Of course you do. Everyone loves Christmas, updating their status about the Coke advert while fighting back tears from the John Lewis advert. You’ve got time off work, old friends are heading home and fun with the family is top of the agenda. Of course we wish it could be Christmas everyday.
But really you don't. We enjoy the anticipation as much, if not more than, the actual few days. If we had it every day we’d start to see that it’s unsustainable. Divorce rates soar in January, would it be better to have Christmas everyday so that doesn’t happen or was Christmas just painting over the cracks?
Last year’s Adsa and Morrison’s adverts were about women working themselves to the bone but finding satisfaction in their family enjoying the perfect Christmas. There was a strange attractiveness to that despite the fact that we know it doesn’t really happen - the woman would be giving her lazy husband the silent treatment, refereeing fights between overtired and over-sugared kids and trying to ignore barbed comments from the mother in law about the unsatisfactorily basted turkey. We don’t want Christmas everyday because then we’d see that it doesn’t really provide what it promises.
So what you expect to hear next is that you need a more serious, less enjoyable, more religious Christmas. You know it's how it started and you don’t mind a carol service or midnight mass but you don’t want that everyday. Despite their problems, iIf less enjoyment of food, family, presents and relaxation is real meaning of Christmas, then you don’t want Christmas everyday.
But really you do. Because the real message of Christmas is a message of joy.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11, ESV)
The good news of great joy is the message that Jesus has been born. Ultimate joy is not found in the things that we do at Christmas but in the person that it’s named after. Life with Jesus brings satisfaction that sets us free to really enjoy relationships at Christmas without needing family and friends to act out a christmas movie to fulfil our desires. Life with Jesus brings comfort that sets us free to really enjoy Christmas Day by not looking to the food or drink or presents to make us feel better.
Enjoy Christmas - enjoy it as much as you can by getting to know the Giver behind the gifts of the festive season. Life can only be enjoyed fully with it’s Author. That’s the sort of Christmas that you want everyday.
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