Well, the twelve days of Christmas are just over a fortnight away, so it’s time to think about how to regale your true love.
According to PNC Wealth Management, it’s going to cost you more this year. Again. They put the total at approximately $25, 431.18. Better start saving your pennies.
They’ve got a cute website about the gifts: www.PNCChristmasPriceIndex.com
The lists of odd and extravagant Christmas gifts are beginning to appear. Reminds me of something I wrote for the Hope for Life blog last year:
I have to confess: I like looking at extravagant Christmas gifts. Not out of any desire to give or receive them. I just like to marvel at what’s available.
Some of them are amazingly expensive. Like the Ferrari FF listed at Neiman Marcus; it can be yours for only $390,000. You may want to hurry. They only have 10 available.
For mom, Amazon lists a black pearl necklace for a mere $76,500 dollars. Don’t worry… the item ships for free.
Another option is a gift card from Halcyon jets. A $5 million gift card! Actually, it’s called a Dream Card, and it gives you full access to their complete fleet of jets, as well as a private aviation specialist and a personal concierge.
For the truly discriminating, might I suggest you consider purchasing an island? You can get a lovely 20-acre island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro for a mere $8 million. Sorry… only one per customer.
Most of us won’t be spending quite as much on Christmas gifts, though many will spend more than they should. There’s something about the Christmas season that makes us want to give gifts in a big way.
However, we know that the greatest gift has already been given. No one can match the extravagance of our Heavenly Father, who gave us what the apostle Paul calls an “indescribable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15) God gave us His own Son, not as a Christmas gift, but as the gift that never stops giving. God’s Son, Jesus, came and died, to give us all the right to claim the gift of eternal life.
The apostle John famously wrote, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16–17)
In this season of giving and receiving, let’s take time to remember the greatest gift of all: God’s Son. And let’s make sure that we’ve claimed the gift He offers each of us: the gift of eternal life.
Christmas in Argentina is very different from Christmas in Texas. For one thing, it’s the middle of summer. It’s associated more with fireworks and eating outside than chestnuts roasting over an open fire. (Does anybody actually do that?)
I enjoy both sets of traditions, but one thing I miss when in Argentina is Christmas music. It’s not completely lacking there, but it’s not an integral part of the Christmas experience. I know it can really get overdone here, but since I mainly listen to ESPN radio, I don’t tend to get overdosed.
I took piano lessons as a child. One of our two big performance events each year was a Christmas Sing-Along. Each student learned to perform a Christmas song, and the others sang along as the victim performer played. One of the goals our teacher had was to instill in us an appreciation of and knowledge of Christmas songs. Mrs. Roberts did her job well.
In recent years, I’ve become a fan of Straight No Chaser, an a cappella group out of Indiana University. I was introduced to them through the following video, their rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” I know it’s early, but we’ve already waited 11 months. Enjoy!
So how would you fix Christmas? Maybe “fix” isn’t the word I want. How would you make Christmas into exactly what you want it to be?
Would you make it more religious? More family oriented? Less consumeristic?
Would it be place oriented, like the Jewish feasts in the Bible? Would it be completely separate from the religious realm?
Would there be more gift giving? Less gift giving? More music or less?
Would fruitcake and egg nog have any place?
How would you remake Christmas? We’re talking magic wand here, one-wish genie scenario. What would you do?
There’s another side to the Christmas debate: those who want to force other believers to stop celebrating Christmas. While I’m bothered by those that want turn Christmas into a holy day (more than others), I’m especially perturbed by those who try to shame other Christians into not enjoying the holiday season.
The theme of the passages about special days in the New Testament is to not allow yourself to be judged, neither for observing them nor for choosing not to. (The discussion in Galatians is about practicing Judaism as a path to salvation)
The bashers are wrong. Sinfully wrong. It’s one thing to choose not to put up lights or trees or wreaths. It’s another thing all together to condemn those who make a different choice. It’s a sinful attitude, a divisive spirit that does nothing but damage the body of Christ.
“Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?” (Romans 14:4)
Leave them alone. Let them celebrate. Spend your fighting energy on more important things.