The time you guys have left to finish your Christmas shopping depends on when you read this newspaper. For a lot of you, it might be too late.
Since moving to Florida, I have to admit it is harder to get into the spirit of Christmas as I knew it when there was almost always snow on the ground and winter coats were required when leaving the house.
Most lawns and trees here remain green year-round, and I’m still wearing short pants on the golf courses where my group plays. I admit, there are a few guys who give me kind of funny looks when they see I am dressed for warmer weather, but those are the guys who have been living here much longer than me.
It’s funny how a person’s enthusiasm for Christmas changes as time goes on. I’d guess the first Christmas I have any memory of was probably when I was five or six years old. Back then, Mom and Dad didn’t have much extra money for presents, so each of us kids got one toy and probably some clothing items. Most times, the toy was something we could take outside to play with, so right after the few presents under the tree were unwrapped, we kids would dress up warm and head outside.
As time went on, and all of us got a little older, there were more of us and also more presents for each of us, so the opening time took much longer – mostly because Mom insisted one person handed out the gifts, announced who the gift was for, and who it was from. Then we all had to watch the gift be unveiled before the next gift was pulled from under the tree.
When I was in the early years of high school, there were seven kids, and mom and dad gathered in the living room for the opening of presents and then at the table for our Christmas meal. There was also time made for the Christmas mass.
As all of us grew older and got married, our spouses were included in the celebration of Christmas. As grandchildren started to arrive, they added to the fun of the gift-giving. As the number of gift openers continued to grow, so did the time it took to open those gifts, but Mom never wavered from insisting on one gift being opened at a time.
Naturally, the young ones in the group found gift-giving and receiving (mostly the receiving) the biggest reason to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, there were, and probably still are, too many who put more meaning and importance on Santa Claus than on the real reason for Christmas – the birth of Christ.
The gift-giving is an idea that mimicked the gifts brought to Jesus by the wise men. I guess the meaning of Christmas has many variations, depending on your beliefs – one thing we all know is that this is the time of year when gift-giving has become a deep-set tradition.
So if you guys haven’t finished your shopping, you better get moving – time is running out, or gone – again, depending on when you read this newspaper.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone!!!
Have A Good Week!
