It's Always the Season

Just a little tidbit about me. I have 3 big pet peeves in life. 1- the word pet peeve 2- people who have something negative to say about everything and everyone and 3-when people talk about the over commercialization of Christmas.
While I think I would have to fight it out with millions of others I'm pretty sure nobody love Christmas more than me except maybe my mom. I LOVE everything about it the lights, trees, music, smells, the joy it brings, the relationships it builds, and at the very top the fact that even if it's just a drop more almost everyone is thinking of the Savior a little more.
Today on the radio there was a stream of  Christmas songs at about a 5 to 1 ratio of religious songs. Compared to the rest of the year on that same station I think we're doing pretty good. I mean here in todays world a song about the birth of our Savior just playing on the radio. While yes some may complain that 30 years ago that ratio would have been alot better. Who cares, we are talking about the world today 2012 and to have 20% of the songs singing about the Saviors birth was pretty incredible to me.
As most of us know Christmas originated as a pagan holiday celebrating the Roman sun God Saturnia or something like that. During that time they would decorate their house in greenery,lights and give gifts to the poor and each other. Since Christianity was illegal then they found that they could disguise celebrating the birth of the Savior by celebrating during this holiday. Instead of celebrating the sun they would be doing the same things as their pagan neighbors only they were celebrating The Son. Through that tradition Christians found lots of ways to take a pagan tradition and use it to turn their hearts to God.
That is what is so beautiful about Christians. We can take anything in life and somehow use it to increase our love of God.
I don't see Christmas as a holiday that God himself instituted (meaning doctrinally) but I think anything that can turn our hearts a little more toward him makes him happy. We receive blessings that accompany our actions. Christmas time provides so many opportunities for God to bless his children no matter where they are on their religious journey. Whether it be just spending a little more time with family, giving to someone in need, or just thinking about a loved one and secretly finding out more about them to pick out the perfect gift. Even for those who are not religious Christmas time is helping them to develop Christlike attributes. And for those of us who do believe, the opportunity to help teach our children about the incredible miracles that accompanied the birth of the Savior and to allow his love to fill our hearts a little more. It's something that the hustle and bustle, shopping, or even Santa can't get in the way of. Because as Christians that's what life is. It's taking place in our hearts all day everyday through the craziness of life.
Because it's what is in our hearts it's not possible to say the true meaning of Christmas is lost. The true meaning is what is happening daily as we try to turn ourselves to God and no one can measure that.
So do I think the corporate world has taken the "spirit of giving" as an opportunity to increase profits in an ofttimes ridiculous way...of course I do. At the same time I think the Christian world has done a much more impressive job at capitalizing on a once pagan holiday and using it to turn so many hearts a little more to the knowledge of the birth of our Savior and Redeemer.