'Tis the season that makes me vomit

I've been called a scrooge several times, and you might agree, but really I'm not. I'm just critical of how we "celebrate" our saviors birth. Why do we give each other presents? Why do we put up a tree in our living room and put lights on everything? Who came up with a fat guy in a red suit traveling around the world, eating cookies and giving out presents? I doubt anyone can tell me how most things we associate with "Christmas" is associated with the birth of Jesus Christ.

All these things do is distract a majority of people away from reality. That we are fallen and screwed up and the only way for us to be reconciled with our creator and father is for God himself to come to earth and die for us. And Hallelujah, he did!!! Nothing else we encounter that is so heavily "associated" with an event or holiday as Jesus with Christmas gets ignored as much as He does. Yes, if you went into a church yesterday there probably was a Christmas eve service. Hopefully focused on Christ. And maybe you had carolers come by and sing real Christmas songs. I'm going on a tangent to explain what real Christmas songs are. For me at least, real Christmas songs are hymns, or whatever you want to call them, that actually talk about Jesus. Not Santa Clause or Rudolph or a winter wonderland.

Anyways most people that "celebrate" Christmas don't do so because of Jesus and never mention his name around the holiday. That's the biggest part of my beef with Christmas.

This holiday also brings out as much bad in people as good. Have you ever been in a tragic shopping accident? I have and it's not uncommon in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I saw "Jingle all the way" a little while ago. It's about a guy who promised his son an action figure and forgets, and by the time he remembers, they're all go. So he does whatever we has to get this doll. Including fighting a bunch of Santas. I know it's an extreme but a lot people parallel this type of behavior. Our materialistic nature comes to its ugly height at Christmas.

I'm not a scrooge. In fact I would say I feel this way about how we celebrate Christmas because of how much I love the holiday and how much it means to me.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.