It is only 17 days until Christmas.
Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are all behind us—which
means that, at least as far as retailers are concerned, the Christmas
season is now in full swing. Visit your local coffee shop, take a trip
to the mall, or just drive through your neighborhood at night, and it’s
easy to see that the so-called “Christmas spirit” is alive and well in
American culture.
Some of the ironies of our culture’s fascination with Christmas are especially evident where I live in Southern California.
• It hasn’t snowed here in years, but snowflake decorations are everywhere.
• Reindeer don’t live anywhere near us, yet my neighbors have several in their front yard (of the plastic variety).
• For that matter, we don’t exactly live
in an evergreen forest. (The desert tends to be more “ever-brown.”) But,
thankfully, local warehouse stores ship in Christmas trees by the
truckload.
• All of this, so that for one month out
of the year Southern Californians can pretend that we are walking in a
winter wonderland.
Now, don’t get me wrong, there is something very fun about all of the
excitement and buzz that whirls around Christmas. A leisurely stroll
past festive storefronts while holding a warm cup of coffee, or a
nighttime car ride to go look at Christmas lights, these are some of my
favorite things about Christmastime. Add in the joys of time spent with
family and friends and Christmas becomes one of my favorite seasons of
the year.
But there is also a danger in all of this: distraction. It is the danger of being so caught up in the celebration that we forget why we are celebrating . . . or more importantly, whom we are celebrating. Keep Reading >>>
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