What's This Librarian Celebrating?

Well, it's official. At 2pm this afternoon, the library closed down and will reopen again on Thursday. Christmas is officially here! As I write this, I am waiting for my brother to finish doing the dishes. Directly after that, my family will launch into our Christmas Eve tradition of opening gifts and driving around town looking at lights whilst sipping hot beverages. A wonderful evening is in the works, I can assure you. Even the dogs are getting excited- I just heard my mother shout at our pug, Daisy, for attempting to get into one of the gift bags (we probably should never have started giving them presents...oh dear).

What do you do for Christmas? If you have any favorite memories or traditions, feel free to drop a comment at the end of this post for me! I love reading what you all have to say.

More importantly than what we do, though, is what exactly ARE we celebrating? Amidst the lights and buzz, do we really remember what started it all, or is this just an annual ritual that we go through?

I sat down and was thinking this year of how symbolic everything is. Naturally, the name Christmas originates because the original intent of this holiday is the celebration of Christ's birth. Then everything else follows:

• Lights, for the brightness of God's glory.
• The star, in remembrance of the star that showed the three wise men where to find the baby Jesus (aka, Christ)
• The gifts, to commemorate the greatest Gift ever given- the gift of Christ's atonement for our sins.

All of December people are super generous, kind hearted, and thinking of others before themselves. Everyone's on their best behavior for "Santa", and the worst he could do is bring you a lump of coal. So why are we not always on our best behavior all year when God is watching? Our all powerful God can do a whole lot more to you than a rotund elderly man can, that's for certain!

We spend practically the entire month celebrating and preparing for the day that remembers when God sent his Son to earth in human form. So, my question is, why do we not spend every day preparing for the ultimate Christmas- that day when God will return to earth for His people?

The God of the Bible is the only One who can save you from the ultimate doom (aka, Hell). Bring honor and glory to Him year-round; not just in December! :)

I hope as you celebrate Christmas, that you don't let the real meaning stray from your mind.

Have a wonderful holiday, and thank you for stopping by to read my blog! <3