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 Do
we REALLY need gifts for Christmas?
If holiday movies have taught me anything it’s that presents aren’t
the point. In fact, sometimes they are the problem. I can sense your
eyes rolling. Let me prove it.
All Ralphie wants for Christmas is an official Red Ryder carbine
action 200 shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock.
Spoiler alert! He gets it. Minutes later he shoots his eye out…well,
close enough. His parents have spent money on gifts galore and now
they’ll be forced to shell out even more for a new pair of glasses.
Merry Christmas!
Cut to a Chinese restaurant where the family is decking the halls
and preparing for dinner. It’s here we see the real meaning of
Christmas...family, love, laughter and duck heads. You can keep your
bb gun.
The older I get the more I realize I’d give back every gift I’ve
ever received to sit around a dinner table with my grandparents one
more time. When the holidays are here, I miss my brother who lives
in Texas. I’ll trade any gift for a few rounds of darts with both of
my brothers and my dad. That’s Christmas. Not convinced?
You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You are also the character I most
relate to in any Christmas story ever. I get it folks…you are
thinking his heart grew three sizes and he came racing down the
mountain to return everything, right? So what? The Grinch was right.
All of the presents, and the decorations, and the “noise, noise,
noise, NOISE” meant nothing. When the sun rises, Christmas comes and
the Whos in Whoville “Fah-who foris, fah-who doris” their little
hearts out.
Those Whos all came together in the town center, held hands, and
sang songs. When all seemed lost their community was where they
turned. Nothing you find in your stocking can ever replace the
feeling of being a part of a community that cares for you.
Personally, I think we’ve lost some of that as time has passed.
Technology and divisiveness often drive wedges between us. We care
too little for our neighbors’ needs. It’s easy to turn a blind eye
or ignore the plea for help. To that, I say fah-who foris.
The Grinch is the one who receives the REAL gift in
the story. His heart grows and he storms down the mountain with all
that was taken. In return he’s given acceptance and love. He’s made
a part of their celebration and accepted within their community. You
can’t be a bad banana when your heart is three times bigger.
Still think you need the shiny new iPhone? My comrade in
curmudgeonry (no, that’s not a real word) would like to speak with
you.
Ebenezer Scrooge might be the biggest curmudgeon
of them all. At least, he was. We all know the story. Marley brings
a warning and three ghosts of Christmas Insomnia wreck old Scrooge’s
life. They also save his soul. It wasn’t a present that changed
Scrooge, it was compassion. That old crank experienced empathy.
Kevin McCallister is left Home Alone by his
parents. He proceeds to torture a couple of thieves and learns a
lesson about family from an old guy with a shovel.
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Then he wakes up alone on Christmas morning. Just
when all hope seems lost, his mother walks in the door. She’s
followed shortly thereafter by the rest of the family. A family he
had wished would disappear. I doubt there could have been a single
present under the tree that compared to a hug from his mom.
In Elf the main character, Buddy, travels from the North Pole to New
York City. Buddy comes from a place that quite literally makes
gifts. Still, his story is not about a gift. It’s about finding and
connecting with his father. It’s about those deep relationships that
are formed with family, love and acceptance.
A Charlie Brown Christmas has our pal Charlie
depressed about the commercialism of the holiday. He sets out to
find the true meaning of Christmas and finds caring for one another
to be a key. Charlie’s buddy Linus provides him with a deeper
meaning as well…one of faith. “Glory to God in the highest and on
earth peace, good will toward men. That’s what Christmas is all
about Charlie Brown.”
Back to my question…Do we REALLY need gifts for Christmas? No. Of
course not. I think I have been able to prove, beyond a shadow of a
doubt, gifts don’t make Christmas. Christmas is family, love,
laughter, community, compassion, acceptance and faith. Those aren’t
gifts. Those are...wait a minute…huh? Maybe it is about gifts.
Mom, if you’re reading this, I’d still like an air fryer.
[Jeff Wyles]
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