Warning: This is completely my opinion.

Recently, I was talking to a friend of mine about decorating our homes for Christmas.  She has had her decorations up  since early November, and I was jealous as my decorations didn’t go up until the day after Thanksgiving.  We agreed on how seeing the decorations made us so happy and that each year we tried to add just a little bit more. Neither one of us decorated for any other occasion than Christmas, and we started hypothesizing about why exactly it made us so happy.  Maybe because we didn’t grow up in homes where we had trees and ornmaments? Maybe not. Our thoughts were inconclusive.

After our encounter, I kept thinking about this question: Why do I love decorating for Christmas?  It’s a ton of work to put up, take down and clean up afterwards, but I do it every year without hesitation.  I look forward to the work; If I could put my things up on November 1st, I would! What makes it so special?

Obviously, the birth of Jesus.

But as Christians, we celebrate that miracle through out the year.

From my optimistic, glass half full perspective, it seems like the world is celebrating Him during this time. When I drive around my neighborhood, I see lights or decorations on homes (even cars!) that I know are not Christian homes.  It seriously makes me so happy. Whether or not they actually believe in Jesus, people believe enough to put some lights up and share some presents. I know this doesn’t equate to salvation, but at least  the world is acknowledging that something worth celebrating happened during this time.  Even the God of retail can close its doors briefly to honor the birth of Jesus. I encounter people from every walk of life- every religion, every socioeconomic status, and during this time of the year, there is a palpable excitement, joy and even generosity.  Everyone wants to celebrate in some form.  It makes me truly believe that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

Friend, I hope that you find some joy in this season.  If not, throw some decorations up on your mantle and see if that helps! Make sure that you take the time to remember the reason we celebrate- Jesus.

Shiney