Here we are. Christmas 2020 is only a couple of weeks away and the dreaded thought “what should I give” is rearing its unnerving head again.
Contrary to what some people may think or say, on average our society is becoming more and more affluent, and able to get almost anything reasonable their hearts desire. So, what is the point of Christmas giving?
Whenever I get stuck trying to make sense of something, I go back to the original idea and intent. In the case of Christmas giving, there are a few lines of thought that need to be considered.
First, when I talk about Christmas, I am not talking about X-mas, The Holidays, The Season, or Santa Claus, I am talking about the celebration in remembrance of the Birth of Jesus Christ, the birth of God in the flesh. An event so dramatic, it changed the worlds destiny for ever, and started a new epoch, thus BC (before Christ) and AD (Anno Domini, Latin for “in the year of the Lord”), marking this year the 2020 birthday celebration of Christ.
History tells us that three Wise Men (“Magi”) noticed the appearance of a special star, that they connected with the birth of a king. Using the star as a guide, the went to find the newborn king to show their respect and offer presents, thus they ended up finding the Holy Child, Christ the King, in Bethlehem. You can read the full account in the Bible under Matthew chapter 2. It is an account of the first Christmas giving. As you noticed, the three wise men didn’t exchange gifts, they came to worship Christ the newborn king and gave Him their offerings.
The other angle to the Christmas gift giving is that Christ himself is a gift. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”(John 3:16)
What God is looking for in response to His gift, is our gifts of gratitude and obedience towards him.
As we can see, our Christmas gift giving is mostly off target and has largely run amok.
There certainly can also be a case made for using Christmas as a special day to give gifts to show good will, friendliness, or love to one another, but for gift giving to be sincere and successful it requires a joyful giver and appreciating receiver. Unfortunately, in our self sufficient, affluent society of hyper consumerism, aiming for appreciation can break the bank and so the joy of giving is waning.
Not wanting to be labeled a Scrooge or Grinch, what am I to give this year? We have the aforementioned issues and on top of it all COVID can make travel and/or visiting a punishable offence.
Apparently it is not what you give or receive that matters, it is the thought that counts. Not sure who came up with that saying, but when I was a kid and received knitted socks while my friends showed off their toys, my thoughts were certainly not along that line.
So here we go, if nothing else comes to mind, one can always send money (don’t get too exited). To personalize this year’s money giving, I have dusted of my coin collection treasure chest. The chest itself is only a cardboard box, but inside it is a leather-look bag/pouch that I made when I was 15 years old. I remember it so well. I had befriended one of my 2nd year apprentice colleagues. His first name escapes me right now because his last name was Löwe, the German word for Lion, and that is what everyone called him. He was a little like the TV character Fonz, from the sitcom Happy Days, except blond. He had a brand new 10 speed bike, when I only had a one speed hand-me-down, he had a cool moped (scooter) that could go 80KM/hr with two people on it, and he smoked cigarettes. To add to Löwe’s cool image, the song “The lion sleeps tonight” became very popular around that time in Germany. One day, taking me on a moped joy ride, Löwe swung by his house to show me his coin collection. I was enthralled by all the different coins and the far away, exotic places they represented. Don’t ask me how, but I managed to talk Löwe in to trading his coins for something that I had. I don’t remember at all what it was that I had, but whatever it was, I convinced Löwe that he needed it😊. All done, I definitely felt I got the better deal, and that was confirmed a couple of days later, when Löwe told me that his dad almost beat him up when he found out about the trade. I remember struggling a little (but not too much) with the idea of offering the coins back, but then decided not to, after all, we were not best of friends (anymore)☹. Now one of my bucket list items is to find Löwe and ask for his forgiveness.
Almost sixty years later, here I am sitting at my desk surveying my coin treasure again, consisting of my original acquisition, plus the various additions over the past 58 years. I’m feeling a little like a pirate looking at his lute after a successful excursion. Well, since most of the coins were acquired under questionable circumstances, I might as well give some away – for Christmas.
On second thought, to avoid implicating others, I will avoid giving coins from my “original collection” and stick with more recent additions.
That decision made, how do I identify who is to get what coin, and how to make it a little personal?
I know I will be a joyful giver but if my offering will suffice to elicit appreciation, will ultimately be determined by the receivers.
Not to whimper, I decide on what every self-respecting pirate would do, charging ahead.
Horstt
PS:
At the time of publishing this post, there are only four days left until Christmas, so I am wishing you a Joyous and Hopeful Christmas.