Recently I pondered over the names of holidays. As is my nature, I spend way too much time analyzing root words and definitions. However, this time I noticed something interesting. While Christmas simply means a day to celebrate Christ, it really is Thanksgiving. What I mean by this is that Thanksgiving is meant as a time to remember our ancestors before us who came to the new world and ate with Indians. While this is good, Christmas is the day we associate with Christ’s birth, an event in which the God of the universe sent His Son into the old, created world to make it new again.
The parallel isn’t a huge one, but it’s still important. If we can set aside a day to recognize the men and women who paved the way for us to live where we are, then we should be able to set aside a day for more than just the donkey and the shepherds who recognized the baby that would make it possible for us to live beyond where we are now.
The nativity scene is significant, and the carols we sing are great praises to lift up to God. What we often miss, however, is the chance to really be grateful that Christmas even took place. What Christmas means, what it stands for, is something far greater and more significant than we can even understand. We focus our thanks on the people who gave us this land, but when it comes time to thank the one who promised us life after this land is gone, we open our own presents and think of our own desires.
My intention here is not to dishonor Thanksgiving. The holiday has its own purpose. What I hope this article has done is highlight the importance of giving thanks on Christmas as well. We shouldn’t simply admire the baby “away in a manger” because the story doesn’t end there. Easter is on the horizon, and we already know what happens. So this year while you are enjoying your gifts and admiring the last few days of Christmas lights and carols, don’t forget to be thankful. That baby “asleep in the hay” is the reason you have hope, and the least we can do is remember that and give thanks.
