Tradition vs. Truth

I think the truth of what Christmas is about has finally hit me. Or at the very least, the opportunity has come where I can completely focus on the truth of why I celebrate Christmas. You see, I am a very aesthetic person and very much tied to traditions. I love every aspect of the Christmas season: music, lights, parties, a live tree, wreaths, shopping, sitting in church after church playing music and bringing joy to people, caroling, the Salvation Army bell ringer, hanging stockings on the chimney, turning the strands of lights on every morning and evening, beautiful decorations everywhere, ice-skating, cheerful people, wrapping presents, reading the Christmas story, the scent of pine, giving, visiting, hayrides to see brilliantly lit houses, hot cider, silly gift exchanges, bonfires, special food, waiting for dad to finish reading all the things he wants to read and hand out the stockings................and I could go on and on.

But everything is different this year. I made a decision to do something that I was convinced I was supposed to do and I now find myself on the other side of the world, far away from my family and the traditions of my culture. And though I knew there were many differences awaiting me, some continue to take me by surprise. I knew that New Years is the biggest holiday here and I knew that they don't celebrate Christmas until January 7th and that it is not as important as New Years. What I didn't know was that the entire month of December isn't considered the "Holiday" season, as in America and many other countries. There are decorations for sale in a few stores, but that's about it. There are no beautifully lit trees in people's windows, no bell ringers, no tacky Christmas sweaters, no reindeer antennae decorations, no Christmas trees on top of cars, no tree lots, no wreaths on people's doors .........nothing. If you were just walking down the streets here, you would have absolutely no way of knowing that it's December.

The thought of that, combined with the ever present foggy, grey days, has been a drain on me. I love the beauty and cheer of the Christmas season. And then I realized that even though I've always said it's not about that, it's incredibly hard to separate the truth of the holiday from the trappings of tradition. The truth is that over 2000 years ago a baby was born, who was both God and man. He grew up a sinless and holy man, and willingly suffered an incredibly terrible death to take the sin punishment that was separating me from God. He died in my place, so that I, through faith in Him, could have a relationship with the One who forgave my sins and offered me eternal life. The most incredible gift of all eternity was given over 2000 years ago, through the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is something that transcends all cultural traditions of all time. Tradition or Truth: what will you choose to focus on this holiday season?