So, now let's get to the other December holidays. Being a Protestant, I’ll leave off some of the Catholic holidays that I’m not planning to take part in (or, likely, even be aware of), but if I have any Catholic readers please do fill us on on what we’re missing.
Coming up very quickly (as in, you still have time to do this!) is Advent. I don't belong to a high church, so I don't do the community Advent activities (hanging of the greens and so on). And I think that's a big reason why I know so many people who are bent on "putting Jesus back in Christmas". If we just celebrated Advent like the rest of Christendom, we could probably rest happily in the knowledge that we were celebrating Jesus throughout December. But, just because you don’t hang the greens at church or do the community activities, is no reason you can’t do the “at home” part, you know, at home.
Last year, I did the readings, but not the wreath. Chad & I have decided to do the same again this year. If you'd like to join us, here is one of many online resources.
Hanukkah is also nearly upon us. There are a lot of Jewish holidays that I think Christians should pay more attention to, and this is one of them. I don't intend to ever celebrate Hanukkah exactly as Jews do, nor do I think I should; that borders on disrespect, to my way of thinking. However, it does stand as a celebration of God saving his people again from those who would destroy them. And in an era when many Christians worry that the world would gladly be rid of us (and some of them would!), it is comforting to look to the Festival of Lights and recall that particular time the the Lord rescued his people. 
Chad & I have attended the odd Christmas Eve service over the years, and the jury is still out as to whether we will or not this year. However, to give my recommendation: If you have the chance, do it. It doesn’t matter where you go; you don’t have to actually participate if you’d rather not. Just go watch. Go enjoy watching others worship their Saviour.America should totally adopt Boxing Day. That is all.
And finally, we have Kwanzaa. If I were to take the view that Kwanzaa started out as an anti-Jesus holiday, well, I'd also have to take the view that Christmas did, too. I think the celebration of Kwanzaa is fantastic, and if I were ever invited to take part, I would do. So there ya go.
2 comments:
It's always nice when somebody actually takes the time to point out why this time of year is so important. It's become so commercialized that I think many people tend to blindly ignore the heart of it all. Thank you.
No problem! I was beginning to think I was boring everyone to death. ;) I had fun writing these, though; it was personally uplifting, so I hope it does a little of the same for others.
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