In the United States, Thanksgiving is the indicator that the Christmas season has begun. In my house it’s when the Christmas tree gets put up.

For some people, they start to get into the Christmas spirit when Advent starts – the four weeks when we anticipate the coming of Christ into the world. In churches a candle is lit, scripture is read and someone says something about the signs that Christ was coming.

Some people get into the Christmas spirit when they see snow on the ground. In some places that happens pretty early in the fall.

Others have that Christmas spirit for most of at least half the year. They start their Christmas shopping then too.

But honestly, I don’t think that any of that is really the Christmas spirit. They’re all just things we attach to a time of year. We like tradition.

Memories are powerful so when we see, hear, smell or touch something that brings back a memory, we relive that event. We can see it again in our mind and it brings some great emotions with it.

So the Christmas spirit has more to do with our memories and our emotions than it has to do with the coming of Christ.

All the generosity and kindness and brotherly love, it probably has its root in our feelings and not in the fact that Christ has come to save mankind.

Maybe the Christmas spirit has nothing to do with Christmas. Maybe we don’t need Christmas at all to experience all the good cheer we have at this time of year.

… Well, before we go too far down that road, we should investigate the real reason we have the kinds of memories we have at this time of year.

It’s this time of year that we identify as the time that God sent his Son to earth. That’s a pretty big deal in itself but not an incredibly emotional, memory-producing event.

What does create the emotional memory is why God sent Christ to us. God sent Christ to us as a gift to save us.

Down through the years people have received this gift of Christ and have been saved from their sins.

So when the time of year comes around when we remember Christ’s coming to us, the memories of the gift of Christ have brought all kinds of warm emotions that have resulted in expressions to others of generosity, kindness and brotherly love.

In our time, we have focussed more on the memory of the caring acts and so we respond in kind.

We attach the memories more to presents, festive happy gatherings, and acts of kindness to one another … but that is pretty superficial and temporal.

The real Christmas spirit should come when we realize that Christ is God’s gift to me, and that by receiving this gift I am forgiven of my sin.

That’s the real Christmas spirit. And that can influence your life and actions all year long. So actually, the Christmas spirit is not part of a season but part of who you are.

Here’s the thing: God sent His gift. If you’ve received this gift, then act like every day is Christmas. If you haven’t received the gift of Christ, do it now . . . Christmas is coming!

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What gets you thinking about Christmas? Leave your comments below.