Christmas has always been a season for
gifts and parties, and indeed, Jesus has always been the center in this joyful
celebration. Giving gifts has always been a tradition since the Magi’s giving
of gifts to baby Jesus. In these days, we spend so much time shopping just to
buy gifts in the hopes of making our loved ones happy. We sing songs of
caroling to our neighbors to share our love for them. Sometimes, we even stress
ourselves out in making a list of our friends whom we will give our gifts to.
Ironically though, people who have nothing to give back in return of the
Christmas gifts given to them end up feeling sad instead of feeling happy. But,
will there be a difference at all when we don't give gifts or hold parties? Of
course not, and there shouldn’t be. After all, isn’t love the main reason why
we have been celebrating Christmas all along? God is Love, and all for love God
gave us His greatest gift to mankind – our Lord Jesus Christ.
“This year’s Christmas is certainly special; a lonely Christmas would be boring. What illuminates Christmas is those smiles… Look, I'll decorate them for you.” – Aisaka Taiga (from Toradora)
Christmas is a time when we turn our
eyes from material gifts to the simplest yet the most satisfying thing we can
ever give - a smile, and that includes spending time with the persons we love.
A smile can change the people’s hearts and the world. A smile transcends the
happiness shown by a person; it epitomizes joy in trial, hope in desperation
and love in a world of loneliness. Hence, it is the right time to make amends
with broken friendships and anything that would stop us from being happy. In
our popular culture, Santa Claus smiles and says “Hohoho…” before he gives
gifts. Most importantly, isn’t it because of our loving God’s great desire for
us to smile with Him that He gave His one and only begotten Son to die for our
sins, so we may share an joyful, eternal life of smiles with Him?
“Every day is Christmas for me as long as I am with you.” – Baek Seung Jo (Itazura na Kiss)
Christmas shouldn’t also be limited to
just the twenty-fifth day of December or the whole month of December up to the
month of January. Actually, in some churches, Christmas is celebrated on the
sixth day of January! Moreover, if we would take Biology into account, the time
when Jesus was actually conceived would be nine months earlier, around March 25
or 26! Hence, some scholars speculated possible “Christmas days” as May 20,
April 18 or 19, March 25, January 2, November 17 or 20! With several possible
“Christmas days” scattered throughout the year, wouldn’t it be better to make
every single day a Christmas day by spending time with the ones we love? With
this, we should really, really share God’s love with a smile everyday, so that
others will smile just like how they would smile in the Christmas season. God
never missed the chance to make us smile. He has always been our Father and
Maker, Redeemer and Restorer, Rebuilder and “Rewarder”. For every single thing
we do unto others, we do it unto Him as well; that’s why we always praise and make
Him smile whenever we make others smile too.
“Remember; our wrinkles are increasing one by one. Even if it becomes fun to think about tomorrow, every time our wrinkles increase, I’ll meet a happier you than yesterday.” – from Wrinkle (by Gumi)
Trials will always come to increase
our wrinkles even when “it’s not Christmas” for us, but since every day is a
Christmas for all of us, then we will always get to see a happier someone than
yesterday through the love and smiles we give to our loved ones. Indeed, it is
always our dream that we will always get to see a happier someone than
yesterday and make that dream into a reality. Trials are there only for us to magnify
the smiles that we give. The smile of an elderly person is the greatest
strength he or she exerted throughout the years of his or her lifetime, while the
smile of a child is full of hopes and dreams! That’s why, in this Christmas season,
we also shouldn’t forget to visit the sick, the old and the children, sing
songs for them and extend a helping hand to them, for when they smile, we will
have joy and strength that we have not experienced before.
"You don't need a reason to cry... All you need is feel the warmth that dwells in your chest..." – Natsu (Fairy Tail)
Moreover, we should not forget to help
the victims of the recent super typhoon Yolanda, who have been crying in
desperation, who have been finding hope and purpose in their lives. In this
season of Christmas, we should share the warmth in our hearts by reaching out
to them. In this way, they will no longer have a reason to cry anymore. In this
way, we can finally wipe their tears away and make them smile. Above all else,
we should not also forget our families who have always been there for us, who
have always been loving us unconditionally in times of happiness and in times
of sadness. Occasionally, we may have said things that hurt the precious
feelings of our parents, our brothers and sisters who may have been crying
inside since then; therefore, the least thing that we can do is to rekindle the
warmth of love, harmony and communication in our families through the first
step of giving a sincere smile from the bottom of our hearts to express our heartfelt
love.
Well, isn’t love the main reason why
we have been celebrating Christmas all along?
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