Day 12: Return to Design Specifications

Wish 12: Bring Back the Christ in Christmas

"How do you celebrate Christmas here?" I asked folks in a European city.

They said that on the night of the Eve, the family prays, has a meal together, light candles on a tree and sing Christmas songs. They are in bed well before midnight. They don't mention anything about gift-giving.

"That's boring," I thought. We grew up with the common Western Christmas traditions. Lots of lights, decoration, gifts under the tree, good food, Santa Claus and more. When my wife and I lived in Europe, we tried to bring those traditions with us. But instead of having lots of family around, it was just the two of us and then our two boys who born there.

There was something about the silence on the Christmas Eve. One time, we heard an early Christmas Eve Mass and then walked around the heart of town. The streets and their shops were now empty but well decorated and well lighted. It was completely deserted, except for another English-speaking family that had the same idea. "Hey, Mom, Dad! Look here!" shouted one of the kids, and his words echoed through the empty lanes. I remembered that the locals were already probably asleep at home.

Back to the house, it was just us. My wife, myself, and our son. The following year we had another son, and it was just the four of us. Those Christmases without the distraction of shopping and crowded family reunions became some of the most memorable. Our eldest son even dug up the videotape of his first Christmases and showed them off to his friends. What was he showing off? Simplicity? Solemnity? I think I'll ask him tonight.

The design specification of the First Christmas was a family, alone in a place that was not their home, and celebrating new life quietly. No revelry or materialism. A silent and holy night.

It was about the birth of the Christ. And we are celebrating it because this child named Jesus was to save us all.

So my wish is for us to follow our traditions and to never forget why we're celebrating Christmas in the first place.

From my family to yours, we wish the deep peace of Christ, the light of the world, to you.