First off, I don't "celebrate" Christmas - I was raised in the Jewish faith, with a pretty good New Age spiritual background as well. So the holiday to me isn't at all about Santa or Christmas tree ornaments or stockings. But it still has a special place in my heart - that whole "reason for the season" bit.
It seems like at Christmas time, many people suspend much of their anger, frustration, resentment, resistance and other negative feelings for at least a short while - if only for a few hours in the midst of Christmas day, when all the errands are done, the dinner is eaten, and so many on this planet are just relaxing. The stores are closed; the streets are quiet; and if you do cross paths with a service worker who is on for the holiday shift, he or she will most likely greet you with a *genuine* smile, with true happiness, kindness and charity, because - well, because it's Christmas.
Not because it's Jesus' birthday (or not, I can't remember the accurate story), or because Santa brought her a new digital camera that she's always wanted, or because ole Grampa Jones is around one more year to ring in the Yuletide. But because we allow all those THINGS to serve us as EXCUSES TO FEEL GOOD! It's become socially acceptable in Western culture to suspend negative feelings on Christmas day and find lots of exuses to feel good, to do good, and to share the goodness with all we come in contact with. On other days, hell, it's socially acceptable to give someone the bird when they steal your parking spot. But on Christmas Day... well, we'd probably at least think twice.
So I love Christmas so much simply because it offers so many people in our society lots of reasons to align with their own inner God-ness and love, and to share it freely with others. The goodness always comes from within, but if we "need" a Christmas holiday to make it OK to let that goodness out, then so be it.
Now if we make every day as sacred as Christmas day, how would our world look?
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