Ornaments on my tree

A member of one of the forums I participate in posted a link to an article at CapMag.com. I think the article was written intentionally to be controversial but that matters little in this entry. Reading the article inspired a response that I would like to share with you.

Christmas Should be More Commercial
by Leonard Peikoff (December 2, 2005)

Summary: It is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.

[www.CapMag.com] Christmas in America is an exuberant display of human ingenuity, capitalist productivity, and the enjoyment of life. Yet all of these are castigated as "materialistic"; the real meaning of the holiday, we are told, is assorted Nativity tales and altruist injunctions (e.g., love thy neighbor) that no one takes seriously.[/quote]

Eh... I don't agree. If anything, Christ should be mandatory to get the sale prices, ribbons and bows. :) (That and they must be wearing seatbelts. {Blognote: that was a reference to an earlier discussion about seatbelts.}) Okay, that may be a bit much. :) :)

I can't speak for anyone but myself but Christmas is a significant time of year for me. I find myself alone in church sanctuaries, at parties and/or just standing in the mall watching and admiring people of all shapes, colors, ages and sizes. It's a wonderful time of year for me personally, at least at the times I am willing to slow down for a moment and consider the reason for the season and truly absorb the love expressed by others to one another. (Yes, ignoring the frustration of the parking lot.)

Yes, I've debated the origins of Christmas, discussed Santa Clause and argued that gifts are important but that accomplished little. What works for me is the collection of moments that I hold and cherish to reflect and remember Christmases of the past. Good fond memories of family and loved ones. To cherish the moments that I can recall of years gone by. And then selfishly, find new moments, create new moments, remember new moments for future reference.

I am a Christian, so Christ is an important part of my Christmas, but I do enjoy the Christmas time fellowship with my non-Christian friends as well. It's not important to me what religion my friends are, or what they think of Christmas, what's important to me is they are my friends, my family and my loved ones. I thank God for each and every one of them (by name if possible), and thank God for the gift of Christ as well because it's important to me. These are the gifts I treasure and the memories are the ornaments on my tree.

May we all collect hundreds of new and precious ornaments this Christmas.