Here is where some of my fellow Christians get themselves in trouble by painting themselves into a corner they can't get out of, and frankly it makes the rest of us look bad. Christmas, to me as I see it as a Christian, is NOT about the stores and the shopping and the mounds of gifts under the tree. It's about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. End of story. Do I buy my friends and family gifts? Yes I do. Do I receive gifts from friends and family? Yes I do. But what happens when all of that is not part of my Christmas season? Several years ago it was. We lost my ex-wife's mother to a heart attack just days before Christmas. On Christmas Eve my two daughters opened gifts already purchased and wrapped from their grandmother. It was a lesson learned. They would have given up Christmas gifts for the rest of their lives to have their Grandmother back for just one more Christmas Eve celebration. We lost my dad the very next year...another lesson learned. the next year we saw the birth of our twins. A better year no doubt. Christmas is about a baby, and when there is a baby, usually there is a family, and where there is a family, there can be an awesome Christmas celebration. It's not about the gifts so why do we care if the store says Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas? WE know what WE are celebrating. We don't need a store to lead the celebration.

I should say that I don't pretend to speak for all Christians. However, I would bet that if you have your family, your friends and your faith, it would be difficult to have a bad Christmas season regardless of how many gifts are around or where they came from.

Frank