The problem is that traffic around town that was once 40-50mph, is now 3mph; it takes forever to get from one place to the other when a month ago it would have taken me ten minutes. Also, it’s in-between semesters which means no one really wants to study theology real intensely with me...and my buddies who study with me are now too busy - because it’s the holidays. The government changed the remembrance of Christ’s birthday into a time where we have to empty our bank accounts in order to please our friends and family.. why? Because you have to buy them something physical because what was once a spiritual and emotional holiday, has turned into a highly superficial and fake expression of how highly we value someone. What happens if we don’t buy that special something for a family member? Society tells us that we obviously must not love them. Society of superficiality at its best. Christmas has turned into a time of when the value of what we buy someone, becomes the measure of how much we love the other person.

I don’t get this whole tree thing either. People don’t even know what it signifies, but they buy it and buy decorations to put on it. Why? People don’t care why... society says to waist money on a tree and decorations, (lights, which also help you spend more money on electricity), so people do. Drones. The masses are stupid pawns that can be manipulated by someone outside the system of superficial money-grubbing waists of life’s. I’m not too mad, I’m just becoming more enlightened to the big picture here. Knowing the big picture and seeing what lays behind the veil of lies, is power.

How does a tree, lights, candy-canes, and expensive non-sincere non-heart inducing gifts remind us of why this holiday was created in the first place? How does a freak’n tree represent the birth of Christ? The death I can understand... but not the birth; not Christmas. People on the news say they want “Christ” out of Christmas... what does it become then? A time to waist your money on people and decorate and worship a tree that you don’t even know the meaning or reason that you have it in your house? The story of Christ helps give this holiday some depth... but what is it if you don’t believe in Christ? I call it a waist.... it becomes a time when you admit that you are so superficial that you need to exchange expensive gifts with people to re-affirm your relationship with them. Of which of course will lead to a public display of insecurity because of the very fact that you need to re-affirm your standing with those close to you by exchanging THINGS instead of words and sincere emotion. A man is not defined by what he gives, but by how he lives... you cannot buy a relationship, you have to earn it through time. Superficial and fake society of fools!

There needs to be a call to the basics, a call to why this holiday was created in the first place, and a re-evaluation of what really means the most in this life. All the presents will fade away just like the green tree you blindly buy that eventually turns brown and withers away. Relationships, love, sincerity are all words that signify something that will never die and last a lot longer than any expensive gift that you can buy with paper money- of which of course has no eternal value either! This holiday was created for the remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Savior, a holiday of gratitude and appreciation, a holiday of worship of the most spiritual sense – not of the most worldly sense that we have now turned it into. True meaning is found in the most basic foundation that this holiday was originally created for; the birth of Jesus.

The history of the Christmas Tree dates back to 16th century Germany.

http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/holidays/christmas/trees.html

http://old.www.lcms.org/cic/schwan.htm

Jesus is the reason for the season. The gifts should come from the heart and not given "just because".

I give because I want to. Not because I feel I have to. That includes my family members, immediate and extended. I enjoy the feeling I get from giving to those that I love and also to those who NEED it. To them, we try to give all year round. The spirit in helping others is just more prevalant during the Holidays.

I gave gifts this year to people who were not expecting it and the joy on their faces was enough for me. I gave because I wanted to. I gave from my heart.

It's not the gift so much as it's the thought that goes into it.

The candy cane.

http://www.noelnoelnoel.com/trad/candycane.html

The problem is that traffic around town that was once 40-50mph, is now 3mph; it takes forever to get from one place to the other when a month ago it would have taken me ten minutes. Also, it’s in-between semesters which means no one really wants to study theology real intensely with me...and my buddies who study with me are now too busy - because it’s the holidays. The government changed the remembrance of Christ’s birthday into a time where we have to empty our bank accounts in order to please our friends and family.. why? Because you have to buy them something physical because what was once a spiritual and emotional holiday, has turned into a highly superficial and fake expression of how highly we value someone. What happens if we don’t buy that special something for a family member? Society tells us that we obviously must not love them. Society of superficiality at its best. Christmas has turned into a time of when the value of what we buy someone, becomes the measure of how much we love the other person.

I don’t get this whole tree thing either. People don’t even know what it signifies, but they buy it and buy decorations to put on it. Why? People don’t care why... society says to waist money on a tree and decorations, (lights, which also help you spend more money on electricity), so people do. Drones. The masses are stupid pawns that can be manipulated by someone outside the system of superficial money-grubbing waists of life’s. I’m not too mad, I’m just becoming more enlightened to the big picture here. Knowing the big picture and seeing what lays behind the veil of lies, is power.

How does a tree, lights, candy-canes, and expensive non-sincere non-heart inducing gifts remind us of why this holiday was created in the first place? How does a freak’n tree represent the birth of Christ? The death I can understand... but not the birth; not Christmas. People on the news say they want “Christ” out of Christmas... what does it become then? A time to waist your money on people and decorate and worship a tree that you don’t even know the meaning or reason that you have it in your house? The story of Christ helps give this holiday some depth... but what is it if you don’t believe in Christ? I call it a waist.... it becomes a time when you admit that you are so superficial that you need to exchange expensive gifts with people to re-affirm your relationship with them. Of which of course will lead to a public display of insecurity because of the very fact that you need to re-affirm your standing with those close to you by exchanging THINGS instead of words and sincere emotion. A man is not defined by what he gives, but by how he lives... you cannot buy a relationship, you have to earn it through time. Superficial and fake society of fools!

There needs to be a call to the basics, a call to why this holiday was created in the first place, and a re-evaluation of what really means the most in this life. All the presents will fade away just like the green tree you blindly buy that eventually turns brown and withers away. Relationships, love, sincerity are all words that signify something that will never die and last a lot longer than any expensive gift that you can buy with paper money- of which of course has no eternal value either! This holiday was created for the remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Savior, a holiday of gratitude and appreciation, a holiday of worship of the most spiritual sense – not of the most worldly sense that we have now turned it into. True meaning is found in the most basic foundation that this holiday was originally created for; the birth of Jesus.
Next you'll be telling us that Easter isn't about hiding colored eggs...