It is no secret that most holidays worldwide are highly commercialized, providing great opportunities for retailers and other businesses to capitalize on skyrocketing sales. Of the many observed, Christmas is considered the most globally recognized and celebrated, observed by over two billion people1 with both religious and secular traditions such as Christmas Carol Services, Christmas Worship Services, extensive gift-giving, sumptuous feasts, and lively celebrations. It is closely followed by New Year’s Day, celebrated universally by observing the Gregorian calendar. This too is often marked by various jubilant gatherings often just hours before the clock strikes a minute after midnight, marking its historic advent.
Marketing, sales, and economic intelligence experts would be remiss if they did not encourage businesses to capitalize on such widespread festivities to increase their bottom lines, generate revenue, and drive economic growth; we live in an economy-driven global system. That said, I take umbrage with the excessiveness of this commercialized, family-friendly focus to the point where its origin and magnitude are lost in the minutiae of the holiday bustle, activities, shopping frenzies, gift exchanges, long travels, and jubilant festivities.
Please don’t get me wrong – I enjoy the season’s festive ambience, colorful lights, jaw-dropping sales, decadent treats, merry gatherings, spirit-lifting carols, fun-themed holiday movies, nostalgic gatherings, and even the crisp winter nights with their star-strewn skies. I appreciate these and more, but note a gross misalignment of focus and fervor that tends to obscure the original intent and meaning of Christmas.
Buy Detectors
The most glaring example of this errant center of attention is the inordinate amount of money expended on the season’s activities, largely due to excessive commercialization. While businesses seek multifaceted ways to leverage the season’s furor to maximize profits, consumers are incessantly tantalized and encouraged via stupendous sales and sprees to purchase as much as possible, often spending more than they can afford in their frenzied bid to accomplish plans, fulfill lists, and discharge the widespread “shop till you drop” mantra.
Another misalignment is the gathering-focused emphasis, which is by no means wrong, but contributes to shrouding the essence of the season by the sheer prominence of its messaging at the expense of highlighting the core basis of Christmas.
As much as Santa Claus (“Father Christmas” or other name variants in other parts of the world), reindeer, sleighs, elves, gingerbread cookies, hot chocolate, spiced rum, sparkling Christmas trees, captivatingly-colored gifts, chimneys, stockings, fun Christmas movies, jolly greetings, yuletide blessings, visits to family and friends, and other trappings that brand the highly commercialized version of the season offer lighthearted entertainment, cheer, and pleasant respite from the intensity of daily living, it goes without saying that none of these are remotely integral to the true concept of Christmas, and more often than not serve as major detractors and distractors.
The Reason For The Season
Christmas has never been about money-making company campaigns or impulsive personal splurges on family, entertainment, travel, gift-giving, festive, or even family or religious gatherings. It has always been about God the Son – Jesus Christ – coming to earth in mortal form to live among humans2 so they would gain insights into the immensity of God the Father’s incredibly loving personality and extravagant benevolence3. Jesus’ ultimate achievement was to die for them in a substitutionary manner, taking on the penalty for their inherently deviant nature and misdeeds (aka “sin”) so that they could enjoy a free pass to God the Father through His favorable relationship with Him (in other words, Jesus birth, life and death were the passport to God’s superior kind of life, which in its most enduring and qualitative form is ONLY found in the one true God and Creator; the God Who revealed Himself through the writings of the Bible).
Christmas cheer and merriment are wonderful, but what makes it more than just a passing annual holiday is the Person behind it. Refuse to be distracted by all the the hustle and bustle of endless activities and cheer; instead, determine to focus on its life-changing relevance. Jesus has always been the Reason for the season, so don’t allow the green (or whatever color your local currency is) and all its trappings to steal your focus. Christmas has colossal benefits beyond its material and festive offerings if you keep centered on it’s core invitation and life-defining impact …
“… If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. In this way, rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in Me, just as the Scripture says.”4
Go For The Gold!
“… the Most Holy Place … had the GOLDEN altar of incense and the GOLD-covered ark of the covenant, which contained the GOLD jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.”5
Don’t get lost in the green, bright lights, vibrant decorations, and the allure of presents; go for the GOLD of His rejeuvenating presence, fostering deeper intimacy with Him! Don’t be distracted by the ornamental sights, savors, and sounds; focus on the monumental experiences you can enjoy with Him! Ponder the unifying thread behind supernaturally supplied manna, an age-worn, budding branch, and stone tablets etched by invisible hands – all by the privilege of His manifest presence …
Friend, don’t let the green steal your Christmas, let the GOLD captivate your heart and attention by keeping Christ at the center stage of the season!
And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: GOLD, frankincense, and myrrh.6
Wise men still worship Him, keeping the CHRIST in CHRISTmas!7
*For questions on how to get to know God personally through Jesus Christ, experience Him daily, or to keep Him central to your Christmas observance, please email: graced@thewordofhisgrace.com
For Your Christ-Centered Worshiping Pleasure
Emmanuel (Ese) – John Fadejola
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=g0hmdfegh-Q&si=Iyk07ZPB20rP53_h
Revelation 19:1 (Maverick City Music/TRIBL)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=DyzBOu_liPw&si=g0zzDxNVJuXQ6Xpy
Bibliography
- Google AI ↩︎
- John 1:14; 1 John 4:2-3; 1 Timothy 3:16; Romans 8:3 ↩︎
- John 14:9; 7; 12:45; John 1:14; 10:30; 14:20; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; Philippians 2:6; John 3:16, 1 John 3:1; Romans 5:8 & 10; 8:32; 1 John 4:9-10; 19 ↩︎
- John 7:37-38 ↩︎
- Hebrews 9:3-4 ↩︎
- Matthew 2:11 ↩︎
- Keeping the Christ In Christmas (https://thewordofhisgrace.com/keeping-the-christ-in-christmas-originally-posted-on-12-25-25/) ↩︎ ↩︎