A Magical Christmas!

I’m at the place where Christmas is both past and present. I love family gatherings but also cherish memories of yesteryear. First Christmas as newlyweds. First Christmas as parents. First Christmas as grandparents and everything in between. 

Growing up in a little farming community where most families had little money but lots of love, Christmas seemed magical to me. We lived in a simple two-story house without a telephone, TV or indoor plumbing, but my five siblings and I never felt poor or deprived. We decorated a tree that Daddy cut from the field, and our grandparents were present on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought us. A special treat was Mama’s chocolate gravy and biscuits for breakfast. A tradition I carried on to my family. 

But before Christmas arrived we had a community celebration at the school gymnasium where children, dressed in bathrobes and tinsel, acted out the Holy Nativity while the high school chorus sang Christmas Carrols. 

When the pageant was over, Santa Claus made a grand entrance and gave out presents that parents had brought for their kids. At the end of the evening, each person went home with a brown paper bag filled with hard candy, chocolates, nuts and fruit. Our church did much the same thing, minus Santa, and again, everyone went home with a bag of goodies. 

In today’s world, this probably doesn’t sound like a magical Christmas, but I always counted it as such. I felt surrounded with love, family and community. And on that holy holiday I pondered that first Christmas when Jesus came to earth as a baby. The Prince of Peace, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, born in a stable to a young, virgin maiden. The greatest miracle ever, yet most failed to see it. 

Too often we do the same. We look at the gifts instead of the giver. The mundane instead of the miraculous. The hassles instead of the holy. Why not choose to be different? Let’s celebrate the real Christmas, the most magical, momentous event ever. The birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. 

Wishing You A Blessed Christmas!