Is Christmas Still Worth It?
You read the news and it's all over the headlines. You turn on the tv and it's the same thing, same on the internet. Government debt and financial crisis in the US and recently, Europe. Iran, reportedly building a nuclear bomb, Syria in a civil war, Egypt possibly being under the rule of terroristic, militant and radical Islamic political parties (threatening the very survival of the significantly numerous Christian minority!).
As we go into 2012,
it doesn't look that good. Not only on an international scale do
these crises unfold itself but also on the local scene. You look
around and see the real effects on your loved ones, relatives,
neighbors, friends, etc. You go to your local grocer and see the
worry on people's faces - there's that subtle fear and you can feel
it.
In
a time like this, people save more and take lesser risks so you'd see
people buy less. There'll be more people gloomy and frowning, even
when Christmas is so near. There'll be more people saying "patawad"
on the children carollers. And where are the usual Christmas songs
ringing in the air? This year, I hardly hear them!
Does
it always have to be like this? Is it still right behavior to treat
Christmas based on how our financial well-being is doing? Do we only
have a happy Christmas only if we're currently being blessed, but
only frowns and lukewarmness when things don't go our way? Even the
pagans do these things. What will make us so different from them?
Is
Christmas still worth it? The answer is clear. Yes, Christmas will
always be worth it! Through good times and bad, it pushes through up
to forever even. We celebrate Christmas not because the economy is
good or we are being blessed. We celebrate Christmas because it is
the birth of Jesus Christ Our Lord - the birth of our salvation.
That, my friend, is why we celebrate!