Missing The Christmas Spirit

by Gray Graham

I have seen some posts on social media where people are saying that they don’t have the Christmas spirit this year. They are saying that they are just not in the mood. I have seen some people try to tell them how to find the Christmas spirit with a step by step checklist of how to achieve the perfect Christmas mood. Did I mention that these are Christians that are having this discussion?

Now we are not going to go into the history of everything that is Christmas. I think we have had more than a few discussions in recent years about that. Still there are quite a few Christians that seem to be confused on how they are supposed to behave during Christmas. I mean if you are over 40 how we celebrate Christmas today is completely different than what you remember in the good old days.

Is it even called Christmas anymore by the larger society? We mostly hear the term for the holidays. We don’t really see Christmas anymore by anyone. Schools are out for Winter Break before winter even starts. We have Black Friday and Cyber-Monday sales not Christmas sales. Seems the only thing that is called Christmas is the tree.

And let’s talk about Christ which is in the name Christmas. How often do we see the baby Jesus instead of Santa? I mean this year you probably have seen more grinches and gnomes than Santas in stores. Seems it’s better to have multi-cultural gnomes than it is to have a Santa whether he is Caucasian or African.

It would seem that Christmas and how we celebrate has become a very personal thing. There is no longer a societal way of celebrating Christmas that everyone follows. America, it would seem, more than most other countries in the world, has to try and be all inclusive and that means that we acknowledge that many people celebrate in different ways at the end of the year. For many Christian Americans that is a very difficult thing to process.

So you have a lot of Christians that don’t really know what they should be doing at Christmas time. Sadly many are having to deal with the fact that the magical time of Christmas that they grew up dreaming about was just a fantasy and never really existed. People didn’t just become nice and holy at Christmas. They were the same mean, nasty people they always were you just didn’t know it. A lot of people had a hard time learning Santa Claus was not real and they are not going to be able to raise their children believing in Santa. This is the reason many say they aren’t in the Christmas spirit this year.

We as believers should carry the Spirit of Jesus with us all year long, not just from late November to December. We shouldn’t get worked up over strangers telling us “Merry Christmas”, obsessed with buying gifts most can’t afford, or receiving gifts we don’t need. Sick and poor children need attention and help year around not just when you are feeling the Christmas spirit. We should be following the teachings of Jesus all the time.

So when I hear a fellow Christian say they are not feeling the Christmas spirit it makes me wonder when do you feel the Spirit of the Lord. It’s okay if you don’t feel the Spirit extra in late December but you definitely shouldn’t feel nothing January through November and then feel extra great during Christmas.

I am not going to tell anyone how to celebrate anything. I am thankful for every day I have been given on this Earth. I would never fault anyone for wanting to take time to thank God for the birth of His son and be joyful. I am not even going to tell people not to buy gifts as long as you are doing it in love and staying within your means. It is okay to do things that make your happy and be grateful to God. Where people get into trouble is when they try to make themselves feel something out of obligation and not because that is what is in their hearts.

So if you find yourself not in the Christmas spirit this year it’s okay. You might be going through something that is weighing heavily on your heart so you don’t feel much like celebrating. Whatever your reasons know that you are not required to be joyful just because it is the Christmas season.  Just remember that you don’t need the Christmas spirit but you do need the Holy Spirit and that is with you at all times. Please take peace in knowing God is always with you through all seasons.