I LOVE winter. I love the feeling of my lungs filling up with cold, clean, fresh air. I love roasting marshmallows and campfires. And I definitely love wearing sweaters, as evidenced by the huge pile of them in my room. But there is one real reason I love, and that reason is Christmas.
This would be an incredibly normal reason to love winter, except for one thing ... I'm Jewish. Yes, that is right, I'm Jewish, and I admit it -- I love red and green stockings, Christmas carols and blinking lights. This doesn't mean I am ready to run out and convert to Christianity. I like Christmas simply because it is, well, just fun.
It's candy canes, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, and cheesy Christmas movies, and they just brighten my day, especially now, with the sky getting dark before dinner time, and the crunch of exams starting. The Christmas season lifts people's spirits and everyone should relax and let themselves enjoy it just for that reason.
Often people complain that Christmas has become too commercialized and has lost its traditional, spiritual meaning. This is true, Christmas has become commercialized. The obsession of gift giving, or even the story of Santa Claus, doesn't seem to emulate the fact that Christians are celebrating the birth of their Lord.
Advent calendars, counting down the days until Dec. 25, come with cool gimmicks, like receiving pieces of chocolate or little toys, for every day until Christmas. However, these traditions do accomplish something --they help people get into high spirits, and show love for their peers.
"Christians give presents on Christmas to commemorate the gifts the wise men offered to Jesus to honor his birth," second-year student Megan Moeller says. "When we go to church, our prayers and offerings are gifts in celebration of our Lord. We give presents to each other to show our love and appreciation for others as well."
Christmas is a time for everyone to show their respect for others, and just generally be happy. It's a time for families to get together and hang ornaments on the Christmas tree, eat cookies, and just hang out. It's a holiday designated to be a time of joy and cheerful spirits, and we all need time like that every once in a while.
As far as commercialization demoralizing Christmas, anyone who wants to find spiritual meaning in the holiday can find it -- it is there. Christians can go to church or worship in any way they feel proper. That is a personal decision. Therefore, gifts and other "materialistic" things that commercialize Christmas are in no way linked to spirituality of the holiday. In fact, they reinforce what the spirit Christmas is built on -- love.
I am in no way ordering that everyone should invest in $200-worth of Christmas lights or millions of presents. After all, the holiday season is not about how much you give in material possessions to others. You don't have to shout your love for Christmas from the rooftops of your extravagantly decorated house. I am also not saying that it is required that all people celebrate Christmas. You have a right to not celebrate the spirit of the holiday, if that is your wish. But don't be a Grinch -- don't grumble about how Christmas has become only about greediness and spending money. People should be free to show their love for others, to be happy, regardless of their personal faith.
Just this past week, my roommates and I set up our apartment Christmas tree -- my first one ever. As we hung the ornaments and strung lights around the room, I thought to myself that this was the first activity we had done as a group in almost a month. As I came to this realization, I discovered that I finally had a logical explanation for why I love Christmas. It brings people together. And if a few presents and some holiday tunes can accomplish that, then Christmas is definitely a worthwhile holiday in my book.
(Michelle Drucker is a Cavalier Daily columnist.)
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