Christmas 2006

© Dr. Gary D. Lemmons, December 24, 2006

Here we are on the eve of another Christmas.  In just a few hours, Santa will mount his sleigh that the elves have been faithfully packing for weeks and begin his annual journey around the world bringing gifts to those good little boys and girls in every part of the globe.

It seems that Christmas comes more often than when I was a boy.  In those days, it took forever for that magical day to arrive.  For one thing, store owners didn’t start decorating and pushing the “season” until the day after Thanksgiving.  Nowadays, it seems as though Christmas bows and trees start appearing in stores just after Labor Day!  Halloween and Thanksgiving are only given cursory attention.

Around the first of December, Momma would begin her Christmas baking.  Daddy would seek out nuts and other goodies that we normally didn’t have during the rest of the year.  Everything would begin working toward Christmas Eve and the arrival of Santa Claus.

When my brother and I were very young, the tradition of writing a letter to Santa was followed.  As we got older, our annual appeal was more often done orally for the elves to hear.  My parents were not rich in material possessions, but Daddy always managed to provide a good Christmas for our family and, on numerous occasions, for others as well. 

Despite the pagan trappings of Christmas, church activities were always a part of the events of Christmas.  Being a “hard-shelled” Baptist preacher, our Daddy made sure that we understood that “Jesus was the reason for the season,” and countless were the verses of Silent Night that were sung over the years in church programs.

While there has been some new customs added to Christmas, since I was a child, the basic premise of the holiday is still the same.  The excitement and joy that I see in the eyes of my grandchildren reflects the same excitement and joy that was to be found in my and my brother’s eyes so long ago.

Sadly, when Sam and I were children, many young men were away from home on Christmas serving their country in the military…some of them in harm’s way.  That hasn’t changed.  Today, thousands of American men and women are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places around the globe in the defense of our liberty.  We owe each of them our prayers and a hearty Merry Christmas.

From our house to yours, Miss Debbie and I, together with our extended families, wish for you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, and Joyous New Year.