Recently I had a friend try to cajole me into researching why celebrating Christmas was unchristian. (She doesn’t celebrate it.) To that I kindly, but brusquely brushed off her words with an ‘uhum’ and a change of subject… ‘So how about this weather, hey?’ ….
Merry Christmas y’all! I may be a day late, but we are still in the season of merriment, peace and goodwill to all men (and women!), and celebrating our Saviour’s birth!
I am glad my family celebrates Christmas. However ‘unchristian’ it may be, it’s all about perception and the why.
Our family’s why is celebrating Jesus’ birth and enjoying loving relationships. Jesus was all about relationship – building positive, life-building ones – to navigate your way through life. Without positive relationships we cannot live a fulfilled life.
For some sad reason, I have a fair few friends with family battling terminal illnesses. Yet, what I know is this: these family members keep battling their illnesses because they want to spend more time with their loved ones. They fight not only for themselves, but for their spouses, their children, their grandchildren, their parents. What would we do without each other, eh?
Relationships are a gift – even the negative ones. The positive ones uplift us, make us laugh, bring us joy, peace, and many other precious moments. The negative ones teach us whatever lessons we ought to learn, and we move on stronger (hopefully) and more resilient.
Don’t go through life alone.
If you feel alone during this festive season, know that whether a Christian/general winter holiday, pagan festival or whatever, Christmas is for us all. And Christmas ought to be synonymous with relationships, togetherness, community, bonding, and all the joy, laughter, love and celebration that goes alongside that.
So if you haven’t already, find a friend, join a family, go to a social event. Do what you must to get connected.
You shouldn’t be alone at any time of the year, but particularly at Christmas. I hope you’ve had a connected, joyful near-end of two-thousand sixteen!
