"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you . . . yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand." MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA

There is no better time I can remember than the days when I got up on a snowy Christmas morning to find our Christmas tree stocked with loads of presents in shiny paper and ribbons. There was a sort of special magic to Christmas. The excitement would start to fill the air at least a week before. As a boy of four years old I never had considered that there might not be a Santa Clause.

It was one of those cold December mornings about a week before Christmas when you do not want to get out of bed. Everything just felt so warm and perfect wrapped in my big thick blanket. I lay there in the bed thinking about nothing much at all. I was staring at the ceiling. My eyes began to explore the dark opening leading to the attic of our old wooden home. I noticed what looked like a new bicycle sitting up there. Being from a poor family you do not often see shiny new things in the attic, never. I finally crawled out of bed. I told my mom what I thought I had seen. She did not say much and after that I got distracted with playing some game or exploring the rest of the day. Later that day I came back and remembered the bicycle. I climbed up into the attic but there was no bicycle to be found. I asked my mom what happened to it, but she quickly dismissed it as my imagination playing tricks on me.

With the magic of Christmas upon us I had quickly forgotten the bicycle. Christmas eve had finally arrived and I remember my mom pouring out a glass of milk and leaving some cookies for Santa Clause. Christmas was always so exciting. It was difficult to sleep the night before because I was thinking of ways to catch the old Santa man. Somehow sleep finally came. I awoke early in the morning before the sun had arisen. The blood was flowing and the heart racing made Christmas mornings the warmest day of the year. I got up and ran to the Christmas tree early before my mom and dad woke up to see what Santa Clause had left. There under the tree was the bicycle that I remembered seeing a few days before sitting in the attic half obscured from view. I knew right then without a doubt that my mom and dad had lied to me about Santa Clause. It had always seemed a little unbelievable anyway. Some old man that lived forever riding around all over the world delivering presents to children in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. I told my mom that I knew there was no such thing as Santa Clause. She wanted to know who told me such an outrageous story. I tried to explain to her that it was the bicycle. She stuck to the story of Santa Clause and swore he was real. She accused Richard, an older cousin of mine that lived close by of telling me that lie. It was then that I awoke to the fact my parents were not perfect. I never believed anymore in Santa Clause.

It did not matter so much to me anyway at that time how the bicycle got there. The bicycle would be all mine since my younger brother was still too small to ride it. I was going to have some fun. My dad helped me with the bicycle and took it outside. I tried riding it in the yard but could not get going properly. My dad took me to the hill trail behind the house that led down through the woods to the outhouse. He helped me onto the bicycle and let me go. He did not give me any instructions at all. I had trusted my dad blindly knowing that he knew what he was doing. As I plummeted down the hill at an outrageous speed, I am sure I started screaming but there was no help. My dad had forgotten to tell me that the bicycle had brakes. It was all I could do to keep the bicycle on the rocky path. I was doing OK with this when I saw that the path turned just beside the outhouse. There was no stopping as I ploughed into the outhouse at full speed. I was somewhat shaken as I lay in a heap at the base of the door in some briars. After realizing I was OK my thoughts returned to my new bicycle. I had only put a few scratches on it and my dad straightened the handlebars. He then explained to me how the brakes work with a laugh. I rode the bike after that on level land for a long time with the training wheels to keep it from turning over.

A little bit about Christmas:
My childhood memories that I reflect upon taught me a whole different Christmas than what I learned growing up. As a child I came to see Christmas, as the one day of the year I would get new clothes, toys and have a big feast of sweets and all kinds of special foods. I was taught that if I was good Santa Clause would bless me with a lot more and if not he would only bring me a pack of switches for my mom to use on my bottom. I am sure that in passing someone mentioned that it was supposedly the birthday of Jesus, but that was not important to me then.

Growing up put a totally new light upon this magical day. As an adult I came to see Christmas as a day when you had to give everyone whom gave you a present something better are else they would be mad at you for 11 months. In the church the pastor would teach us that it was the birthday of Jesus Christ. My friends never talked much about it being the birthday of Jesus. They were more concerned about what they were going to get are have to buy for the name they had chosen from some hat. In school no one ever mentioned Jesus. There was no reference to him in the history books. The teachers taught us nothing about this man that was the greatest and most perfect man that ever lived. It was like the whole world was trying to erase Jesus from existence. It seemed to me that Santa Clause was much less real than Jesus yet people all over the world wanted to remember this fictional character instead of Jesus whom this special day was set aside for by the great churches of Rome so many centuries before.

This leads me to discuss my present thoughts about Christmas. I do not remember exactly when it happened. At some point in my early adult-hood I began to question those whom were supposed to be the gurus of education, religion and philosophy. I began to develop my own ideas about what was right and wrong through research. I decided to no longer give presents at Christmas time and instead to give them throughout the year when ever I could. I decided that it did not matter what people thought. My research into Christmas has led me to a new level of understanding of this sacred day of the Christians through out the developed world. First off, what does Saint Nicholas have to do with Christmas? He was some man from English history a few centuries ago who went around freely giving presents to orphans and needy children. What I saw at the church had no relevance even to that. At church you had to draw a name from a hat or something like that. Then you spent about one month trying to decide what to buy this person you knew very little about. When the day came to give, someone would always be mad because so and so got a better present than they did. There was no spirit of giving involved at all.

Why is there so much confusion centered around what should be a great day of remembrance? If it is truly the birthday of the great man and messenger of God, Jesus, then why is it so easily forgotten. Jesus changed history. He brought about the beginning of freedom from tyranny. It is through Jesus that we learned that God does not just bless special people with forgiveness. Jesus taught peace and that God is for all of mankind. Jesus was a special blessing to all of mankind by sacrificing himself. It was through the life and death of Jesus that God was able to see that man can be perfected, that there is hope for Gods creation, man-kind. Yet we so easily we forget this great man Jesus in our everyday lives. Then the one day a year that was set aside for his remembrance we hide it in lies.

The greatest problem lies with whom wrote the early history of Christianity. In the early days of the Christian church it was a struggle. The apostles of Jesus were teaching his message throughout the lands. It was readily accepted because it brought hope that all men could be equal and be free from slavery. Paul was finally able to get the message into Rome. The Romans were still the greatest ruling government in all of the world at the time. By this time the Roman government had come to realize that they were not going to stop the message from spreading. The Romans had their own beliefs and their own type of church system already in existence. A system with many Gods. When it was decided by the great leaders of Rome that Christianity would be acceptable to the general populace there had to be some governing rules set. Rome could not change its social setting just for a new religion. That religion had to fit into the existing Roman society without bending it out of shape. So when it was decided that Christianity would be the religion of the day the churches of Rome set about with a great meeting of all the philosophers, law makers, and leaders of the existing Roman church.

One of the first things that had to be determined was when this new god came into existence. By Roman standards every god had to have been created or born on some day. This made the gods somewhat mortal. No one was exactly sure of the day Jesus was born at that time. Many churches were even celebrating his birthday as late as May. So the leaders of the church said his birthday would be celebrated on a day that Roman citizens already accepted as a religious day. December 25 was a day that all of Rome had celebrated the birth of their God Sol for centuries, so why not make this the birthday of Jesus.

If you start really looking at history closely you will begin to see the picture develop more clearly in your mind. But if you prefer to sit by and accept Old Saint Nick as the bearer of good things then you are lost.

Edward Gibbon says in "Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, vol. ii, Gibbon, p. 383."
"The Roman Christians, ignorant of his (Christ's) birth, fixed the solemn festival to the 25th of December, the Brumalia, or Winter Solstice, when the Pagans annually celebrated the birth of Sol", their false God

I guess you might want to call me a scrooge, but I do not understand how the church can call this a holy day. The reason is simple. It was originally completely set aside to honor the birthday of the greatest and most holy prophet to walk the Earth, Jesus. I do not agree with picking a day used by other religions to celebrate the birth of Christ. This should have been a special day set aside to remember what He taught. Today Christmas is not revered as a holy day. Christmas is looked upon as the day the not so holy Santa Clause brings gifts in his flying sleigh led by a group of magical reindeer. One even has a red nose so bright you do not need lights on the sleigh. Then magically Santa is able to shinny up and down every chimney in the world in one night so the children can find their toys in the morning. The majority of adult's generally use it as a time to get drunk and be merry, committing all kinds of sinful acts. Almost all of the festivities associated with Christmas come from some other belief system and most of these did not worship only one God. This is the way of the material world. I think we can take a lesson from what the Bible says.

(Deuteronomy 12: 30 - 32): Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31: Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. 32: What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. "

But all of this does not matter I guess with the average Christian. They do not teach their children any of this nonsense. They, just like my mom and dad believe in the not so holy Santa Clause. But I am sorry that I am not with the majority and do not believe in Santa Clause. Christmas is a great festival and a fun time, but I do not see it as a holy day. I am not saying that we should do away with Christmas, far be it, many stores would go bankrupt if it was not for Christmas.

To quote UPTON BEALL SINCLAIR (1878-1968)
"Or consider Christmas-could Satan in his most malignant mood have devised a worse combination of graft plus bunkum than the system whereby several hundred million people get a billion or so gifts for which they have no use, and some thousands of shop clerks die of exhaustion while selling them, and every other child in the Western world is made ill from overeating-all in the name of the lowly Jesus?"

I am saying that the celebration should be removed from churches and teach only the truth, especially to the little children. If it is such a holy day then why do we have Santa Clause in all of the shopping malls telling the children lies and leading them more and more into the materialistic desires of this world. Why do we not just forget exchanging presents for those who have and only give to the poor and needy that need clothes and food. This should not be a one day a year celebration, but ongoing.
I prefer to tell my children the true story as you have just read here about Christmas.

PROPOSAL:
To remember Jesus:
Set aside one day sometime in mid January not used for other religions and call it, "Day Of Remembrance". This should be a quiet day with no celebration. It should be a day of prayer and learning about the teachings of Jesus.

Christmas Day:
Teach to all the history of Christmas - not the lies. Continue to celebrate and have fun on this day outside of church. It should be removed from all Christian meetings and the church completely.

Tell the little children that Christmas is a day for the children when moms and dads want to treat them to something special. Tell them that if they or nice then Christmas mornings will bring a special surprise for them. This does not remove the magical feeling that I got when I was a kid waking up on Christmas mornings. I would never have cared who was going to put those surprises under the tree. The mornings would still have been the same, even if I had known that mom and dad were doing it. It would probably have been more special for me to know that they loved me enough to set aside one special day for just me.

I never much like the idea that some stranger with magical powers was going to break into our house in the middle of the night anyway.