Reason For the Season

There was a time when Christmas wasn’t a very happy time for me; there was too much family strife and bickering, enough to make me avoid any and all social engagements during the holidays. My Christmas mornings were usually spent in the woods or the duck blind, and that was fine with me.

All that changed when I got married to a woman who started her Christmas shopping in January and planned her entire year around the month of December. She was so relentlessly cheery, and looked forward to Christmas with childlike wonder, that it was impossible to be much of a Scrooge.

And when KatyBeth was born, her mother and I made a vow that we’d never let her get caught up in the commercialism of the holiday season, and we’d remind her of the true meaning of Christmas.

And thus a tradition was born. From her very first Christmas Eve in the NICU, we read her the appropriate Bible verses of the story of Christ’s birth. Tonight I’m working, and so The Ex will be fulfilling those duties:

Luke 2: 8-14

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Pay particular attention to that last line: Peace on earth, good will toward men.

That’s one that can be embraced by all belief systems.

Merry Christmas, everybody.