The commercial drive to gain an advantage on one's competitors sees the arrival of Christmas promotions in September, or maybe even as early as August. Christmas is a topic of interest for maybe five months of the year.

Of course, for the Christian enthusiasts, the longer and greater our focus on Christmas the better - so long as the reason for the season does not get forgotten. But for many folk, whose focus is other than on the person at the centre of Christmas, the commercial season is far too long.

Perhaps we celebrate Christmas too often. At a time of reformation in the church, almost 500 years ago, many people decided that the Lord's Supper was too special to celebrate every week. They reduced the frequency to twice per year - a factor of 25 fewer than before.

How would it be if we celebrated Christmas once every five years, or ten years, or 25 years? Would that help us to remember the real meaning of Christmas?

Mary and Joseph never celebrated Christmas. Instead, they celebrated Jesus' birthday. They gave him presents, and a party. His friends visited his home, and those who were far off sent him birthday cards.

Perhaps in these days we've got Christmas back to front, or upside down. It's become all about us, instead of being all about Christ.