Ah, Christmas. Maybe the most wonderful and most joyful time of the year. The decorations, the mistletoe, the Christmas carols , and of course, the Christmas carolers who carol, well because it’s a really good alternative to Halloween trick or treating, except this time you can’t really trick them and shut the door.
So anyways, when we say Christmas, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Giving and receiving? Santa Claus? Birth of Baby Jesus? Presents and the trees and snow? There are many things that will come to mind, but what is Christmas really about?
Christmas was never about giving and receiving. The giving and receiving was popularized by Saint Nicholas of Myra (Or more popularly known as Santa Claus), a 4th century Greek Christian born in Turkey. So how did he come to the idea of giving and receiving? It happened when one Christmas eve, Saint Nick decided to give generous gifts to the poor people. I imagine he gave a lot to each poor person since he was able to give so much he was able to convince 3 Christian girls prostitution is not the way to go, since it’s a sin.
: Saint Nick/Santa got the red sleigh drove by magical reindeers, the making a list of naughty and nice children and flying around town giving presents through chimneys bit was when in 1934, a song was made about Santa Claus, called “Santa Claus is coming to town” and that was where the Santa Claus legacy really soared. :
We celebrate the “giving and receiving” part every Christmas every Christmas, in remembrance of Saint Nicholas/Santa’s generosity by giving wrapped presents to each other.
But this is what it really boils down to. What is Christmas all about? It’s all about the birth of our saviour, Jesus Christ. He is the only reason why we have a Christmas is because of Jesus, the Christmas day when God sent his only son into the world because of his love. It’s not about giving or receiving, or the presents and decorations, those are things to keep Christmas lively. It makes me wonder though why people think of Santa Claus more when they hear “Christmas!” than Jesus, because Jesus is the reason why we have Christmas anyway. In your mind you might say, “Oh yeah, that’s right!” This reminds me of a quote I once heard on TV, though I cannot remember it fully nor who said it, but the main idea was:
“ When you do something with no one opposing you, you think that everything you do is right. We need opposition to remind us we are doing wrong.”
When we think of Christmas, we think that it is all about giving and receiving, because that is what most people believe, and because no one tells us “Hey, that’s not what Christmas is all about!” We need someone to remind us that we must remember the real reason for Christmas.
So the next time you are asked what Christmas is all about, remember the real reason for Christmas first, Jesus Christ.
For those reading on Christmas day:
Merry Christmas everyone! And Happy Holidays. 
