Abolish Christmas?
SOME time ago I came across an article which made the strange proposal that Christmas should be abolished. And the reason is that it has become too commercialized and only makes the poor suffer more. It dramatizes the sharp contrast between those who have money to go on shopping sprees and those who have nothing and can only window-shop.
* ** NELLIE: A CHRISTMAS STORY. It was Christmas Eve. A jostling crowd of shoppers was busy grabbing last-minute bargains. A small girl in tattered clothes made her way trough the crowd. Her name was Nellie. You will find such a girl in your city or town, if you will look around.
* ** Nellie was also shopping, just windowshopping. She had no money and she was hungry. The twinkling lights, the colorful Christmas candles, and the dazzling decorations and displays in the shop windows fascinated Nellie. As she passed the store with the Christmas cakes and pastries in the shop window, she felt even more hungry.
* ** She paused…then moved a step forward to press her little snub nose against the glass pane, as she gazed greedily at the Christmas “goodies.”
It lasted only for a while. The supeervisor of the shop saw the face in the window…the pale face pinched with hunger.
* * * The face in the window was bad for business, so Nellie was told gruffly: “You there, get off!”
Nellie did not need a second command. She was now frightened as well. She hurried through the crowd, until she reached the attic where she lived with her aged grandma.
* ** Grandma was asleep. This was the only thing they did not have to buy. This was the slumber that helped them to forget many misfortunes; that they were hungry… that they had nothing for Christmas … no new clothes… no decorations… Nellie thought of the huggable doll she had seen in a shop window.
*** Nellie also soon found refuge in sleep. She dreamed that she purchased the doll in the shop, and that beautiful doll with rolling eyes and the wide eyelashes, was her very own. From the distance wafted the strains of the well-loved carol: “Hark the herald angels sing…”
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No doubt, there are a lot of Nellies in your neighborhood. These may be the elderly who’re lonely, the sick, and the majority who may not feel the spirit of Christmas because of poverty.
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“God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son” (John 3,16). God expects us to return His love by doing the same to our fellowmen, especially the Nellies around us.
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As regards the question, “Should Christmas be abolished?” Well, I’m not a radical person but even the Lord once said, “The poor you will always have with you.” Moreover, that would provoke roar and uprising worldwide, including those who make a fast buck doing business during the season. Let’s rather reach out to the less fortunate, especially this Christmas. As somebody put it, “Live or celebrate simply so that others will simply live.”
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THE LIGHER SIDE. Beggar with outstretched hand says to a wealthy man: “Please, sir, be kind … even if it’s only for a cup of coffee.
Rich man: “Here…this will buy you 10 cups of coffee.” After a week, the beggar meets the rich man and growls: “Hey, you almost killed me. The 10 cups of coffee caused me hypertension!”
***
If Sta. Claus were alive today, he’d think twice before scaling up into any chimney. Overweight, over 40, and carrying the load of a bulging tummy—Santa would be a candidate for heart attack.
Overweights, take note!