What does Christmas mean?
 

So after a long night I was trying to think what Christmas meant to me. I am traditionally known as a bit of a grinch this time of year as I have never really been into the typical gift giving thing unless it was for the little kids. My kids are all in their 20's now and are all doing pretty good in their lives and careers. I really don't believe in the religious side of the holiday and hate the commercialism of the holiday even less. As an employer I hate paying employee's for not working and giving them time off when the shop could be making money. {the scrooge in me} so this time of year also gets me down as well. I usually throw a few bucks in the Salvation Army buckets as my wife usually nags me that I give in and donate. So I guess you can sum it up in a nutshell that I have not been the most pleasant of people at this time of year. I will also say that this is the first year I don't have my mother with me as she passed away earlier this year so again...Christmas means a lot less. Don't get me wrong, I like having the kids over for dinner but in some ways it seems anticlimactic. I usually can be a real hard a$$ when I watch the news and have often been heard muttering sarcastic remarks when a hard luck story comes on. However and I know they have been on before but I watched a story about the food bank the other day and how donations were way down and what the average hamper was for a family of 4. I was shocked when I saw how little was there. Maybe I am getting soft a bit but something got to me and last night along with my youngest daughter we went out to the grocery store and filled a shopping cart.She didn't say a ton of stuff but this is what she posted on her facebook page. PB stands for Papa Bear. So I guess we both "get it" now. So starting this year we will be donating to charity this time of year {mostly food banks} and the kids have all agreed that instead of us giving them $50-$100 we will go out and shop for the food bank and make that our yearly tradition from now on. I will still have my gruff side but I am sure glad that this year I have seen things differently and I think helped me be a bit better person. This isn't meant to be a plug for people to go out and donate to charity{that would be great} but just to state that if change is possible for this old "Bear" then there are still some real nice things in this world aside from all the doom and gloom we are subjected to on a regular basis. So to sum it up as they traditionally say at the end of the holiday movies, "Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

I bow to you, as I do think you have the real meaning of the Holiday Season (being politically correct here). I too believe this time of year is to commercialized, especially when you are seeing Christmas setup in stores in November, COME ON NOW! That is a bit too much.

I have young kids, and they still do believe, so I do love encouraging their imagination. I also do teach the true religous meaning, however we are NOT a religous family.

I do think this time of year should be for giving, but again why do we need an occassion to be nice. If we are more fortunate than others, then why not help others year round?

Kudos to you and anyone that see Christmas as it should be! A time to be with Friends and Family and to lend a helping hand to others.

Here is a video I shared on my facebook, please watch:

http://www.flickspire.com/m/share_th...e-lws.facebook

Happy Holidays to everyone!

PB reading your story really touched me deeply. I am a Christmas loving kind of guy and feel this is the time of year to rejoice for friends, family, and for me in the Christ of Christmas. I respect those who don't feel the same way and will celebrate with them however they wish but you can rest assured this is a GREAT time of year for me and my family.

Your story isn't typical and it shows just how tough times can really be for others yet we go about our own lives not really "getting it" at all. You "Got It" and to say that this is your new family Christmas tradition is simply awesome! My hat is off to you and your whole family!

Merry Christmas to you and your whole family.

Thank you for sharing!! You actually brought tears to my eyes and got me a little choked up. I too hate the commercialism of Christmas, my kids are a bit older (teenagers) and its all about I want, I want, I want. I love that I will have my entire family together this year and trying to make it something a bit different. I love this idea and am going to suggest as a family, we do the same thing. Once upon a time, when my oldest was just a baby, I was on my own with her and going to school, living on student grants. A couple of months of missed child support had me at the food bank myself, an extremely humbling experience to have to need the support and generosity of others. I worked my a$$ off over the years and have never had to go back, but there are so many who do need the help for whatever reason. So today you made me think about something I haven't thought of in a very long time.

I hope you and your family are blessed throughout the Christmas season and year to come and that your mom is amongst the angels watching over you.

Awesome!! This year our department at work is doing a donation thing to the food bank. Instead of buying little gifts for each other we're going to put in what we would have spent. Brilliant idea. :biggrin:

What does Christmas mean to me?? It's a wonderful time to have small children. Even if you don't have children who can't smile when watching kids on Christmas day... As an adult I don't partake in the religious side of the day, and really cringe when I think about the "obligation" side if when your spouse's family doesn't live close by, even if they do it gets overly hectic trying to please both families. Then there is the side of have's and have not. With the globs of excess we in North America live with it's sad to see families in need of just the basics, people should give more .. it has me feeling a tad guilty about wanting to spend X amout of dollars on a new light...

Hey Darryl... great story. Thanks for posting.

Our family had also decided that this year we would not be doing our standard gift exchange. (You know the one where everyone shops last minute and ends up with mediocre gifts that no one really cares about receiving.)

One of my sisters and her husband recently adopted a little boy from Ethiopia. During the adoption process they had to travel to Ethiopia a couple of times. From the pictures they took and the stories they came back with it was clear that we have so much to be thankful for and often times take things for granted. So...this year we decided to donate the money we would normally spend on gifts for each other, to various charities.

We won't miss the gifts and will be helping others that could really use it. Sounds like a win win to me. :biggrin:

Darryl, thanks for sharing.

I and my wife's side of the family do not really go for the commercial side of Christmas. We are all Christians so we do focus more on the religious side of Christmas, but I have always preferred the gift-giving to be reserved for the little kids, even before I became a dad myself. For me, Christmas is more about getting together with family and friends, not gift-giving and spending money most people can't really afford.

We donate to food drives but I thought that BWA's Christmas food bank raffle was such a good idea that I also sent a donation (ie. bought tickets) for that since I read in the papers that every dollar donated can allow the food banks to buy three dollars worth of food. However, your story has inspired me to try to do more.

As a worthwhile life lesson for Felicia, I will take her food bank shopping and we will bring some of our "plenty" to donate to our local food bank (not just to Edmonton's:wink:).

Thanks for telling us this inspiring story.

Merry Christmas to you all,

Anthony, Irene, Felicia & Isabella

Anthony, Irene, Felicia & Isabella

Very well said! Marry Christmas to you all :)

Thanks for all the great replies. I am actually feeling good this Christmas, it only took 40years to figure it out. I hope everybody has a great holiday season.