A Charlie Brown Christmas

It's December. Time to drag out the Christmas decorations, turn on the Christmas music, and pull out those Christmas sweaters (or in my case, knee high socks). It is finally time to stop averting your eyes from those Christmas isles that have been out since Halloween. It is time to start watching the Christmas specials on TV. Time to put up the Christmas tree. But as Linus from one of my favorite Christmas specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas would ask, "do they still make wooden Christmas trees?" I would certainly answer yes, as it is a tradition in my family to go out and cut one down every year. But if you look around today it may not seem like such a thing exists anymore. Christmas has become a time for presents and impressive Christmas light displays. It has become more about getting and less about giving. It has become too "commercialized" as Charlie Brown would say. And he is absolutely right, almost 50 years after the Christmas special was made the problem still exists. But "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Of course there are, but that doesn’t mean anyone remembers.

Christmas is definitely a time to give more than get. It is a time for family and friends. However, most importantly, it is when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'" People tend to forget this when in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of Christmas time.

So, when you get a break from Christmas shopping, putting up Christmas lights, or listening to some Christmas music, stop, sit down with your family and watch A Charlie Brown Christmas, or simply remember that the reason we are celebrating Christmas is not because of the presents or the decorations, it is because God sent his son to live on earth until he would one day die for our sins. “That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”