Christmas morning. Children are up early, waiting for their parents to wake up and let them open gifts. Dolls, trucks, trains, and clothes fill those precious boxes under the tree. Once they’re a little older, there might be some gold jewelry for the girls and music for the boys. Parents receive the things that they want and everyone is happy. Everyone is excited for the gifts they now possess.

A day earlier, families ring the doorbells of their neighbors and carol for them. “We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!” They find themselves drinking hot cocoa or hot apple cider, part of the traditions. Then, the father goes out and finds the perfect Christmas tree for the family and brings it home to decorate.

Deep into the night, once the children are asleep, the parents are busy wrapping up their presents from them. One child sleeps with his ears open so he can hear the ringing bells of Santa’s sleigh on the roof. He shoves himself down the chimney, an impossible feat for any normal person, and leaves toys and goodies for the good boys and girls. And then we get the presents on Christmas morning. Yes, we do love all of the hubbub of Christmas, but what is the whole point of it all?

On December 25, we are supposed to celebrate, if you believe in it, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We feel sorrowful about how no one could make room in the inn for Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus on that cold night in winter. We celebrate the little boy with a drum who had nothing to give to the King, but played for him and made him smile. We remember the story of the three wise men who came across the desert, following the star, to give their blessings and gifts to the King. We celebrate the angels who cried into the night with bright stars to show where the child was born. So how did giving gifts to our Lord, Jesus Christ, become such a materialized event that we stress over year after year?

The gift-giving process originate from the three wise men giving gifts to the baby Jesus. It symbolized happiness and joy and the love we share for other people. Caroling came from the singing of the angels to Jesus and the people who came to greet him. And while these are all good things that we are bringing down from generation to generation, we have reformed and reconstructed Christmas so it’s this big huge deal. We need the greatest gifts for everyone, we need to have the best lights on the block, we have to have the best Christmas party. It has become one huge competition, one huge deal that ends up being just stressful and pointless. Where did the true meaning of Christmas go? Why are we making the birth of someone so extraordinary into a massive deal over lights, presents, and Santa?