It’s OK to buy Christmas gifts

EvEry year around the same time as we begin hearing Christmas music at the malls, we are reminded not to forget the season’s meaning. The Christmas holiday celebrates and commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of the Christian religion. In an old list of Roman bishops, compiled in AD 354, these words appear for AD 336: “25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae”; “December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.” This is the first recorded celebration of “Christmas.” For more than a thousand years, the holiday has been an integral part of those countries where Christianity is the dominant religion. Over time, traditions developed for the holiday. The eighth-century English missionary, Saint Boniface, Apostle to Germany, is supposed to have held up the evergreen as a symbol of the everlasting Christ, thus creating the “Christmas Tree.” By the end of the 16th century, Christmas trees were common in Germany. Around the 13th century, Christians began to sing Christmas carols. However, by the 20th century, Christmas became an integral part of society even with those who were not “religious.” The holiday festivities have spread throughout the world, even to those countries where Christianity is not the dominant faith. Where there is the freedom to practice religion, you will find Christmas. Therefore, Christmas is more than a religious festival of the Christian faith. It is also a celebration of family, of charity to those less fortunate, and hopefully, a time to remember what is truly important in all of our lives. It is unfortunate then that there are those that are “killjoys” to the nonreligious aspects of the season. They are not much different from the Puritans or English Protestants of the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to “purify” the Church of England from its “Catholic” practices. Puritans considered Christmas celebrations too pagan. Governor William Bradford of the puritan colony of Plymouth Massachusetts threatened with work, jail or fines anyone caught observing Christmas. Perhaps equally Puritanical are those that—beginning with the Christmas music—start cautioning about spending too much money during the holiday. Prudent money management is important and is a discipline that must be learned and practiced daily. But let’s be honest about the topic. Taking proper care of your finances is not just a Christmas thing. Wakes, birthdays, fiestas and Christenings are all occasions when over and foolish spending can be a problem. In fact, some people go money crazy every first and 15th of the month and no amount of friendly reminders from the financial literacy advocates is going to change their habits. And you do not need permission from these people to spend a little extra at Christmas. Generosity to those less fortunate that may cut a little into your retirement fund is not a financial sin. Also not a sin is spending a few extra bucks for special people, giving them a gift that they would not normally buy for themselves. We are taught in the Christian faith, and as embodied in the Roman Catholic Church calendar, that Christmas is actually the beginning of the journey of sacrifice that ends on Good Friday. Therefore, it’s what is in the heart that matters more than our outward actions. What is important is buying and giving gifts to show our love to and caring for others. If our hearts are in the right place, the extra money we spend during the Christmas holiday season is well spent.