Make it meaningful

When the month of December began, I decided to take a break in my daily grind to muse on a meaningful Christmas.

Many questions crop up in our minds especially when we are in the growing stage and trying to understand things. Why do we have to celebrate Christmas every year? Why are we so busy preparing for the Christmas to come? Why are there Christmas lights and lanterns everywhere? Why are our parents so busy preparing the food for  Noche  Buena? Why do we need to complete the nine days of  Simbang  Gabi? And who is Santa Claus?

These questions preoccupied me when I was a kid, but later I understood why we celebrate this very important holiday in our lives.

Christmas is a time for sharing and loving. It is the time for enjoying each other’s company, and the time when our days and nights seem to be the sweetest days and nights of the year.

However, many people spend their time shopping for gifts, partying, and completely forgetting to celebrate the real meaning of Christmas. More often than not there is an expectation of the superficial and material things that the season brings, and we neglect to meditate on why there is Christmas.

It is not wrong to enjoy the pleasure that Christmas brings, but it is right to start seeing its real essence—the celebration of the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is His birthday, after all, so why don’t we kick off our celebration by living in accordance with His words? Why don’t we share with others rather than solely enjoying the benefits of our year’s labor? Why don’t we pray and thank Him for all the things life has brought us? Why don’t we forgive, and not just give?

It is His birthday, so let us give something back to Him (though we can’t match everything He has done for us).

Let us share with everyone the essence of benevolence—to help not only because someone is in need of help but also because it is a virtue to offer a hand. Generosity should not cease when the Christmas season ends; rather, the season should serve only as the beginning.

As we celebrate the most important holiday of the year, may we be blessed with the spirit of Christmas which is peace, the gladness of Christmas which is hope, and the heart of Christmas which is love.

Elaine F. Fallarcuna, 20, is an information officer at the Department of Social Welfare and Development (NCR).