Celebration

So, it's that time of year again. Whether it's from a healthy load of thankfulness digesting through their hearts like a Butterball turkey, or whether it's from the shock of having endured an entire year yet again, people just tend to get all philosophical around this time. Me especially. See how I shared my opinion 5 years ago?

The other day, I caught myself complaining about how people were starting to celebrate Christmas when it wasn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I remembered that I had already begun to buy and wrap Christmas presents, like, back in September. D'oh!

I understand what it's like to be a purist and insist that everything be done by the book. But I think I also understand now more than ever the concept of celebrating.

"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful." (Psalm 33:1)

I'm a very philosophical, analytical, artsy-fartsy, deeply brooding, randomly opinionated, verbally dissecting person (or, at least, I can be... would you like me to elaborate?). God designed me that way, probably so that I could accomplish certain things like artistic expression. But sometimes over-philosophizing can get in the way of things that are supposed to be simple. Like sometimes when I have my guitar or my keyboard and I'm trying to worship God by singing to Him, I'll start analyzing in my head how or why I'm doing what I'm doing. But I'll be reminded of verses like Psalm 33:1 that say to just do it because it's beautiful. Yes, the entirety of Psalm 33 discusses why God is so deserving of celebration and praise, and it lists certain things that He's done that merit our worshiping Him. But I think Psalm 33:1 says to just do it, just because.

I think celebrating holidays can be the same way. I'm not saying that debating whether or not Jesus was born on December 25th is a bad thing, or that debating the secularization of Christmas is a completely bad thing, or that debating whether or not Christmas should be celebrated at all because it was invented to sync with a pagan holiday is a horrifically bad thing. But I will say that the debating can be a distracting thing that squelches the celebration.

Take my birthday, for example. I used to be told that I was born at 8:50 a.m. Or was that 7:50 a.m.? Because if you take into account Daylight Savings Time, I was really born at 7:50 a.m. The fabricated time was 8:50 a.m. Wait. Did I even remember the time correctly?

You know what? WHO THE BLEEP CARES?? I WAS BORN ON MAY 7TH! JUST CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT I WAS BORN, AND YOU WILL HONOR MY SOCKS OFF!

This morning at work, we were instructed to say what we are thankful for. Of course, I answered with my gut reaction: "I'm thankful to be alive." When I was asked to elaborate, I think I replied, "I'm thankful for the blood that flows through my veins, that pumps through my heart, and that flows through my body." You know what? WHY THE BLEEP DO I NEED TO ELABORATE?? I AM ALIVE! PLEASE ALLOW ME TO CELEBRATE THAT MIRACULOUS TRUTH!

Take Facebook, for example. For most of my life, I've known "baby pictures" to be a lone snapshot of an infant that is displayed proudly in a photo album. Maybe that snapshot was accompanied by one or two similar snapshots or follow-up toddler snapshots. But nowadays, it's common to see a couple dozen snapshots of a baby before he or she is born, posted in real time on my News Feed, from the "We're having a boy!" sonogram shot to the monthly or weekly "baby bump" updates. This used to creep me out a little bit, but it doesn't anymore. You know why? BECAUSE THEY'RE CELEBRATING THE BIRTH OF THEIR LITTLE MIRACLE!

Jesus, the Son of God, being born of a virgin, is one of the hugest miracles ever known to humankind. I don't think it's an accident that Father God has allowed this celebration to become one of the hugest annual celebrations ever known to the world. Whether your heart couldn't care less about the fact that Christ is in Christmas, or whether you can't stand the fact that Christmas trees initially had pagan origins, I believe you're surrounded by one of the biggest celebrations that my Father enjoys every year.

Yes, technically, Easter is a more important holiday to the Christian faith. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe that He died on the cross, rose from the dead three days later, and is technically alive in heaven and in me. If this process had not occurred, I would have no eternal life, I would have no life whatsoever, and I would have no hope at all. So, technically, Easter is another huge celebration. But it's also a time to remember Jesus Christ's extremely terrible, deeply excruciating death, which isn't really a celebration. It's more of a time of mourning, of grief, of extreme "Wow, You did that for me?" thankfulness. So, I think Easter just has a different flavor to it than Christmas does. When you're remembering how a Person died, in my opinion, it wouldn't necessarily be appropriate or respectful to put "Yay, my Best Friend endured hours of excruciating agony!" posts on my Facebook News Feed. Easter celebrates new life, but it seems to do so by remembering death.

Christmas hints at Christ's death (because Jesus died when He was 33 years old, not when He was a baby), but it's really more of a celebration. I've noticed that it gets bigger and longer every year. Maybe commercial businesses get greedier. Maybe people get more distracted with the shiny sales. Maybe psycho-celebrators like me get more wild with the September wrapping. But the nature of Christmas is celebrating the arrival of a Baby. We all know how crazy-gushy people get when babies are born.

That's just the nature of a celebration. I think that's the way it's supposed to be.

Thanksgiving is a celebration, too, whether you're in a house with 12 other family members cooking a huge, luscious meal to be followed by football, or whether you're in an apartment with 2 cats saving a TV dinner in the freezer to be followed by wild Bible study and a 6-movie Star Wars marathon. Thanksgiving is a time to officially give thanks to God for whatever it is you're thankful for, whether it's family, wrapping paper, cats, or a heartbeat.

But that is simply my philosophical, analytical, artsy-fartsy, deeply brooding, randomly opinionated, verbally dissecting opinion.