The Christmas Spirit
What is the Christmas spirit?
Is it snow? Is it colorful displays of lights around the neighborhood? Is it Santa’s workshop or his lovable reindeer?
Maybe it’s the seasonal music playing in the background of every store. Or perhaps putting up the Christmas tree, making lists, and buying gifts.
Maybe it’s time with family, cooking a traditional meal. Maybe it’s attending holiday services, remembering, worshiping, holding a candle, and whispering a prayer.
I was speaking with a colleague last week, who conspiratorially shared with me that her kids, ages 9 and 7, now know the truth about the North Pole and its inhabitants. She said they broke the news to these youngsters by explaining what Christmas spirit is.
“Christmas spirit is giving without expecting anything in return,” she said. “That’s what Santa does!”
All year, her kids have been excited about getting a Nintendo Switch. After some deliberation, she and her husband told them that if they wanted a video game, they needed to save up to buy one.
So the kids set to work. After 7 long months of saving birthday money, allowances, and payment for odd jobs (and a very successful lemonade stand), they successfully scrounged enough together to buy the lauded Nintendo Switch. Little do they know that someone intervened on their behalf, and a brand new Nintendo Switch is waiting for them under their Christmas tree right now.
These two children have been proudly telling their friends and family that they’re “going to buy a Nintendo Switch after Christmas.” In fact, the only things they put on their Christmas list are accessories for the game! But in true Christmas spirit, their parents are planning to make their dreams come true, with this highly prized, unexpected gift.
After opening their gift on Christmas morning, their parents will ask the ecstatic children if they want to use a portion of their money to “pay it forward,” and after learning what the Christmas spirit is all about, my colleague is sure her two kids will joyfully use their hard-earned money to bless someone else.
If that’s truly what Christmas means, then we need to celebrate Christmas year-round because we need more of that in the world: giving, without expecting anything in return.
As you gather with your family and friends this holiday season, it is our hope that you take this story to heart. Gifts don’t have to be worth a lot of money or time-consuming to create. Your gift can be your presence, a smile, an afternoon spent with a loved one, or volunteering at a nonprofit. Giving may be what Christmas spirit is all about, but it can make a difference no matter what month it is.
We invite you to join us in taking the Christmas spirit into the new year, and beyond!