Unwrapping the Gift of Love at Christmas

by Linda Olsen

Unwrapping the Gift of Love at Christmas

“I wish I got a camera.”

I declared this unappreciative statement as a young teen when I received a clock radio for Christmas instead of the Polaroid camera I really wanted. Santa thought it more practical that I have a method of waking myself up for school instead of taking pictures. Over the years, family members have often chirped “I wish I got a camera” anytime we’re gifted something we really didn’t want. It’s always followed by an agreeing chuckle.

I find holiday gift buying quite stressful, especially when I have no idea what the person wants, needs, or likes. When I reflect on all of the years of Christmases I’ve had the pleasure of celebrating, I’ve come to realize that I can only remember a handful of the purchased material gifts I’ve received, but vividly remember the gifts given with love and the heart-warming feelings associated with the holiday season.

Gifts created with love are as joyous for the giver as they are to the receiver. The recipe book I compiled one Christmas bales my sisters and I out whenever we’re trying to recreate one of mom’s special dishes, and the biography I did, after interviewing my dad, serves as a permanent history of his life on the farm, in the war, and as part of our family legacy. We’ve had many a Christmas exchange when homemade gifts were crafted for the person whose name, we drew…so my tree is adorned with special ornaments, I have a cozy ‘Grammy blanket’ to keep me warm, and my brother made a handy spice rack for my kitchen. Gifts given with love transcend time.

The feelings generated during Christmas are equally special and can be the result of a kindness shown to others, a charitable gift, or even hearing a soul-touching song, like “Mary Did You Know” or “Silent Night.” At Christmas we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and we should celebrate him by loving BIG, just like He loves us. As stated in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” We honor God when we love and care for our neighbor, feed and clothe the impoverished, live in peace and cooperation with others, and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in our daily life. As the angels sang that blessed night in Bethlehem: “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

A picture hangs in my rectory office of my then 9-month-old son as the baby Jesus in the St. Martha Christmas pageant. Our collaborative’s annual Christmas pageant (Dec. 18^th), Lessons and Carols program (Dec. 11^th), and Marian Advent evening (Dec. 6th), are wonderful, faith-filled ways to keep Christ as the main focus of our holiday. Our parishes’ Giving Trees allow us to provide a merrier Christmas for those less fortunate, and monetary donations to our St. Vincent de Paul councils and food donations to our pantry collections help serve the needy in our communities throughout the year. Our outreach ministers visit and provide the Eucharist to our homebound and area nursing home residents, and we can easily brighten the holiday of our elders by dropping off Christmas cards to the parish offices for distribution. I’ve turned my weekly bingo gigs at Serenity Nursing Home into ‘Christmas Song Bingo’ which has added laughter (at my singing) and fun to the game. And although my kids won’t arrive home much before the 25th, we can still have special family time together baking cookies, enjoying the lights at LaSalette, playing board games, gathering around the dinner table, and of course, attending Mass.

Christmas is the opportunity to celebrate Christ’s birth and the incredible gift He is in our lives. We can honor him by bringing as much “Joy to the World” as we can. Let us strive to unwrap the true meaning of Christmas by sprinkling love and kindness wherever we go; remembering that while Polaroid pictures can fade over time, memories made with love last forever.

Linda Olsen, Rectory Receptionist