Reason for the season?

So, here it is "christmas" day and I'm left thinking two things, 1) everything about this holiday is based on lies, and 2) very few people are focused o what matters right now. Now many of you may have heard that December 25th is not the birthday of jesus, the Christ who is celebrated on this day. But people don't care, it's just as good as any day to celebrate. But why do we give each other gifts? And of course there is no santa claus but we perpetuate that lie to children for as long as we can. I get over joyed when a child tells me there's no such thing as santa claus, while other adults are mortified and saddened as if a piece of them had died. I don't get it.

Why do we lie to children and go so far out of our way as a society to keep the lie going like some never ending chain letter? Parents work their butts off, brave lines, crowds, and vicious parking lots to get their children the things they want, not need, want. Yet they think that a child would be more respectful and well behaved if they think some phantom fat man is watching them all year than to let them know that their parents love them enough to make sacrifices so that they can have the things they want. What's with the gifts anyway? People feel obligated to buy people gifts and children (and some adults) are ungrateful if they get something they didn't want, or didn't get something they did want. Isn't it supposed to be jesus' birthday? Oh right, that's the other lie.

I think christmas should be a time to give thanks for life and family (and family is who you make them, more on that in a coming blog). All year long we whine and complain about what's going wrong in our lives and what we don't have, all the while forgetting to be thankful to have life at all. Two people who are close to me were witnesses of strangers passing on. One held a young man of 24's hand as the life slipped out of his body for no apparent reason, the day before christmas. Another saw an elderly man lie lifeless on the ground after being senselessly gunned downed in front of his home. Many people didn't wake up to see today, let alone to be disappointed in a gift for someone else's birthday.

LIFE is the real gift, and to be thankful for it the "reason for the season".  People are saying 'happy birthday jesus,' but if this jesus is the son of God, he no more needs presents or birthday wishes as he needs turkeys, hams, or figgy pudding. I am sure he would be quite confused by the decorated pine trees, and the fat guy in the red suit stealing the show at his party. We should stop teaching children to be expectant and  greedy, with a sense of entitlement and bribing them to be good, and begin teaching them that this life is a gift and it's irreplaceable, and that helping others should be the gift they give in return. Merry Life, and Happy Gratitude.