This is the time of year when everyone gets really excited about the approach of Christmas! Christmas shopping season always kicks off on Black Friday but of course, with cargo being held up for the United States, we just hold our breath and hope for the best.
How Many Days Until Christmas Are There?
This was being written on December 10th so there are 15 days left until Christmas. That means you have exactly 2 weeks until December 25th to get all your shopping done and get ready to celebrate this very important holiday!
A Quick Walk Through The History of Celebrations For Christmas
Because Christmas is celebrated in many different countries around the world, observances can vary from one tradition to another. Many celebrate by enjoying a meal with family and friends and exchanging gifts to waiting for Christmas morning and collecting gifts from under the tree. But, for many Christians, Christmas is celebrated as the birth of Christ.
According to the Library of Congress, the origins are not certain. The Christian church in Rome observed the Feast of the Nativity on December 25 in 336. At that time, Christmas coexisted with the winter solstice and the Roman Festival of Saturnalia.
Today, Christmas traditions include religious and non-religious customs for many cultures from ancient Roman practices of decorating homes with evergreens and exchanging gifts for the New Year with the Celtic Yule Log. Many Americans consider Christmas as a religious holiday while U.S. Federal Courts refer to it as a legal holiday.
The U.S. Embassy in the United Kingdom stated that Christmas gives employees a day vacation day with pay while stating that the government only recognizes the cultural significance of the holiday!
According to the Pew Research Center, 90% or 9 out of 10 Americans celebrate Christmas.
In 2017 a survey showed that 46% of Americans said they celebrate Christmas as a religious part of their lives but this belief has been on a decline since then. In 2013, there was a decline from 51% who believed the same.
More than 56% of U.S. citizens the religious concept of Christmas is emphasized even less in American society than previously while there are others who are bothered by this trend according to a survey in 2017.
Preparing for The Christmas Celebration
The same old same old seems to hit every year. You turn on your radio to Christmas music, movies on television are all Christmas in theme and as you change channels on the radio as well as your television it's all Christmas.
For many people, every year is the same. They believe it's too early for Christmas or it has become so commercialized, they simply switch their stations and put Christmas out of their heads.
But The Feelings Are The Same
The Christmas season can be very stressful over the next four weeks before Christmas Eve also known as Advent. It is a great time to create some space to get ready for this significant holiday. For those who believe the holiday is the celebration of Christ's birth, it can be joyous!
Instead of letting the holiday be ruled by business commercialism, we should not let it take over what it's really all about. It should be the celebration of God's love and sacrifices - God is with us. What if I were to respond to the gift of Christ out of pure love? Author Ann Voskamp said it best:
We are ready for Christmas but not when we have all our gifts but instead when we are ready for Christ. When we are truly ready to give all of ourselves to Christ.
Here are a few things you should consider to prepare yourself for the Christmas holiday:
- Spend significant time reading into the word of God as Christmas comes closer.
- Create a 25-day Advent reading plan to help focus each day on Jesus.
- Each day read a month or 2-week Advent devotional.
- Get a traditional Advent calendar or make your own Advent calendar. You can enjoy each day with a treasure tucked inside that calendar day. Read a verse from the Bible reflecting the story of Christmas.
- With family and friends, come up with something you can do together each week of Advent to spread the love in your community.
Come up with great ideas to share the love of Christ! Bring Christmas back to its classic meaning.
