I was talking with a friend a couple weeks ago about Christmas. It’s pretty obvious that to most of us that so much about our Christmas celebration is cultural. I mean, our kids learn about different cultural Christmas expressions at school: how the Dutch use shoes instead of stockings and all that nonsense. People all over the world celebrate this holiday, and they do so with a variety of different cultural traditions. Christmas always wraps it’s expression in the clothes of culture. So, the question posed to me was this: “What do WE CELEBRATE during Christmas in our culture?” There’s a lot to be said about this. Obviously, the pastor in me wants to point out that Jesus is the central figure in Christmas, however in a post-Christian America Jesus is no longer the center of our culture. So, what do we celebrate at Christmas? As I reflected on this I realized that most of our traditions center around family. The more I thought I about I came to this conclusion: Christmas is as much a celebration of family as it is of Jesus for most of us. Is that so bad? I’m not sure it is. What are your thoughts: What is at the center of your Christmas?
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