Christmas is ‘the most wonderful time of the year’! It is a time for celebrations, family gatherings, decorations, giving to others, and a time for worship! Worship is perhaps the most important of all because it captures the response of the heart in celebrating the real meaning of Christmas.
Christmas can be a wonderful, magical time. Everyone seems to smile more. People make at least an attempt to be friendlier. But what happens just 24 hours after Christmas? We go into a slump and a giant let-down. We move from celebration to desperation. The atmosphere quickly changes from “ho ho” to “ho-hum.” What causes that? Relatives go home, decorations come down, presents get returned, diets begin. The fun simply stops. Many people wonder why the spirit of Christmas doesn’t last.
In the last few weeks, our world has resonated with songs about Jesus Christ. Even absolute pagans will sing songs about Christ. On the 24 and 25th, even hard rock stations will take some time and play Christmas songs. Offices will play music over the intercom. There may be bars that will play Christmas music. There is only one time of the year when it is socially acceptable to get your friends, go out at night, walk down the street, and sing to the houses of strangers. Within 24 hours it all comes to an abrupt stop.
Perhaps you are one of the ones that struggles to get going during Christmas. A case in point: I was listening to the radio and the DJ said that even he had calls about Christmas songs playing too early he day after Thanksgiving. He bolstered his position by saying, “…some people love it, some people get out all their decorations and make a tradition of it”. He felt it necessary to defend his actions on the radio for all to hear.
The fact is in too many lives, when Christmas is over, the music stops. The secret of making the spirit of Christmas last is to carry its music in your heart all year. If not the music, then the spirit of the music. My daughter is the best at this. I often catch her listening to a Christmas playlist throughout the year just so her world stays a little brighter. I confess, when we listen together, it helps me too.
Is Christmas going to last beyond December 25th for you? Here is an excerpt of a song by David Meece to help you understand why the spirit of the music should continue:
As little children we would dream of Christmas morn, of all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find.
But we never realized a baby born one blessed night, gave us the greatest gift of our lives.
As the years went by, we learned more about gifts, the giving of ourselves and what that means.
On a dark and cloudy day, a man hung crying in the rain, all because of love.
We were the reason that He gave His life. We were the reason that He suffered and died.
To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give, to show us the reason to live.
If you remember the spirit of these words, you have a good chance of keeping the Christmas Spirit all year long. I hope you do.
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