What is Christmas Anyways?

I apologize for those of you who already heard this. 

I also apologize for all the grammatical errors, this was meant to be given orally--I didn't really plan to type it all up perfectly. I also resisted the urge to add proper citations and a works cited, because I know its a blog and you don't care. 

I will post Garth's talk as soon as he types it up. Its just mainly for our records--but feel free to read [:           

 For those who know me, you know that I love Christmas maybe a little more than the average person. I’m that annoying neighbor who has her holiday wreath up the day after Halloween and Christmas music begins playing way before Thanksgiving (which I realize is a big no no for some), especially if its already begun to snow outside. My husband has tried, and failed, to stall me on my premature decorations and holiday excitement, but I simply love the holidays too much!

            So as I was preparing my talk I began to think about what makes Christmas so special for all of us. Of course there is the music, the decorations, Santa, and the inevitable time with family. However, I believe what really draws us all in is the dominant presence the spirit of Christ has during this season. I believe we all, religious or not, become a little more Christ-like when the Holidays come around—that’s the real magic of the season. Its not just in the giving of gifts, but also in our thoughts we begin to look outward beyond ourselves and see the needs of others.

President Monson said in the annual Christmas Devotional, “Our celebration of Christmas should be a reflection of the love and selflessness taught by the Savior. Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. We feel more kindly one to another. We reach out in love to help those less fortunate. Our hearts are softened. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things. To catch the real meaning of the spirit of Christmas, we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the Spirit of Christ.” 

He goes on to quote David O. McKay: “True happiness comes only by making others happy—the practical application of the Savior’s doctrine of losing one’s life to gain it. In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service.”

If true happiness comes only by making others happy, we could definitely argue that Christmas really is the happiest time of the year for many people. It’s the time of year that most people are most focused on giving to others and making others happy—rather than just on receiving and selfish desires.

The practice of gift giving—though sometimes the ideas and actions may be misplaced—brings a positive spirit to the season. I wanted to preface my talk with this idea so as to not be misunderstood. The gift giving, the songs, the holiday baking—they all can have a place within the season –but isn’t there truly just so much more?

I bet a lot of you have your Christmas shopping done, or close to it. How many of us have already decorated our trees and posted a picture on the Internet for all to see? How many of us have already done some form of holiday baking? Have you already purchased the needed wrapping paper, the ever-popular ugly sweaters, the candy canes, and the hot chocolate?

But how many of you have read the story of Christ’s birth?

How many of you have stopped and thanked God that he gave his son for you?

I read a talk entitled “Maybe Christmas Doesn’t Come From A Store” by Jefferey R. Holland and it inspired a lot of what comes next. What I found key to his talk is that he points out that the story of Christ’s birth is a story of profound poverty.  There was gift giving yes—we all know the Wise Men came later bearing gifts. They, however, traveled a great distance-- it is unlikely that they were there on the actual night of Christ’s birth.

In fact, Matthew records that when they came Jesus was “a young child,” and the family was living in “a house.”  Elder Holland says, “Perhaps this provides an important distinction we should remember in our own holiday season. Maybe the purchasing and the making and the wrapping and the decorating—those delightfully generous and important expressions of our love at Christmas—should be separated, if only slightly, from the more quiet, personal moments when we consider the meaning of the Baby (and his birth) who prompts the giving of such gifts.”

As we read and reread the story of Christ’s birth we can more fully understand the poor circumstances in which he entered this world. When comparing the JST of Luke 2:7 to the original writing Elder Holland speculates about the deeper meaning of the phrasing, he says, “I wonder if Luke did not have some special meaning when he wrote not ‘there was no room in the inn’ but specifically that ‘there was no room for them in the inn.’ (Luke 2:7). We cannot be certain, but it is my guess that money could talk in those days as well as in our own. I think if Joseph and Mary had been people of influence or means, they would have found lodging even at that busy time of year. I have wondered if the Inspired Version also was suggesting they did not know the “right people” in saying, ‘There was none to give room for them in the inns.’” (JST, Luke 2:7.).

Now I want to stop for a second. For those of you who have children think back to the night they entered this world, and for those of you who don’t, imagine what you want that night to be like. 

I imagine most of you, if not all, imagined a knowledgeable medical staff caring to you and your baby. Probably all of you imagined a clean sanitary room. Maybe some of you imagined your mom there, or even a sister or aunt, or maybe you had all three! You might have pictures of your newborn child taking their first bath with the nurse, and you probably packed a perfect little warm outfit in your overly filled hospital bag.

I am going to take a little liberty as I compare my experience to that of Mary’s. As I prepared for Camden’s birth I would have done anything –given anything--to bring him into this world in the safest most peaceful way possible. I attended birthing classes with my husband, I toured the Labor and delivery unit of the hospital. I selected a doctor I knew and trusted and that I saw regularly for the entirety of my pregnancy. Before Camden was even born I wanted to give him the world. I spent months sewing all of his crib bedding and his curtains for his nursery. Garth and I spent many weekends with little projects, painting and sanding furniture, to create the perfect place for him to call home. On our “night of nights” I was not worried about where I would give birth. I knew exactly where I would be. I also knew I had a good ward and neighbors who would help me as I made the transition to a mother.

Mary and Joseph found themselves in a city not their own on the night of their baby’s arrival. They did not have family or friends they could look toward to lend a helping hand. There was no doctor to deliver the Son of God, no knowledgeable medical staff. They did not even have a place to stay. 

Elder Holland speculates about the feelings they may have had, “Mary had ridden or walked approximately 100 miles from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea. Surely Joseph must have wept at her silent courage. Now, alone and unnoticed, they had to descend from human company to a stable, a grotto full of animals, there to bring forth the Son of God. I wonder what emotions Joseph might have had as he cleared away the dung and debris. I wonder if he felt the sting of tears as he hurriedly tried to find the cleanest straw and hold the animals back. I wonder if he wondered: ‘Could there be a more unhealthy, a more disease-ridden, a more despicable circumstance in which a child could be born? Is this a place fit for a king? Should the mother of the Son of God be asked to enter the valley of the shadow of death in such a foul and unfamiliar place as this? Is it wrong to wish her some comfort? Is it right He should be born here?’”

 It is under these humble, quite honestly somewhat horrifying, circumstances, the Son of God entered this world. 

After Camden’s birth I had so many questions. The nurses were constantly in and out of the room and I looked to them for guidance. My mother flew in the next day, brought me some much needed Jamba Juice, and I looked to her for understanding. She was someone I could trust to help me as I felt the flood of emotion, responsibility, and fear that came as I began my role as a mother. 

Elder Holland reminds us of the stark contrast for Mary as she cared for her son. “I’ve thought of Luke’s careful phrasing about that holy night in Bethlehem: ‘The days were accomplished that she should be delivered.’, ‘And she brought forth her firstborn son, and [she] wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and [she] laid him in a manger.’ (Luke 2:6–7; italics added.) Those brief pronouns trumpet in our ears that, second only to the child himself, Mary is the chiefest figure, the regal queen, mother of mothers—holding center stage in this grandest of all dramatic moments. And those same pronouns also trumpet that, save for her beloved husband, she was very much alone."

Again, the Son of God Came with no trained medical staff, no warm blankets to wrap him in, no perfectly selected warm fuzzy outfit to be placed in. 

And yet, It’s this moment in history that we all remember every year.

 It is at this moment that a heavenly host broke into song. 

It is at this moment that a new star shined in the sky. 

This moment—pivotal for all mankind—this family was alone. 

A poor carpenter, a virgin mother, the silent stable animals, and the Son of God.

This moment is Christmas. It is, as the cliché goes, the reason for the season. A baby brought to save mankind, here under the most humble of means, a mother and father who carried their burdens well and trusted in their heavenly father. 

Please don't misunderstand my meaning. This does not mean that the other symbols do not have their place, as Elder Holland reminded in his talk, “Shepherds would soon arrive and later, wise men from the East. Later yet the memory of that night would bring Santa Claus and Frosty and Rudolph—and all would be welcome. But first and forever there was just a little family, without toys or trees or tinsel. With a baby—that’s how Christmas began.”

I hope you all will strive to remember the circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth this season. Find happiness and joy in the season. Spend time with your family, give gifts and spread peace. Enjoy the time of year and all its magic—but always remember that Christmas began in a stable.